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My Transgender Journey

Irish Lives: My Transgender Journey tells the story of three people, as they search for a sense of their own identity, strive for acceptance and continue to battle against their own government to be recognised in their true gender.  Ireland is currently the only EU member state that does not provide a mechanism for the legal recognition of transgender persons.

In the documentary Sam, Louise and Kay give an up-close and personal account of their transgender journeys and what it is like to live in a country that does not fully accept them.

Representations Matter

TENI today strongly welcomed this documentary.

“Positive visibility is incredibly important,” said TENI Chief Executive Broden Giambrone. “Recent representations of trans characters, such as the depiction of Nuala on RTE’s The Centre, have been dehumanising, insensitive, and transphobic. This documentary is a positive representation of the lives of  trans people in Ireland, and representations matter.”

Research shows that trans people have some of the highest rates of attempted suicide in this country with 30% having tried to take their own life at least once. In the same survey, 40% of participants reported that media representation of trans people negatively affected their emotional wellbeing or mental health.

In this context positive visibility of trans people and of trans lives is extremely important.

Featured in the documentary are UCD student Sam, who made the transition from female to male with the full support of his family but he still has further barriers to cross; Louise also shares her story as the first transgender worker in Ireland to successfully use the Employment Equality Act in a case of discrimination on the grounds of gender; and Kay gives an open and honest account of her pending surgery, as well as her struggle to change her name and gender on her American passport.

The documentary airs next Wednesday 16th April at 9pm on TV3. The promo for the documentary can be seen here.

Photo : Sam from TV3′s Irish Lives: My Transgender Journey

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