Thairin Smothers Movies

Chastity Bono grew up in the public eye as the daughter of pop stars Sonny & Cher, making occasional appearances on their popular television show in the 1970s. But Chastity was not the person the public imagined she was; Bono struggled with gender and sexual identity issues for years before coming out as a transsexual, a man living in the body of a woman. Adopting the name Chaz Bono, the former Chastity set out on the long road to physically transform his body into that of a man. Filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato were given near total access to Bono as he deals with the physical and emotional challenges of reshaping his body into that of a male (as well as the complex legal ramifications) in the documentary Becoming Chaz. The film also includes interviews with Chaz's mother Cher, his longtime girlfriend Jennifer Elia, and his stepmother Mary Bono Mack, all of whom have their own ways of dealing with profound changes in someone they love. Becoming Chaz received its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Four transgendered people navigate the university experience in this six-part documentary series. Raci, a hearing-impaired Filipino undergraduate at California State University, Los Angeles, juggles her academic aspirations with her desire to pass for a biological female and her need to buy cut-rate hormones from street dealers. T.J., a grad student at Michigan State University, struggles to reconcile his political activism and his achievements as a Fullbright scholar with the demands of his unaccepting family back in Cyprus. Gabbie, a male-to-female University of Colorado sophomore, tries to overcome her awkward social skills and prepare for gender reassignment surgery. And Lucas, who attends Smith College in Massachusetts, studies neuroscience and bonds with Kasey, a fellow female-to-male trans student. As all four protagonists negotiate their relationships with parents, romantic interests, professors, and college staff, they reach a wide range of milestones in their quest for peace with their gender identity. TransGeneration originally ran on the Sundance cable network in September and October 2005 before being rebroadcast on the gay-themed Logo network. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi