TRANSGENERATION {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere of this documentary miniseries about the lives of four transgender college students.
Andrea Gabrielle “Gabbie” Gibson is a male-to-female transgender attending the University of Colorado at Boulder, currently a sophomore majoring in computer science. She was born “Andrew” on April 22nd, 1985. It is moving day as a new semester begins and she sets up her dorm room; she is to be a Residential Advisor in her dormitory area, Hallet Hall. The school did not want her to use the public restrooms on campus, as she is legally required to use the men’s bathroom. To circumvent this, the school gave her a triple-room with an individual bathroom all to herself. Gabbie’s interests include anime and Dance Dance Revolution. She has been living full-time as a woman starting her freshman year, and started taking female hormones six months ago; she is in the process of planning her gender reassignment surgery. Now that she is feeling more comfortable with her gender identity, Gabbie’s priorities include stepping out of her “loner” persona and making some new friends. She remarks that she is very open about her life and will answer virtually all questions asked of her. During one of her computer engineering classes her classmate Alex discovers that she is transgender and says he did not know about it, and is quite surprised by the news. He feels she does not conform to his perceived stereotypes of a transgender person and is now unsure of how to act around her. In an attempt to socialize, Gabbie joins the gay pride float in the homecoming parade. Her attempts to socialize prove to be somewhat awkward, although she does find several people who like her and get along with her. At the Queer Homecoming after-party, her new friends attempt to guide her about people’s personal space, noting that she is still learning how to “interact with people as a girl.” Gabbie notes her difficulty with intimacy, especially given that she has not yet had her operation and is still somewhat uncomfortable with her own body. Her parents have agreed to pay for her gender reassignment surgery, and she is happy that she has their emotional and financial support. She does research on the surgery and on the surgeon she has selected, who is also a male-to-female transgender. She eagerly awaits the day of her surgery, believing that after it is completed her “body will match [her] mind.”
Lucas Cheadle, a female-to-male transgender, attends university at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a women’s college, where he is a senior majoring in neuroscience. He was born “Leah” on November 3rd, 1982. He discusses how growing up he felt repressed due to being told that he was a certain gender when he actually felt otherwise. Despite identifying as a man, he chose to stay at Smith College since he felt that it would be beneficial to him academically. He has been researching hormone therapy in order to effect his transition to male; he notes that some can be quite hazardous and he wants to have as much information about it as he can before coming to a decision. He lives with Kasey, another female-to-male transgender and his best friend, who describes Lucas as a good “hang-out buddy.” They film themselves smoking marijuana for the documentary. They have both been campaigning for transgender rights on campus for several years, but have decided to withdraw from the activist community. They were formerly co-chairs of “Tangent,” a transgender activist group involved in educative seminars and workshops. The constant questions and requests for explanations from the community made Lucas feel as though others were “projecting an identity” onto him that was not his. Lucas comments that he no longer feels the need to explain his transgender identity to people, as simply going about his life in a normal fashion is useful for dispelling people’s notions about him. Kasey and Lucas announce their resignation at a Tangent meeting, noting that their reasons are “extremely personal and extremely emotional.” The other members of Tangent are visibly saddened by this news, and some feel as though there is something going on that they should be made aware of. Lucas wonders aloud if Tangent still has a viable purpose at the college. Kasey takes male hormones on a weekly basis and notes the physical changes he has experienced; Lucas still feels uncomfortable about the idea despite his willingness to go forward with it. He is quite conflicted emotionally about the subject and verbalizes some of his feelings. Lucas tells his friends and bandmates that he is starting on hormone therapy, and they are very happy for him. They discuss the sexual implications of the transition.
Raci Ignacio is a male-to-female transgender attending school at California State University in Los Angeles, a freshman majoring in English. She was born as “Roy” in the Philippines on February 5th, 1985. She remarks that the school is quite inclusive and open-minded, believing that her classmates are “mature” enough to accept her for who she is. She is deaf, and struggles to overcome the limitations imposed on her, combined with issues stemming from her gender identity and the fact that she comes from a poor family. She lives in a dorm-like housing complex in eastern Los Angeles, rooming with a number of other people including her aunt. Her mother decides to move to San Francisco, and Raci is uneasy about this, as it will be the first time in her life that she will be away from her mother for an extended period of time. They share an emotional farewell, and Raci officially begins her college life, hoping to be able to balance her studies and her social life properly. She is afraid that people may hedge her into stereotypes about transgender people. People notice that she is being filmed and ask about it; she says that the documentary is about young women in college, not mentioning its focus on transgender people. She is asked if she wants to join a sorority and seems interested in the idea, although she is afraid that they might make fun of her or haze her, although she is assured that this will not occur. Raci is the recipient of a scholarship that pays for her education, something she immensely appreciates. She must maintain a minimum of a 3.5 GPA in order to keep the scholarship, and the documentary follows her as she rushes to get to class in the morning, hampered by her misplacing her hearing aid. She decides to go without it, frustrated that she is late for class. Soon she becomes more aware of her surroundings and wishes that she was a girl so as to avoid the judgment of her fellow students. She is nervous about her first presentation in drama class, as the teacher attempts to forge a connection between her and her scene partner. She feels uncomfortable about this, especially since the partner does not know that she is transgender and she doesn’t want him to feel uncomfortable about it. She does not alert him to this fact, feeling that it is not yet time for her to talk about it. She also feels that people may be judging her based on wearing clothing that they perceive as being “too sexy.” She meets her friend Apple, another male-to-female transgender, and worries that being seen with her could also have a negative impact on the way people perceive her. Apple understands her thought process and sympathizes with her, trying to encourage her not to “hide” from her fellow students. She is particularly afraid of being seen by her scene partner, but Apple tries to convince her otherwise and gives her advice about how to present herself to others.
T.J. Jourian is a female-to-male transgender attending Michigan State University, where he is a graduate student involved in student affairs and majoring in administration. He was born “Tamar” on June 6th, 1981. T.J. is heavily involved with student activism on campus, championing causes such as opposition towards domestic violence, breast cancer awareness, and eating disorder awareness. His family is Armenian and he attended high school on the island of Cyprus before deciding to move to the United States to study via a scholarship. He recounts that he came out as transgender around the same time, straining the relationship between him and his mother. He decided to surround himself with an “extended family” in Michigan, including his now-best friend Jordan, another female-to-male transgender. T.J. involves himself heavily with the LGBT community on campus, as well as a bewildering array of other organizations. At one such meeting he plans to put on an anti-capitalist stage production with several other students. They rehearse the production, planning to have T.J. dress up as President Bush in order to make a point about corporations and their influence over the government. They put on the show at a campus performance space and their efforts are appreciated by those who attend it. He attends an anarchistic carnival held by his acquaintance Andy, another female-to-male transgender, noting the sometimes contentious nature between the two of them. T.J. views Andy’s radical viewpoints as being less mature than his more structured activism; Andy has had multiple encounters with police ending in arrest. He organizes a protest outside of an auction house taking bids on robes belonging to the KKK, although T.J. believes that Andy did not conduct proper research about the matter and that the nature of his protest is unclear. At the protest, Andy gets into a shouting match with several onlookers who yell anti-gay slurs at him.
Details
- NETWORK: Sundance Channel
- DATE: 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:55:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 116775
- GENRE: Public affairs/documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: LGBT Collection; Public affairs/documentaries
- SERIES RUN: Sundance Channel - TV miniseries, 2005
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Fenton Bailey … Executive Producer
- Randy Barbato … Executive Producer
- Lauren Lazin … Executive Producer
- Eileen Opatut … Executive Producer
- Adam Pincus … Executive Producer
- Laura Michalchyshyn … Executive Producer
- Jeremy Simmons … Supervising Producer, Director
- Ann Rose … Supervising Producer
- Thairin Smothers … Producer
- Ashley York … Segment Producer
- Joshua Lyon … Field Producer
- Julia Yezbick … Field Producer
- Mathilde Bittner … Writer
- David Benjamin Steinberg … Music by
- Andrea "Gabbie" Gibson … Interviewee
- Lucas Cheadle … Interviewee
- Raci Ignacio … Interviewee
- T.J. Jourian … Interviewee
- Gilda Ignacio
- Tanya Kane-Perry