TRANSGENERATION {EPISODE 3} (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary miniseries about the lives of four transgender college students.
Gabbie becomes increasingly fixated on her upcoming surgery, and she feels that it is beginning to have a negative impact on her schoolwork, particularly in her engineering and computer science classes. She visits Cate, her new transgender friend, at her house in Boulder. Gabbie is excited to meet her, since she is the only other transgender woman she has met on campus. Cate graduated the previous year and is looking for work as a circus juggler and acrobat. Gabbie feels very comfortable with Cate, and Cate feels that she knows what Gabbie is going through, although she feels that Gabbie “plunged into” her gender reassignment whereas she was more slow and cautious about it. Cate also wants gender reassignment surgery, but is concerned about her financial situation and feels as though the price of the surgery would set stymie her burgeoning career. Cate frequently comes to visit Gabbie on campus and Gabbie appreciates her support and their shared experiences; Cate worries that Gabbie may “over-invest” in the surgery as a means to attain happiness and become depressed when it does not have the psychological effects that she hopes it will have.
T.J. starts a transgender fraternity called “Phi Tau Mu.” The organization is small so far, but T.J. hopes that it will grow over time, and he views the other members as his “brothers.” T.J. has taken to wearing a dildo within his pants to simulate the appearance of a penis. He flips through old photos of himself, including baby pictures and photographs from high school. Viewing these photographs makes him highly emotional, especially when he recalls his parents warning him not to “turn gay” just before he left for college. He discusses the societal origins of his parents’ feelings about him, noting that the “shame” he would bring upon the family by being something outside of societal norms is a deep concern. After reaching out to his family, T.J. plans to return home to Cyprus at the end of the school year. He hopes that he can allay his mother’s concerns to an extent. He pens a handwritten letter to his mother explaining in detail his realization of his male identity and that he will wait to undergo any physical changes until after his return home. He hopes that she will be able to overcome the emotional challenges of this time and eventually learn to accept him for who he is.
Raci becomes increasingly desperate to secure hormones, having missed her last four injections; she fears that without them she will revert to masculinity. She demonstrates how she used to alter her dress in middle school so as to appear feminine. She prepares to go out for the night and talks to her mother on the phone, who would prefer that she stay in because she has class the next day. She goes out with Apple to a club in West Hollywood frequented by trans individuals. Raci enjoys going out on the dance floor, although Apple is concerned that she may be getting too “wild.” A man on the dance floor with her comes on to her and gropes her, causing her to flee. On another occasion, Edna drives Raci to visit her mother in San Francisco. On the drive over there Raci thinks out loud about working as a topless dancer, although Edna vehemently opposes this notion. She has a reunion with her mother Gilda, who is working in San Francisco as a dental hygienist. Gilda is concerned about Raci going out at night and partying, and laments that she cannot be in Los Angeles with her to help her. She and her sisters try to advise Raci to dress in less revealing clothing, and they say she often looks “cheap.” Raci is upset that her family does not seem to acknowledge her considerable academic accomplishments. Gilda privately worries that someone may try to take advantage of or even kill Raci if they take some sort of offense to her appearance.
Lucas goes to vote in the 2004 presidential election; it is the first time that he is old enough to do so. He notes that his identification still lists him as female, and explains that he wants to let his entire family know about his transition before he has it changed. He is afraid of “losing” his family; he believes his mother is handling the situation relatively well but is afraid of what his father’s reaction will be when he tells him. At his apartment, Lucas realizes that he completely forgot about his father’s birthday and receives a “really depressing” email from him. Lucas feels guilty about it and feels as though he needs to tell his father about his upcoming gender transition, although he elects to give it some time so that his father is not still upset about his birthday being missed. He tries to figure out an appropriate present to get for him, and enlists Kasey’s help to shop for something good. Lucas notes that his relationship with his father is “complicated,” but that he wants him to respect and acknowledge him. He finally works up the courage to tell his father about his gender reassignment in a letter. He is hoping that this will serve as a wake-up-call to his father and get him to stop ignoring Lucas’s true identity.
(This program contains audiovisual errors. There is a black screen from 0:11:23 to 0:12:52. It represents the best quality available at this time.)
Details
- NETWORK: Sundance Channel
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:29:05
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 116778
- 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
- Mark Schulz … Music by
- Andrea "Gabbie" Gibson … Interviewee
- Lucas Cheadle … Interviewee
- Raci Ignacio … Interviewee
- T.J. Jourian … Interviewee
- Gilda Ignacio … Interviewee
- Cate Flaherty … Interviewee
- Edna Kalalang