The older the subject, the more theyre able to convey personal agency without parental interpretation. Transgender Institute also runs support groups, therapy and mentoring for its young trans community in Kansas City. Two of the children, 12-year-old Jay (a girl who identifies as a boy) and 15-year-old Leena (the opposite), have been placed on hormone pharmaceuticals by their parents in order to suppress their natural puberty. When you purchase a ticket for an independently reviewed film through our site, we earn an affiliate commission. Pour en savoir plus sur notre utilisation de vos informations, veuillez consulter notre Politique relative la vie prive et notre Politique en matire de cookies. Going through puberty as someone youre not is a little harder.. If you don . He now feels more outgoing, and more open to talking about the documentary. The younger subjects pubescent Jay, elementary schooler Avery and preschool-aged Phoenix are developmentally less self-possessed than teenage Leena, so Liese (and the audience) must instead rely on their parents to articulate their childrens emotional states. "I've known Leena since the day she was born and have taken care of her since she was two months old so I've seen lots of changes," her grandmother told TODAY. Most of these will grow up to be gay or lesbian; a substantial minority have also been diagnosed with autism. Transhood. People are being hurt. Filmed cinema verit-style over five years, starting in 2015, Transhood follows four Kansas City families in various stages of this conversely agonizing and rewarding process. 1.3M followers. Part of the films goal is to frame these kids as just kids: rowdy, hyper, moody. 17 States Support Texas Lawsuit Filed With The Supreme Court, MADE IN CHINA: Swalwell Blames Trump for Chinese Spy Story Theyre Not Gonna Silence Me, by Sean Adl-Tabatabai in Sponsored This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Why is that suddenly not on the news, Mom? Over time, I became increasing uncomfortable with myself as a boy, to the point of disliking myself as Walt and adopting a secret female name at age 13. Today, watching this documentary, I marvel at how the events of my childhood groomed me into believing that identifying as the opposite sex was the solution to my gender confusion. Slectionnez Grer les paramtres pour grer vos prfrences. Her parents are supportive, their concerns respectful yet reasonable . Sadly, too many of them dont end well, as indie documentaries have shown. And if you really listen to your kid, it's so simple to see. The youth in Transhood have all undergone social transitions - changing clothes, hair, pronouns, and in most cases, their names to reflect their gender as they experience it. Any sane person would feel compassion for both the children and for the confused parents. Were socialized to believe vanity is a harmful, even toxic, personality trait, but vanity can be a lifeline for marginalized people, helping to buoy self-confidence and the projection of power. Later they decide he's a girl. TranshoodNot rated. A pivotal moment in the film shows Jay and Bryce on the phone to Jays girlfriend Mildred, after photographs of Jay pre-transition circulate on social media. The good Lord puts all the kinds of people on this Earth, and we have to learn to accept them and live with them and love them., Alexander Kacala is a reporter and editor atTODAY Digitaland NBC OUT. TRANSHOOD. Their emotional processing even feels, at times, more compelling than their childrens, perhaps because Lieses team edits the film around the parents rather explosive confessions. 6 Amazon travel essentials for your next getaway, starting at $12. As well as hoping that more trans and non-binary youth see themselves represented onscreen in Transhood, Liese also wants the film to show parents and others how to be allies and support people through transition. A young "transgender" child went off-script during the recent filming of a new documentary, warning liberals that switching genders has "ruined my life.". Now 19, Leena is one of the subjects in "Transhood," a new HBO MAX documentary that profiles four transgender children and their families in the Kansas City area. Parents who tell their trans declared children that they are worried about them, that they dont think they should make life-altering decisions, that theyre young and they should explore slowly may experience pushback or rejection from their child in return. Their feelings remain potent and tangible throughout: After all, kids are kids, no matter their upheavals. The film follows four children, beginning at ages four, seven, twelve, and fifteen, as they "redefine coming-of-age". In 2018,Dr. Susan Bradley, a child psychiatrist who founded the Toronto Gender Identity Clinic,toldNational Review: We know from multiple studies that around 80 percent of gender dysphoric children will desist from their cross-sex identification in childhood to identify with their natal sex. Absolutely, it is, I ain't gonna lie at all, but still the bottom line is you tell your kid, 'Hey, hit the dishes. Following the families over several years allowed Liese to see the young people as they grew up and experienced different triumphs and challenges. TV Shows. Unfortunately, this kind of unconditional love is more uncommon than not. Children are not born in the wrong body. Of course, most parents of teenagers have heard the youve ruined my life line. Phoenix's parents had made up their minds before he was even in Kindergarten that he was a transgender child on the path toward transition. I quickly realized that is not the question. With Avery Jackson. Liese says that this scene with Jay was such a pivotal and huge moment for the film, because it can represent what can happen, and what happens frequently when trans people disclose their identities. Avery, though, likely likely has better cause than most, even if his parents have since allowed him to step out of the spotlight. He sees the film as a broader coming out, where more of the people he went to community college and graduated with will learn that he is trans and understand more about his experience. Leena, Phoenix, and Jay, ranging in age from 4 to 15) as they redefine "coming of age." These young people and their families reveal the intimate realities of how they deal with the new era of social media, bathroom bills, gender expansion, and an often-changing political landscape, not . But I knew that no matter what sex she wanted to be, she was my grandchild and I would love her.. She parades him around to show him off while he is visibly in despair. In a landmark case in the United Kingdom high court brought by two people treated as children at the nations sole gender clinic, Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), judges were surprised that GIDS did not track data about their patients, even while under their care. All the while, the older kids navigate the minefield of adolescence. TRANSHOOD 9 p.m. on HBO. In this clip, you see a mother reading a transgender childrens book titled Jacobs New Dress to her 4-year-old son, Phoenix. Here he tries to explain how he feels but she disregards it. These caregivers magnetism remains inverse to the age of their offspring: The younger the subject, the more important the parents narrative. All Rights Reserved. I can see that grandmas withholding of love for the four-year-old boy Walt set in motion the desire to punish myself for being a boy. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Like being a teenager is just hard enough on its own, Leena says during one scene. I think people perceive being transgender as something evil only because they don't know what's going on., Its still children and feelings, and theres still gotta be that love, and theres still gotta be the rules, he added. [10/30/20 - 09:00 AM] HBO's "Transhood" Debuts November 12 Filmed over the course of five years in Kansas City, the documentary is an inspiring chronicle of the lives of four young people and . Coming out to loved ones was what changed the discussion for same-sex marriage, but Transhood suggests that for transgender people and their families, it's only the painful start. Leena's family requested that their last names be withheld to protect their privacy. From there, the damage mounted: out-of-control drinking, copious amounts of female hormones to look like a woman, divorce and loss of family, loss of career, and drug abuse, culminating with gender affirming surgery at age 42. A young "transgender" child has gone off-script during the recent filming of a new documentary, saying that switching genders has "ruined my life." Avery, a biological male who lives his life as a girl, blasted his activist mother in the upcoming pro-transgender documentary entitled "Transhood.". Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Though it will no doubt draw ire from some, Transhood a new HBO documentary that premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PTreally just wants viewers to know that transgender kids . Through Phoenixs story, Liese shows that every journey is unique when it comes to gender. When her mom tries to wheedle her into appearing at yet another event, the little girl finally lashes out: I just dont even wanna have a book. Their feelings remain potent and tangible throughout: After all, kids are kids, no matter their upheavals. Every parent reading this should immediately stop and go watch HBOs Transhood (2020) documentary. Phoenixs entire wardrobe is draped in rainbow. A lot of trans people do hide. As scenes from Transhood have circulated on social media, critics have called for a boycott and equated the film's troubling content to child abuse. But the older subjects Jay (12), who has to negotiate being out as transgender at school, and Leena (15), an aspirational model, land as more engaging. Transhood. Another scene shows a mother visibly coaxing her son who no . My grandparents lived on the outskirts of Los Angeles in a little shack behind an automobile junkyard. Leena, Phoenix, and Jay, ranging in age from 4 to 15) as they redefine "coming of age." . Like so many others, the HBO Max documentary Transhood fails on so many levels. Im dating a straight man and he sees me as a woman and I was so excited because, like, thats all I wanted. She said that Brian eventually told her that he was using me as a cover up because he was unsure of his identity in the sexual world.. Sharon Liese directs Transhood, a documentary that chronicles the lives of four young people and their families as they grow up transgender in the politically and religiously . I crashed, entered alcohol rehab, and started therapy. Some older children make the decision along with parents and doctors, like Jay did when he was 12, to take hormone blockers to delay puberty. Walt Heyer is an accomplished author and public speaker with a passion for mentoring individuals whose lives have been torn apart by unnecessary gender-change surgery. HBO Max released on Nov. 12 a documentary called "Transhood," which chronicles the lives of four transgender children over a period of five years. Some have been called child abusers. Director Sharon Liese told Time magazine: People ask me, how do kids know when they are four years old? We already have evidence beyond common sense and life experience that shows transgendering children is child abuse. And in the story of Phoenix, who was 4 when Liese started filming, we see how childrens relationships with their gender identity are not always clear-cut. When I was dating Brian, it felt like an authentication, she said. We need to stop pretending that doctors have scientific backing for their recommendations to transition children socially and medically. #BoycottHBO pic.twitter.com/TlyFkmqT6X. Some of the documentarys sweetest moments come during scenes featuring Leenas family. Gender specialists dont know who the trans kids are. An interview thatPopsugarconducted last month with Averys mom, Debi, revealed that Avery became concerned with how open her family was at times., She would hear me talking to my husband and ask, Why are you having to go and tell so many people about trans kids, Mom? I responded, Well, because Im working with another school because that school isnt supporting a student, and I want that kid to have a chance, the mother said. It takes place over five years. With meticulously manicured talons and a glossy copper mane flowing down her back, she dreams of becoming a runway model. I just thought I was gonna have a gay son and it was hard for me to put my finger on it. They still battle first breakups and unwanted step-parents like anyone else. It was then released on HBO Max on November 12, causing the recent outcry from . (See Stella Morabitos book review in The Federalist.). The location was also a backdrop for the shifting attitudes around and support networks for trans people. When we started with Avery and her transition, we didnt feel like there was anywhere to turn to, we didnt know who to talk to or where to go, and we felt desperately lost, says Tom, Averys dad, during the film. Filmed over five years in Kansas City, Transhood chronicles the lives of four young people (aged 4, 7, 12, and 15 at the start of filming) and their families as they navigate growing up transgender in Americas heartland., By sharing personal realities of how gender expression is reshaping their lives, the film explores how these families struggle and stumble through parenting, and how the kids are challenged and transformed as they experience the complexity of their identities., Directed by Sharon Liese, produced by Sasha Alpert (Autism: The Musical), and executive-produced by Kimberly Reed, Transhood offers a long-range understanding of transgender youth through the nuanced and authentic stories of Jay, Avery, Leena, and Phoenix., While every journey is different, these families share their honest and varied experiences as the young people display incredible resilience, facing rejection from their peers and escalating political rhetoric that strives to invalidate LGBTQ+ lives. 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