TQS StaffFollowing the lives of seven people undertaking gender affirmation procedures, My Transexual Summer was one of the most heart warming, thought provoking and witty documentaries of 2011.
I was glued to the television every Tuesday evening and felt that Transsexual Summer, through these seven peoples openness, strength of character and charm went a long way to reducing prejudice towards transgender men and women in the UK.
Anyway! How excited was I when the programme’s Max Zachs let me ask him a few questions on life post the show.
What did you learn from taking part in the show?
The show aired pretty recently so its hard to say all the ways in which it has changed my life and all the things I’ve learnt. Definitely I’ve learnt that all opportunities are good ones if you stay honest and true to what you believe in.
How has public reception been towards you since taking part in the show?
I had no clue how big the show would be or how overwhelming the public response would be, during the screening of the episodes my phone would be vibrating constantly with all the friend requests and tweets and emails etc… To be honest its still going! Thankfully I haven’t had one person say something rude to me on the street or in the supermarket so my faith in the public has increased tenfold.
What do you think is the biggest problem that still faces the trans community?
There are many many issues facing trans people I couldn’t possibly pick one! I would definitely highlight the extreme violence perpetrated against trans people overseas and how difficult it is to have a successful asylum claim based on gender or sexuality. There are also things that the law in the UK doesn’t protect us from. As a professional its very hard to quantify the ways in which people’s unspoken prejudices make it almost impossible to find and keep work- if someone doesn’t hire you- how are you supposed to prove it was because you’re trans? That’s partly why I did the show- that stuff will only change when we change people’s hearts.
You can follow Max on Twitter here and read his blog here.
Words by Kirsty Hulse
