Transitioning Teens is more than just a documentary. It's personal.
In the 43-minute programme, author and presenter Charlie Craggs speaks to trans teenagers struggling to access gender-affirming treatment through the UK's National Health Service. There is a waiting time for a first appointment at the gender identity clinic. According to the websites of the seven adult gender identity clinics in England, waiting times for an initial appointment can range from 41 to 62 months. Patients in Scotland were waiting up to 38 months for their first appointment, according to National Services Scotland.
puberty blockers, the process of attempting to gain access to life-saving healthcare, as well as the weaponisation of 'detransitioners', are topics that are frequently misrepresented in the media.
Jess, a 19-year-old who has been waiting 24 months for a first appointment, decided to buy unregulated hormones on the black market. When she was first referred, it was one year, now it is a three-year waiting list. If I can't transition, I'd rather just disappear off the Earth.
Hearing the stories of young trans people who feel abandoned by the healthcare system and left to fend for themselves was upsetting to Craggs. She tells me that after meeting these people, she would have to go outside and cry because she wouldn't want to make them feel bad.
I remember how hard it was, I've been there.
I think it's heartbreaking because it's my story and I'm a trans person. She says she remembers how hard it was. I didn't want to be here. I was suicidal at the start of my transition because of the years and years and years-long waiting list.
The author of the book To My Trans Sisters waited two and a half years for her first appointment. When I asked how she felt about seeing young trans peoplefending for themselves out of sheer desperation, she told me that the word "concern doesn't even cover it."
The documentary was made to shine a light on the reality of the situation for trans teens, a reality that is far from the transphobic media coverage that dominates many media outlets in the UK. A lot of the mainstream media makes out that these young people go to the GP on the Monday after having a thought, and then by the Friday they've had surgery and are on hormones.
She told me that her goal was to shine a light on what it's actually like for trans teens, how their lived experiences differ from media reporting on the topic, and the distress these teenagers feel. They're buying hormones online because they're expected to do other things. Do you mean to sit on their butt for five years?
If young trans people in the UK are able to access healthcare, they will be able to stop the irreversible physical changes that puberty brings about. I went to my GP when I was 20, but these people in the documentary are still in their later stages of puberty, so they can still stop changes if they don't.
In the documentary, you can see a hair transplant. She's had two procedures before, the first of which was a lowering. She spent tens of thousands of dollars on her hair alone, changing the effects of puberty before she transitioned. She says that because of her puberty, she's always going to get clocked when she goes outside for her voice. She explains that people stare at her, laugh at her, and make comments, and that has happened to her many times. She says that if you can get on hormones in the late teens or mid teens, you can stop that happening in trans women. Craggs has trans friends who are the same age as her, who started hormone treatment at a younger age, and who are now not trans. Whether or not a trans person is perceived as trans by other people comes with its own problems, and can feed into the transphobic idea that trans people are deceptive or misleading.
"So I think that's where the desperation comes from when we're talking about teenagers, it's because it's like a time bomb really," says Craggs.
Because the documentary is broadcast by the BBC, Craggs was required to remain impartial during the filming. The topics and cases that Craggs didn't want to talk about were included. The level of impartiality in this topic has recently been criticized by the public.
"I met a person who has always been used as a stick to beat trans people," says Craggs. It's an issue that's used as a reason not to support young people in their transition, it's basically the argument that a trans person might change their mind. This is an argument that is based on queerphobia, according to Craggs. The biggest thing that Craggs took away from the documentary was meeting the young girl who transitioned. She says that she was so scared of what they were going to say that she was shaking on the way to meet them. Craggs was worried that she would have a fight on her hands and that she would have to defend her community. She was surprised that they both agreed that transphobia is a significant reason for people detransitioning.
Watching this documentary as a trans ally is a heartrending experience which underscores the need for better healthcare for trans people in the UK. I felt that the people who would benefit the most from watching this programme are those who might have been misled by the press coverage of trans people. The documentary could be a lesson in compassion for people who don't know about the realities of life for young trans people.
"If you take emotion and compassion out of it, you'll just watch it and think 'do you know what, this is wrong,'" says Craggs. If you don't know a trans person, you can watch this and see what's wrong, this is not right, and it should not be happening in the UK in 2021.
Transitioning Teens is on the iPlayer.
If you want to get help in the UK, you can text Shout at 85258 or call the emergency number. The Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or Childline on 1111.
If you are in the U.S., you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline or text the Crisis Text Line. There is a further list of international resources here.
