A few years ago, MTV had a Tru Life special titled “I’m changing my sex.” In this episode, there were two people featured. Elle, who was 24 at the time of filming, was born with male genitalia. Elle lived as heterosexual man most of her life, but always wanted to be woman. She was very unhappy with her life, and became very depressed and even attempted suicide. Once she had been living as a female for many years, she finally felt comfortable enough to make a permanent change. Elle decided to undergo a complete gender transformation, and had sexual reassignment surgery. After the surgery, she was much happier with herself and more comfortable with herself.
The second person featured was Ted, who was 22 and living as a man. Ted was born Ashley, a biological female. He considers himself Female to Male Transgender. Because he is biologically female, Ted has large breasts and wants surgery to reconstruct his chest to make himself appear more masculine. He has opted out of having full reassignment surgery. The only thing stopping him from changing his appearance is the fact that he does not have enough money to pay for the surgery. Growing up felt like a boy, but his family raised him as a girl. Because Ted’s appearance was that of a female, he decided to tell people he was a lesbian, since he thought it was easier to explain to people than being transgender. After going to college, Ted met and joined a trans group in which he finally felt comfortable being who he was. He currently has a wife, who says she didn’t care that Ted was trans, and she loved him for who he was even after finding out. Ted had his surgery and is fully recovered living life happily with his wife.
Both of these individuals they showed were great examples for educating those who really don’t know much about what it means to be transgender/transsexuals. Both Elle and Ted are success stories, and there are many others that are not so lucky. Many trans individuals cannot afford to have the expensive surgeries required for changing their sex, and many other complications that prevent them from the transition. Although this is the case, I believe it was very brave of Ted and Elle for volunteering themselves to be shown on public television and not worrying about how people would react to it. I first saw this episode a few years ago, but it was the first time I had seen a show dealing with both the positives and negatives of being transgender and all of the struggles that come along with the surgeries. Because MTV is such a popular station and is well respected, this episode opened many doors for education and awareness of transgender in society.
The second person featured was Ted, who was 22 and living as a man. Ted was born Ashley, a biological female. He considers himself Female to Male Transgender. Because he is biologically female, Ted has large breasts and wants surgery to reconstruct his chest to make himself appear more masculine. He has opted out of having full reassignment surgery. The only thing stopping him from changing his appearance is the fact that he does not have enough money to pay for the surgery. Growing up felt like a boy, but his family raised him as a girl. Because Ted’s appearance was that of a female, he decided to tell people he was a lesbian, since he thought it was easier to explain to people than being transgender. After going to college, Ted met and joined a trans group in which he finally felt comfortable being who he was. He currently has a wife, who says she didn’t care that Ted was trans, and she loved him for who he was even after finding out. Ted had his surgery and is fully recovered living life happily with his wife.
Both of these individuals they showed were great examples for educating those who really don’t know much about what it means to be transgender/transsexuals. Both Elle and Ted are success stories, and there are many others that are not so lucky. Many trans individuals cannot afford to have the expensive surgeries required for changing their sex, and many other complications that prevent them from the transition. Although this is the case, I believe it was very brave of Ted and Elle for volunteering themselves to be shown on public television and not worrying about how people would react to it. I first saw this episode a few years ago, but it was the first time I had seen a show dealing with both the positives and negatives of being transgender and all of the struggles that come along with the surgeries. Because MTV is such a popular station and is well respected, this episode opened many doors for education and awareness of transgender in society.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/true-life-im-changing-my-sex/1631489/playlist.jhtml
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