Transvisions

What does it mean to be transgender? This is a question I encounter a lot as chair of a transgender charity. Society is changing and people are not only hearing an increasing amount about transgender people, they're also beginning to suspect that the popular narratives of the past may be wrong. In that context, it's natural to be curious, but difficult to know how to find out more without the risk of being horribly impolite. This award-winning short film sets out to challenge popular myths head-on and lets a small group of Edinburgh trans people tell their own stories.

These people are very far from the glamorous and bizarre images of transness that still haunt the popular imagination. There are none of the stock television devices well known in community drinking games - the padding of underwear, the visits to doctors, the careful application of lipstick in front of a mirror. Instead we have an elderly trans man talking fondly about his memories of working as a sailor, two middle-aged ladies looking at art in an Edinburgh café, a younger man contributing via voiceover, his discomfort with showing his face itself revealing. He doesn't want to be silent because he doesn't want people like him to become invisible, he doesn't feel his background is something he should have to be ashamed of, yet all the participants live with constant wariness about the possible reactions of people who find out. By talking about fractured relationships, broken families and bullying that makes one woman dread leaving her house, the film, without ever addressing it directly, blows the idea that this is a lifestyle choice clean out of the water.

Although it offers intriguing insights for newcomers, the everything-you-always-wanted-to-know format used here inevitably means that those already familiar with the subject may feel it's stating the obvious. In places the music is heavy-handed and overplays scenes that would have been more effective without it. What is unusual, though, is its overall upbeat tone. There's no tragic affliction narrative here. Yes, these people face social difficulties, but their immense happiness about their bodies and identities as they are today is heartwarming. It's rare to see any film with such such a positive message about personal identity and expression, and it makes this film not only educational but a joy to watch.