My Transssexual Summer

Rick_

A new series starting on Channel 4 on Tuesday 8th November at 10:00pm that "...follows seven people who are undertaking a range of gender reassignment procedures as they make the ultimate journey to realise their true identities".

Just a heads up for anyone who might be interested in watching.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-transsexual-summer

Meesared

Oh that should be interesting, nope its not sensationalised, like alot of Channel 4 stuff tends to be.

deirdre_dub

Here we go again - focus being brought to bear on the genitals of trans people. :rolleyes: :mad:

What is and isn't between my legs is none of your damn business! Also, surgery is for most trans people one of the least important aspects of the whole thing.

:mad:

TylerIE

deirdre_dub wrote: »

Here we go again - focus being brought to bear on the genitals of trans people. :rolleyes: :mad:

What is and isn't between my legs is none of your damn business! Also, surgery is for most trans people one of the least important aspects of the whole thing.

:mad:

And equally members of the public who are, like me, not fully aware of the experiences of trans individuals are at least getting to see the human face of those who are dealing with the issue. They get to see that its not the stereotypes that sometimes are seen in the media, and indeed for those who criticise the NHS for funding operations they will get to see the difference the surgery makes to these people.

Plautus

Indeed, if you look at the website they've got an excellent glossary of transgender terminology and 'words not to use' such as 'pre-op' because it implies that transgendered people are less valid before they've had the operation. That and several people appearing on the programme are not having surgery yet.

So I don't think they'd disagree with you deirdre_dub that the operation is perhaps the least important bit; but it is a final milestone in the longer journey.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-transsexual-summer/articles/donna - which is more or less what one of the individuals from the programme says too.

Captain Graphite

deirdre_dub wrote: »

Here we go again - focus being brought to bear on the genitals of trans people. :rolleyes: :mad:

What is and isn't between my legs is none of your damn business! Also, surgery is for most trans people one of the least important aspects of the whole thing.

:mad:

Y'know you could at least wait until the program has aired and you've seen it before making assumptions about it. The show isn't called "My Genital-Switching Summer". It's not supposed to make them out to be freaks; if it was, I doubt the seven people would have agreed to take part in it.

Most of the links on that site seem to be broken though, which is irritating.

Rick_

All the links appear to be working for me. Strange.

This starts tonight for anyone interested in watching. It will be on 4OD shortly after if you aren't available at 10pm and have no way of recording it. I think it's a 7 part series with each person getting an episode.

jasper11

one of the them is really hot from advert i seen. better looking than any woman i see lately.

why are people so intense on here? av fun and enjoy programmes like this. channel 4 is a great channel and it shows good documentarys that rte wudnt dare. should be good tonight.

L.Jenkins

Have it set to record if I forget all about it.

BanzaiBk

I'll be watching tonight. It looks like a good series.

Captain Graphite

So...thoughts after the first episode?
Think it was quite good myself. They didn't just fill the house with bad stereotypes or anything. (Although it seems like they drank an awful lot for just one weekend! :pac:) Have to say I'd never have suspected Lewis as being transgender, he looks like he's been physically male all his life.

Also I'll admit I was uncertain as to whether transgender surgery should be offered through the NHS or not. Watching Karen's procedure has now made me somewhat more convinced that it should be. I had no idea it cost around £10,000! :eek:

L.Jenkins

Captain Graphite wrote: »

Also I'll admit I was uncertain as to whether transgender surgery should be offered through the NHS or not. Watching Karen's procedure has now made me somewhat more convinced that it should be. I had no idea it cost around £10,000! :eek:

Well it is, but she may have went private. That could be the reason for such a cost.

Captain Graphite

ItsThatManAgain wrote: »

Well it is, but she may have went private. That could be the reason for such a cost.

Well yes, that's true, she could have gone private. I didn't think of that.

But in regards to the "being offered through the NHS" bit of my post, I was just thinking about a thread from a few weeks ago that I read on here about people arguing whether these surgeries should be funded by the HSE or not. At the time I was inclined to think that perhaps they shouldn't be (purely for financial/costcutting reasons) whereas I'm now more inclined to think that they should be. (Not just from watching this show but from other things I thought about afterwards) That's all I was trying to say.

rainbowdrop

I think I'm a little bit in love with Donna, the girl with the piercings!!


:cool:

Shakti

I enjoyed it and left me a bit a emotional TBH maybe its because I just told my mum two days ago myself and yes it was more than just nice for them to include Dr. Bellringer the surgeons clarification on the procedure its costs and benefits.

Captain Graphite

Shakti wrote: »

I enjoyed it and left me a bit a emotional TBH maybe its because I just told my mum two days ago myself

Well done!

L.Jenkins

Proud of you Shakti. I know must have been tough on you.

Shakti

wasn't easy its taken years to risk it she didn't flip or anything just said I would have to move away so when they talked of the isolation the people in the tv program face in daily life I just welled up.

Speak Now

Tall blonde girl was very pretty, 2.5 hours of putting make on and doing hair hard going! Then again it's probably a doddle compared to everything else in life she has to put up with!

Alzy

I enjoyed the show and looking forward to the next one.

I am unenlightened about such things but I am always of the opinion of live and let live.
I'm glad it wasn't full of the stereotyping that this 'topic/area?' would cover normally.

Saddened me to see the blonde girl getting abuse from a drunken yob on the street but hey he looked like an idiot .
Seemed like cool people and would be a lot of craic to be around or friends with.

Just my tup'ennce worth anyway ...

BanzaiBk

I enjoyed it quite a bit more than I expected. I like the variety of 'characters' and will definitely be watching/sky+ing it.

Hamhide

Yeh it was pritty cool,i watched it with my bf.We both learned a few things.I'm starting my transitation soon,cant wait!

L.Jenkins

Hamhide wrote: »

Yeh it was pritty cool,i watched it with my bf.We both learned a few things.I'm starting my transitation soon,cant wait!

Good on you ham Still in a wrangle with Loughlinstown here.

Moon Indigo

Thought it was really good and great to open this topic, issue up a little bit. Wonder if Ireland will be far behind with a similar programme? Umm won't hold my breath. Donna was that her name? She had amazing blue contacts at one stage outside the pub.

WonderWoman!

rainbowdrop wrote: »

I think I'm a little bit in love with Donna, the girl with the piercings!!


:cool:

Same here

BanzaiBk

Everyone loves Donna! The friends are raving about her

L.Jenkins

Think everyone loves her Might encourage me to get a few piercings.

WonderWoman!

ItsThatManAgain wrote: »

Think everyone loves her Might encourage me to get a few piercings.

Im not normally attracted to folk with loads of piercings but Id damn well make an exception for her

jasper11

anybody got pics of this donna? lol missedthe show

rainbowdrop

jasper11 wrote: »

anybody got pics of this donna? lol missedthe show

Can't find a picture of her, but you can watch the show online...... enjoy!!

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/my-transsexual-summer/4od

Louisevb

I thought it was the biggest load of stereotypical crap I ever watched....I have a friend who had just told her mother and sister last week and after watching that programme they were very critical of her decision, after being initially supportive. It does no one any favours especially when one girl takes two and a half hours to get ready in the morning and comes out wearing makeup that would do justice to a drag queen in the George. It was cringeworthy frankly

apache

disregarding that louisevb i found it hard to stomach to people on here who were going on all on about donna was hot. i'm sorry - i thought it was rich being thought about as a piece of meat!

its gas here how people change.

you're talking about drew there. well hey she needs to feel complete and go through this ritual. she feels complete and she does look good! thats a bit harsh. i thought she looked great!
i didn't think she looked like a drag queen.

me thinks theres a bit of jealously in the trans world. she looked better than some of i have seen.

foggy_lad

Captain Graphite wrote: »

Well yes, that's true, she could have gone private. I didn't think of that.

But in regards to the "being offered through the NHS" bit of my post, I was just thinking about a thread from a few weeks ago that I read on here about people arguing whether these surgeries should be funded by the HSE or not. At the time I was inclined to think that perhaps they shouldn't be (purely for financial/costcutting reasons) whereas I'm now more inclined to think that they should be. (Not just from watching this show but from other things I thought about afterwards) That's all I was trying to say.

That thread was about people having to go abroad for treatment and surgery and the associated cost to the HSE, Hopefully soon some hospital in Ireland will be offering the procedures for a fraction of the current cost.

As for the show it was an attempt to protray a big brother type house but none of the people apart from the woman frrom Jersey were what i would see as normal joe soaps, the rest were living the stereotype!

L.Jenkins

foggy_lad wrote: »

As for the show it was an attempt to protray a big brother type house but none of the people apart from the woman frrom Jersey were what i would see as normal joe soaps, the rest were living the stereotype!

So all of us who identify as Transgender are in some form or another, stereotypical of a socially constructed pigeon hole :rolleyes:

Freiheit

I'm in two minds about shows like this.

On one level they raise awareness of the existence of transgendered people which is useful for people of such identities,inside or outside of the closet. Awareness can help to assimilate such identities into society.

However a part of me feels the fascination with such people and the physical focus of the show echoes of the freak shows of the 19th century.

Ideally trans identities shouldn't be newsworthy,they shouldn't command public attention because they should be accepted and not merit such.

The focus on the physical aspect of transition is disappointing, but it appeals to the lowest common denominator,it's what will command the highest ratings.

Overall,despite misgivings it's probably better that such shows are broadcast than not but I hope the focus broadens in future episodes.

Louisevb

I note the point about others being jealous, of some on the show but frankly on a personal level I would never be jealous of anyone let alone those who obviously are only part way through transition and have a lot to learn about how to live as women.. Actually the f2m in the show looked much more "normal" and relaxed..

I hate using the word "normal" but most of these people were far from "normal" They were portrayed as freaks and examined in the closest deal for gratification that appeals to the lowest level of the human condition.

This show does none of us any favours..please wake up and smell the coffee

SuziQ

I could only get to about 15m into this, watching on 4OD. It had its moments both good and bad but it was too triggery for me. Ill try again to finish it out. The bad for me was at times the the terminology used, the voiceover script and the music.
Suzi

I am attaching here the original of the TDDG by Gwen Smith and following that another version from Helen Boyd of MHB fame.

http://www.gwensmith.com/writing/transmissions116.html
Transmissions 116
The transgender documentary drinking game

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of attending the viewing party of a new transgender documentary, a viewing made all the more fun by the fact that a few of my friends — and yours truly — were part of the cast of this piece. Of course, if you would have blinked, you would have likely missed me.

As I watched this documentary, I noticed many of the same cliches and stereotypes that I’ve seen time and time again in transgender documentaries. I thought about who I could write to, and how I could address these issues.

Then I decided to go for a more novel approach, and turn it all into a drinking game.

For those three of you out there who have never heard of this type of drinking game, let me elaborate. The concept started in earnest during the 1970s, when someone noticed that the phrase, “Hi, Bob” was uttered several times in the average episode of The Bob Newhart Show. Hence, this particular drinking game requires everyone watching to take a drink when they hear any character say, “Hi, Bob.”

With the rise of the World Wide Web, it seems that every show has gained its own drinking game. Fans of I Love Lucy can imbibe when Lucy cries or when Ricky laughs, while viewers of American Idol may sip their beverage of choice every time a contestant sings a Whitney Houston song — you get the idea.

Even the Weather Channel has a drinking game, based on meteorological terms that might pop up on the screen. Indeed, it would seem that only one genre does not have such a pastime — but I intend to rectify this!

Before I lay out the various conditions, I want to make one thing clear. I’m not condoning the drinking of hard liquors, nor am I suggesting that one should drink to excess simply because I’ve set up some rules. Likewise, I am certainly not endorsing any underage drinking in any way. I simply am providing this in a lighthearted vein, and hope that you will take this in the way I’ve intended.

Hi, Bob!The set up is usual. A number of friends, a beverage of choice, and a transgender documentary. The last ingredient should not be that difficult to acquire, given that you can likely find one on the various Discovery channels every few days.

Take one drink if...

A transwoman is shown putting on makeup or fixing her hair, or if a transman is shown shaving or slicking back his hair. If they show two transfolks in one shot, take two drinks.

The narrator uses the words “unusual,” “shocking,” or “disturbing” to describe a transgender person and/or the process of transitioning from one gender to another.

“She” and “her” is used to describe a transman, or “he” and “him” is used to describe a transwoman.

The birth name of a transgender person is used to describe the person after ze begin transition or when ze is shown in a preferred gender. Take an extra drink if the narrator has already stressed that the person in question has changed hir name.

If anyone makes the assumption that genitals equal gender.

A transwoman is shown doing a stereo typically feminine action, like shopping in the mall, or a transman is shown doing something stereo typically masculine, such as playing a sport.

If a transman is shown putting on and/or straightening a tie.

If old photographs are used to try and show that a transperson used to visually fit into their birth gender.

If anyone uses the phrase “a man trapped in a woman’s body,” or vice versa.

If undergarments are shown. Make it two if they happen to be a gaff or a binder.

Take two drinks if...

No transmen are shown.

The transgender people presented are predominately Caucasian, and predominately middle or upper class.

An “expert” is brought on to talk about how “wrong” being transgender is. You may as well add a third if they happen to be using a religious argument against being transgender.

The family of a transgender person is shown, particularly if they are negative towards their loved one’s transgender status.

If anyone says “You will always be ____ to me, where the blank represents a transperson’s birth gender.”

Finish the bottle if...

You discover you accidentally put on Ed Wood’s Glen or Glenda, or if the only thing you can find on that has to do with being transgendered happens to be The Jerry Springer Show. Just don’t waste anything expensive in the process.

Now yes, I am being a bit flippant — even dismissive — of transgender documentaries. It isn’t that I feel they serve no purpose: I am sure than many have been educated thanks to the various transgender documentaries out there, and education is never a bad thing. That said, education can always be better.

As I said, much of what is shown are stereotypes and cliches, and frankly, it is time that these cliches become a part of history.

I would rather like to see a documentary where transgender people are not stereotypes, where people can see just how diverse we really are. I want to see that transgender people are not all Caucasian. I want to see transmen, I want to see gender queers, and I want to see others who are just living their lives without a concern for genitals.

I want to see transwomen and transmen defined by who they are, not by dated notions of gender. I want to see people called what they want to be called. In short, I want to see reality, not cliches.

I’ll drink to that.

---

Gwen Smith turned down the chance to appear on The Maury Povitch Show, which would drive her to drink. You can find her on the web at www.gwensmith.com.

Article originally published March 31st, 2005 in the Bay Area Reporter. Please contact Gwen at gwen@gwensmith.com before reprinting.


and from HB from MHB

http://www.myhusbandbetty.com/2009/07/20/trans-documentary-drinking-game/

So, the rules, such as they are, for watching a trans documentary:

1. Putting on makeup. Two drinks for reverse camera shot into mirror.
2. Doing anything better done in jeans and sneakers in heels and a skirt. Examples: cleaning the house, shoveling the sidewalk, yard work, walking the dog.
3. Before picture shown. Two drinks for picture in stereotypical male mode (sports team, facial hair, military, wedding tux)
4. Camera shot putting on or taking off a bra.
5. Photo of any wig, breast form, padding, etc.
6. Surprise disclosure, when a trans woman is introduced and then partway through the piece, her secret is revealed.
7. Camera focus on masculine body parts: hands, feet, Adam’s apple, height, etc.
8. Any reference to genital surgery that refers to “becoming a woman” or “finally a woman”
9. Minor chords played softly on a piano
10. talk show host saying “you go girl”
11. any discussion of plumbing or electricity
12. black and white childhood shots, MTF with cap gun and cowboy hat, FTM as ballerina.
13. Trans woman saying, “I am not a crossdresser. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
14. Trans woman clutching large teddy bear in hospital bed.
15. Birthday balloons after surgery.
16. Trans woman with new boyfriend (after shot of tearful ex-wife).
17. Trans woman sitting in chair in above-the-knee skirt, posed so you can see what great gams she has.
18. Patient wheeled off to surgery …
19. … lingering shot of the hospital bed with the teddy bear (or wife) left behind.
20. Shot of protaganist sitting at the computer keyboard, looking at a trans support website or surgeon’s website….
21. Any helping professional teaching deportment
22. Camera in the operating room – just drink the whole bottle
23. Any and all deployments of soft focus = 1 shot
24. Close up of dotted lines in magic marker on pale fleshy body parts = 1 shot
25. Earnest surgeon describes his motivation as “to help [girlname] become the woman she’s always really felt herself to be” = 3 shots
26. Before picture with extreme facial hair – 1 shot
27. Before picture in uniform – Military, Football, etc… – 2 shots
28. Video from hair removal session : Laser – 1 shot, electrolysis – 2 shots
29. Before picture – Last time she wore a dress (F2M) – 1 shots
30. Breast binding – 2 shots
31. Taking Hormones – Self-injecting -3 shots, orals – 1 shot
32. Did anyone mention an arduous and lonely childhood?
33. Meeting the school bully as “the new me” at the High School reunion?
34. Looking at the old picture of self and saying something to the effect of “he was a nice guy….” or “Ken was a lot of fun, but his time is over. It’s Ginger’s turn now!”
35. Trans woman claiming to have IS chromosomal pattern, an affinity for washing dishes, a sudden dislike of sports, etc.

Believe it or not, these are not the most snarky suggestions by some of our mHB board members. Also remember: there are quite a few people who hang out on our boards who have done this kind of media work, including me & Betty, of course, but also Jenny Boylan, amongst others. We need to laugh at ourselves as much as we laugh at the inanity of it all.

Twelve-Steppers should find their own version, of course. Maybe those ice cream poppers? But the point is to feel as physically ill by the end as the drinking crowd.

(Thanks and love to Gwen Smith who wrote her own version of this back in 2005 and to anyone else who has posted their version of this game.)

foggy_lad

WOW the foray into the local pub in the latest showing of this programme was so full of the usual stereotypical crap shown on the telly, "lets all have a tranny love in for the cameras". If I go to my local I dont announce my sexual preferences and if I was a transgendered person I would be dressed as a woman and not done up like a drag queen.

Also that poor girl that thinks she will get a job in a wedding boutique is surely deluded and should look for something in tesco's or a local shop first.

I thought this show might be more than the usual rubbish but the producers have a lot of work to do to dig it out of the hole it went into Tuesday night