View source for TransGeneration

{{Short description|American documentary-style reality television series}}
{{good article}}
{{Use American English |date=February 2017}}
{{Use mdy dates |date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox television
| image              = TransGeneration logo (DVD version).png
| image_size         =
| image_alt          = The TransGeneration logo uses a varsity-letter font. The word "Trans" appears in large green block letters with a white outline, and "Generation" is in white beneath. The letters appear on a plain purple field.
| genre              = [[Docusoap]]<ref name="Sepinwall">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/original-programming-helps-forge-identity-1117936345/ |title=Original programming helps forge identity |last=Sepinwall |first=Alan |date=January 18, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref>
| writer             = Mathilde Bittner
| director           = Jeremy Simmons
| creative_director  = 
| starring           = {{unbulleted list|Andrea Gabrielle Gibson|Lucas Cheadle|Raci Ignacio|Trent Jackson Jourian}}
| composer           = David Benjamin Steinberg<ref name="Koehler">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/awards/transgeneration-1200524198/ |title=Review: ''TransGeneration'' |last=Koehler |first=Robert |date=July 27, 2005 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref><ref name="Steinberg">{{cite web |url=http://www.davidbsteinberg.com/transgeneration/ |title=Music for TV and Film: ''TransGeneration'', Sundance Channel |last=Steinberg |first=David |website=davidbsteinberg.com |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref>
| country            = United States
| language           = English
| num_seasons        = 1
| num_episodes       = 8
| list_episodes      = <!-- name of list of episodes article goes here -->
| executive_producer = '''World of Wonder'''
{{unbulleted list|Fenton Bailey|Randy Barbato}}
'''Sundance Channel'''
{{unbulleted list|Laura Michalchyshyn|Adam Pincus}}
'''Logo TV'''
{{unbulleted list|Lauren Lazin|Eileen Opatut}}
| producer           = '''World of Wonder'''
{{Plainlist|
* Thairin Smothers
}}
| cinematography     = Goro Toshima<ref name="Koehler" />
| editor             = Aleshka Ferrero<ref name="Koehler" />
| camera             = [[Single-camera setup|Single-camera]]
| runtime            = 55 minutes {{small|(ep. 1)}}<br />28 minutes {{small|(eps. 2–7)}}<br />60 minutes {{small|(ep. 8)}}
| company            = [[World of Wonder (production company)|World of Wonder]]
| budget             = 
| network            = [[SundanceTV|Sundance Channel]]
| first_aired        = {{Start date|2005|09|20}}
| last_aired         = {{End date|2005|11|08}} 
}}

'''''TransGeneration''''' is an American [[Docusoap|documentary-style reality television]] series that affords a view into the lives of four [[transgender]] college students during the 2004–2005 [[academic year]].<ref name="Krinsky">{{cite web |url=http://www.documentary.org/magazine/gender-studies-doc-series-premieres-sundance-channel |title=Gender Studies: Doc Series Premieres on Sundance Channel |last=Krinsky |first=Tamara |website=Documentary.org |date=April 15, 2012 |publisher=[[International Documentary Association]] |access-date=2017-02-20}}</ref> Two of the students are [[trans women]], and two are [[trans men]].<ref name="Harmanci">{{cite web |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/They-didn-t-wait-until-middle-age-to-question-2569038.php |title=They didn't wait until middle age to question their birth sex. They are the 'Transgeneration.' |last=Harmanci |first=Reyhan |date=September 15, 2005 |website=[[SFGate]] |access-date=2017-02-20}}</ref> Each of them attends a different school in the United States, and they are each at a different stage of their [[degree program]]s. The filmmakers document events in the students' academic careers, their social and family lives, and their [[Transitioning (transgender)|transitions]].

''TransGeneration'' was commissioned by the [[SundanceTV|Sundance Channel]], and produced by [[World of Wonder (production company)|World of Wonder]]. Sundance commissioned the series as part of a concerted effort to vary their programming and revise their image. The inspiration for the show was an article in ''[[The New York Times]]'' about transgender students at US colleges.

A feature-length preview of the series premiered at the [[Frameline Film Festival]] in June 2005, and was screened at numerous other venues before the television debut. The complete, eight-episode series aired on the Sundance Channel from September to November 2005, and on [[Logo TV]] from January to February 2006. In Italy it aired on [[Sky Cinema Cult|Cult]],<ref name="Cult">{{cite web |url=http://www.cult-tv.it/FOCUS/?id=165 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031080533/http://www.cult-tv.it/FOCUS/?id=165 |archive-date=October 31, 2006 |title=''TransGeneration'' |website=[[Sky Cinema Cult|Cult]] |access-date=2017-02-20}}</ref> a satellite television channel. It was released on DVD in the US in March 2006, and on [[Google Video]] and [[iTunes]] a few months later. That year, ''TransGeneration'' won the [[GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary]], and was a nominee for the [[IDA Documentary Award]] in the [[Miniseries#Limited series|Limited Series]] category.<ref name="Van Atta">{{cite web |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/entertainment-news/2006/04/11/theron-transgeneration-honored-la-glaad-awards |title=Theron, ''TransGeneration'' honored at L.A. GLAAD Awards |date=April 11, 2006 |website=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]] |access-date=June 21, 2021}}</ref><ref name="McNary">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/doc-org-lock-noms-1117952540/ |title=Doc org lock noms |last=McNary |first=Dave |date=October 24, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> The response to the show from critics and other viewers ranged from exuberant to dismissive. In addition, some viewers believed the show had distinct educational value, while others felt that the chosen narratives oversimplified the subject.

A year after taping the series, World of Wonder produced a half-hour reunion show, ''TransGeneration Reunion''.<ref name="Reunion">{{cite web |url=http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/transgeneration-reunion/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130412030814/http://www.sundancechannel.com/films/transgeneration-reunion/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-12 |title=''TransGeneration Reunion'' |author=<!-- no byline --> |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2013-03-24 }}</ref> Among World of Wonder's later transgender programs are ''[[Sex Change Hospital]]'' (2007), ''[[Transamerican Love Story]]'' (2008), and ''Becoming Chaz'' (2011).<ref name="GLAAD">{{cite web |url=http://www.glaad.org/blog/update-female-or-she-male-sketch-and-rupauls-drag-race |title=Update on 'Female or She-male' sketch and ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' |date=April 14, 2014 |website=GLAAD.org |publisher=[[GLAAD]] |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref>

==Overview==
''TransGeneration'' introduces viewers to four transgender college students—two trans women and two trans men—who are each studying at a different college in the United States during the 2004–2005 academic year. The series begins in the autumn of 2004, and concludes with an epilogue in the summer of 2005. Each episode revisits the students at an eventful time in their lives, and concentrates on life events that pertain directly to transgender experience.

The youngest of the four is Raci, a first-year student at a [[state university]] near the [[West Coast of the United States]]. Gabbie is a second-year student at a [[public university]] in the US's [[Interior West]]. Lucas is in his final year of [[undergraduate]] study at a [[Women's colleges in the United States|women's college]] in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeastern US]]. The eldest of the four, T.J., is a [[graduate student]] in the first year of a [[master's degree]] program at a state university in the [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern US]].

===The students===
[[File:Transgenerationpromophoto.jpg |thumb|alt= |The cast of ''TransGeneration'' with the filmmakers<br />{{small|Back (L–R): Jeremy Simmons (director), Thairin Smothers (producer), Gabbie Gibson<br />Front (L–R): T.J. Jourian, Lucas Cheadle, Raci Ignacio}}]]

;Raci "Raycee" Ignacio
:Raci was born on February 5, 1985, in the [[Philippines]]. She attends [[California State University, Los Angeles]] on a merit-based scholarship, and must maintain a [[GPA]] of at least 3.5. She moved to the United States at the age of 15, and she is now beginning her university studies in history with a [[pre-law]] option.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://worldofwonder.net:80/archives/2005/Sep/20/raci_ignacio.wow |title=Raci Ignacio |date=September 20, 2005 |last=Ignacio |first=Raci |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081003041204/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2005/Sep/20/raci_ignacio.wow |archive-date=October 3, 2008 |access-date=2017-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Raci is on [[Feminizing hormone therapy|hormone replacement therapy]] (HRT). She wants to be seen as normal girl, and is reluctant to reveal that she is a [[trans woman]]. She is also poor and hearing-impaired;<ref name="Siegel">{{cite book |last=Siegel |first=Lee |authorlink=Lee Siegel (cultural critic) |title=Not Remotely Controlled: Notes on Television |chapter=''TransGeneration'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lzzcOTEb6gkC&pg=PA199 |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |location=New York |year=2007 |page=199 |isbn=978-0-465-07810-3 |oclc=836465527 |access-date=2017-03-28}}</ref>{{rp|201}} she speaks [[English as a second language]], and she is living away from her mother for the first time.<ref name="bios" /> Raci and her aunt rent a small room in [[Eastside Los Angeles]].<ref name="bios" />
;Andrea Gabrielle "Gabbie" Gibson
:19-year-old Gabbie was born on April 22, 1985, in [[Redlands, California]]. She is a [[sophomore]] at the [[University of Colorado at Boulder]], where she [[Major (academic)|majors]] in computer science. She started HRT in February 2004, and since then has lived full-time as a woman.<ref name="bios">{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/productions/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |author=<!-- no byline --> |website=The WOW Report |date=September 20, 2005 |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref> She is a [[resident assistant]] in a [[dormitory]]. Because of their community restroom policy, the university assigned Gabbie a private room with attached bath. She has become active in LGBT student activities, and anticipates her upcoming [[genital reassignment surgery]]. Gabbie is candid with others about being trans, but she wants to be understood as a person with more to her identity than her gender.<ref name="bios" />
;Lucas Cheadle
:Lucas was born on November 3, 1982, in [[Oklahoma]]. He attends [[Smith College]], a private, women-only college in Massachusetts. Lucas is a [[neuroscience]] major in his senior year; he has fought for transgender rights for his entire college career. He has not yet started [[Masculinizing hormone therapy|hormone replacement therapy]], and is cautious about it.<ref name="bios" /><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Hensley |first=Anna Lynn |year=2009 |title=Speaking from the Borderlands of Gender: Making Trans Identities Socially Legible |type=M.A. |chapter=Troubling Medically-Derived Notions of Trans Identity § 'Realness' and Identity |publisher=[[Miami University]] |chapter-url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=miami1249404139&disposition=inline |chapter-format=PDF |pages=1–3 |access-date=2017-07-07 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Lucas' parents are divorced; his mother and brother know that he is trans, but his father does not. Lucas plays guitar in a punk band, and lives in an apartment with his friend Kasey, a [[trans man]] who has been on HRT for eight months.
;Trent Jackson "T.J." Jourian
:T.J. was born on June 6, 1981, in [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]]. He is of [[Armenians|Armenian]] descent; he grew up in [[Cyprus]], and came to the US for the first time in 1999.<ref name="Jourian">{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/trannytrent/bio.htm |title=Short Bio |website=Official Website of Trent Jackson Jourian |last=Jourian |first=Trent Jackson |date=2008-06-29 |access-date=2013-12-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080629020022/http://www.geocities.com/trannytrent/bio.htm |archive-date=2008-06-29}}</ref><ref name="Mother Jones" /> He is a [[Fulbright Scholarship|Fulbright Scholar]] pursuing a master's degree in student affairs administration at [[Michigan State University]].<ref name="Jourian" /> Outgoing and involved, T.J. is active in several student organizations pertaining to performance art, gender, and [[social change]].<ref name="bios" /> He lives with other students in a [[housing cooperative]]. His mother lives in a close-knit Armenian community in Cyprus, where the news would surely travel if T.J. transitions. Because his mother opposes his transition, and because he must return to Cyprus for two years due to a [[travel visa]] requirement, he has not yet started HRT.
{{Clear}}

==Episodes==
{{Episode table |background= |overall= |title= |aux1= |aux1T= Running time |airdate= |airdateT= Original Air Date (Sundance) |altdate= |altdateT= Airdate (Logo TV) |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=1
| Title = Episode 1
| Aux1 = 55 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-1 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 1 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131307/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-1 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|09|20}}
| AltDate = January 9, 2006
| ShortSummary = Gabbie likes [[anime]] and video games. With her new energy and confidence, she wants to make friends and find someone. Her parents agree to pay for her [[Sex reassignment surgery (male-to-female)|sex reassignment surgery]] (SRS).

After more than three years leading a transgender awareness and activist group on campus, Lucas feels overwhelmed and resigns. He decides its time to start taking testosterone, and his bandmate Zach reassures him.

Without her scholarship, Raci cannot afford to attend university. To keep it, she must maintain excellent grades despite hearing impairment, a difficult living arrangement, and very little money. She often feels self-conscious in public; even more so when she's with trans friends.

T.J. organizes a political stage production, which is well-received. He participates in several [[student affairs]] groups. He is upset when another activist, Andy, stages protests that T.J. feels are unproductive and poorly conceived.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=2
| Title = Episode 2
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-2 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 2 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131302/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-2 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|09|27}}
| AltDate = January 16, 2006<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/transgeneration/series.jhtml |title=''TransGeneration'': Episode 2 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2006 |website=LogoOnline.com |publisher=Viacom |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060111115245/http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/transgeneration/series.jhtml |archive-date=2006-01-11 |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref>
| ShortSummary = Lucas visits his mother and brother in Oklahoma. After three years, his mother is still processing the change. Since T.J.'s student visa prevents him from taking testosterone yet, he expresses himself artistically by performing in a [[drag king]] troupe. Gabbie volunteers to work at the university's GLBT center. Since Raci can't afford a prescription for female hormones, she buys them on the street—except her sources have vanished.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=3
| Title = Episode 3
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-3 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 3 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131254/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-3 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|10|04}}
| AltDate = January 23, 2006
| ShortSummary = Gabbie thinks obsessively about her surgery; she has a new friend, Cate, who started HRT at about the same time as her. Lucas researches the effects of testosterone therapy, and T.J. co-founds a support group<ref name="Jourian" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://msu.edu/~phitaumu/about.html |title=About Phi Tau Mu |author=<!-- no byline --> |website=MSU.edu |publisher=Michigan State University |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> for [[trans men]]. Lucas writes a difficult letter to his father, and T.J. to his mother, each reaffirming their transgender identities. With her mother away, Raci goes clubbing at night; when Raci visits her mother in San Francisco, she gets an earful of criticism.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=4
| Title = Episode 4
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-4 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 4 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131247/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-4 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|10|11}}
| AltDate = January 30, 2006
| ShortSummary = Gabbie flies home to visit her grandparents, and they attend a [[Presbyterian]] [[church service]]. T.J.'s mother's refusal to accept and support him takes a toll on him. Raci attends her wealthy cousin's birthday party, and envies her. Lucas gets his first testosterone shot, and his friends give him a "T" party.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=5
| Title = Episode 5
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-5 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 5 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131258/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-5 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|10|18}}
| AltDate = February 6, 2006
| ShortSummary = Gabbie goes to an LGBTQ party, and later to a seminar on [[Sex reassignment surgery (male-to-female)|SRS for trans women]]. T.J. spends time with his girlfriend, Staci. Lucas confronts the dean about Smith's decision to restrict filming. Raci withdraws her campus housing application for fear of [[transphobic]] students; meanwhile, she is missing a lot of classes.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=6
| Title = Episode 6
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-6 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 6 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131314/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-6 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|10|25}}
| AltDate = February 13, 2006
| ShortSummary = Lucas' friend Kasey gets [[male chest reconstruction]] surgery. Raci comes out at an LGBT student meeting. T.J. meets his girlfriend's parents. Gabbie's friend Cate has an [[orchiectomy]], but Gabbie decides not to accompany her to the hospital.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=7
| Title = Episode 7
| Aux1 = 28 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-7 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 7 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131323/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-7 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|11|01}}
| AltDate = February 20, 2006
| ShortSummary = Raci gets help from the [[Los Angeles LGBT Center]], and goes on a bike outing with other transgender people. Kasey has been helping Lucas track his progress on testosterone; after three months of hormones, Lucas' family sees him for the first time post-HRT. T.J. prepares to visit his mother in Cyprus, which means leaving Staci behind. Gabbie's family gives her a dinner party the day before she goes to [[Trinidad, Colorado]] for sex reassignment surgery.
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber=8
| Title = Episode 8
| Aux1 = 60 minutes<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-8 |title=''TransGeneration'' – Episode 8 |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131319/http://www.sundance.tv/films/transgeneration-episode-8 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref>
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2005|11|08}}
| AltDate = February 27, 2006
| ShortSummary = The academic year draws to a close. Lucas graduates and parts ways with his roommates. His family visits for his graduation ceremony, and his father begins to accept that he has a son. Gabbie undergoes [[Sex reassignment surgery (male-to-female)|SRS]], celebrates her birthday with her family, and moves out of her dormitory. Raci concludes her studies for the academic year, and goes to a free clinic for hormones and test results. Her friend Apple has graduated, and they both march in the [[Los Angeles Pride]] parade. T.J. returns to [[Nicosia]], Cyprus for a week, and his mother refuses to acknowledge his gender. The episode concludes with an epilogue from the summer of 2005.
}}
}}

===''TransGeneration Reunion''===
In the spring of 2006, after ''TransGeneration'' was nominated for a [[GLAAD Media Award]],<ref name="Marcus">{{citation |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/glaad-hands-out-noms-1117936791/ |title=GLAAD hands out noms |last=Marcus |first=Lawrence |date=January 24, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> the filmmakers gathered the four students in Los Angeles, where they taped a reunion show and attended the awards ceremony.

{{Episode table |background=  |title= |aux1= |aux1T= Running time |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=
{{Episode list
| RTitle          = ''TransGeneration Reunion''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Aug/28/shameless_plug.wow |title=Shameless Plug |author=<!-- staff --> |date=August 28, 2006 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013055855/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Aug/28/shameless_plug.wow |archive-date=2008-10-13 |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref>
| Aux1            = 29 minutes<ref name="Reunion" />
| DirectedBy      = Jeremy Simmons<ref name="Reunion" />
| WrittenBy       = Afsheen Family
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|2006|08|27}}
| ShortSummary    = One year later, we find that Raci is engaged to be married; Lucas lives in his home state of Oklahoma; T.J. plans to return to Cyprus; and Gabbie continues to enjoy her new life.<ref name="Reunion" />
| LineColor       = 
}}
}}

==Development==
The idea for ''TransGeneration'' came in 2004. Lawyer and journalist Fred Bernstein<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/opinion/sunday/a-congress-for-the-many-or-the-few.html |title=A Congress for the Many, or the Few?
|last=Bernstein |first=Fred A. |date=September 8, 2012 |journal=The New York Times |access-date=2017-03-05}}</ref> had written an article about transgender students at US colleges and universities. ''[[The New York Times]]'' published the piece in March;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/style/on-campus-rethinking-biology-101.html |title=On Campus, Rethinking Biology 101 |last=Bernstein |first=Fred A. |date=March 7, 2004 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fredbernstein.com/articles/Default.asp?source_id=11 |title=Articles by Fred A. Bernstein Published in ''The New York Times'' |website=FredBernstein.com |publisher=Fred A. Bernstein |access-date=2017-03-05}}</ref> some Sundance Channel staffers (including Adam Pincus, senior vice president of original programming) read it, and saw potential for a documentary series.<ref name="Harmanci" /> The idea got executive approval, and Sundance commissioned [[World of Wonder Productions]] to make the series.<ref name="Sepinwall" /><ref name="Dempsey">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2005/scene/markets-festivals/sex-change-series-on-sked-1117923385/ |title=Sex-change series on sked |last=Dempsey |first=John |date=May 23, 2005 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref>

The Sundance Channel, which was partially owned by [[media conglomerate]] [[Viacom (2005–present)|Viacom]],<ref name="brief">{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/programming-briefs/370775#d9e116-55-h3 |title=Programming Briefs: Series Gets College Try from Sundance, Logo |author=<!-- staff writer --> |date=May 29, 2005 |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> divided ''TransGeneration'''s production cost with [[Logo TV]], an [[LGBT]]-themed [[cable channel]] that Viacom was preparing to launch.<ref name="Dempsey" /> Sundance assumed most of the cost.<ref name="Dempsey" /> The companies planned for Sundance to air the show first, followed by Logo several months later.<ref name="Dempsey" /> One reason why they aired the series on both channels was because Sundance and Logo had distinct [[target audience]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sundance-logo-team-series/369887 |title=Sundance, Logo Team Up on Series |last=Reynolds |first=Mike |date=May 23, 2005 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref>

''TransGeneration'' was produced at a time when the Sundance Channel was actively working to expand their library of original programming, to outsource production, and to foster a public image as a channel for independent thinking.<ref name="Sepinwall"/><ref name="Refocus">{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sundance-refocuses-originals/368962 |title=Sundance Refocuses on Originals |last=Reynolds |first=Mike |date=April 25, 2005 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref><ref name="wide shot">{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sundances-wide-shot/368945 |title=Sundance's Wide Shot |last=Reynolds |first=Mike |date=May 1, 2005 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> Sundance's research concluded that their viewers wanted a broader range of programming, and that their viewers were more likely to consider themselves "independent thinkers" than "[[independent film]] fanatics".<ref name="wide shot"/><ref name="pleas">{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sundance-heeds-fans-pleas-more/368778 |title=Sundance Heeds Fans' Pleas for More  |last=Reynolds |first=Mike |date=June 17, 2005 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> Later that year, the channel premiered two new and original series: ''TransGeneration'' in September, and ''[[Iconoclasts (TV series)|Iconoclasts]]'' in November.<ref name="pleas"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/iconoclasts/281385/ |title=''Iconoclasts'' |author=<!-- no byline --> |website=[[TVGuide.com]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref>

==Production==
[[File:Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato at MIFF.jpg|thumb|left|136px|Executive producers Fenton Bailey and {{nowrap|Randy Barbato}}]]

World of Wonder founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato served as [[executive producer]]s.<ref name="WoW">{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/productions/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |author=<!-- staff writer --> |website=The WOW Report |date=September 20, 2005 |publisher=[[World of Wonder (production company)|World of Wonder]] |access-date=2017-02-20}}</ref> Adam Pincus was the initial executive producer for the Sundance Channel, later joined by Laura Michalchyshyn;<ref name="Sepinwall" /> Lauren Lazin and Eileen Opatut were executive producers for Logo.<ref name="Koehler" /> The [[Television producer|producer]] was Thairin Smothers of World of Wonder,<ref name="WoW" /> and Ashley York of Sundance was a segment producer. The director and supervising producer was Jeremy Simmons, who had previously directed the 2003 documentary ''Gay Hollywood'' for World of Wonder.<ref name="Dempsey" />

To cast the series, Jeremy Simmons and Thairin Smothers posted to LGBT [[Internet forum]]s and [[electronic mailing list]]s, and visited college campuses. In August 2004 they traveled around the country to meet the shortlisted candidates.<ref name="Harmanci"/> Smothers said that their main casting goal was diversity.<ref name="Harmanci"/> Diverse representation was also important to T.J. Jourian, one of the four students cast for the show: "What pushed me to do it was the idea of showing trans [[people of color]], pushing beyond the American image of a gay white man."<ref name="Harmanci"/> "I didn’t want to be in anything where I was representing the whole community.… What I want to do is just give another example of a way to be."<ref name="Mother Jones">{{cite interview |last=Jourian |first=T.J. |interviewer=April Dembosky |title=Role Reversal: A star of the TV series ''TransGeneration'' takes on masculinity |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2005/10/role-reversal/ |work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]] |publisher=Foundation For National Progress |date=October 10, 2005  |access-date=2017-06-21}}</ref>

The film crew recorded the students on campus, at home, with their friends and families, at medical appointments, and at transgender-related events. Some footage was recorded by the students themselves.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Episode 1 |series=TransGeneration |network=[[SundanceTV|Sundance Channel]] |date=September 20, 2005 |season=1 |number=1 |time=19:10}}</ref> In February 2005, the [[Academic administration|administration]] at [[Smith College]] prohibited the crew from continuing to film one of the documentary's subjects, Lucas Cheadle, on campus (except in his apartment).<ref name="ep5">{{Cite episode |title=Episode 5 |series=TransGeneration |network=Sundance Channel |date=October 18, 2005 |season=1 |number=5 |time=10:00 and 17:28}}</ref> Cheadle asked the [[dean of students]] to reconsider, but his appeal was denied.<ref name="ep5"/> Smith College has received considerable media attention about questions regarding transgender students.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schneider |first=Finn |year=2010 |title=Where Do We Belong? Addressing the Needs of Transgender Students in Higher Education |journal=The Vermont Connection |volume=31 |page=101 |editor-last=Alvarado |editor-first=Lorriz Anne |url=http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=tvc |format=PDF |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830005055/http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=tvc |archive-date=2015-08-30 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref>

==Marketing==
When the Sundance Channel decided to broadcast more original programs, they also planned to support those programs with [[integrated marketing]] campaigns.<ref name="Refocus"/> In the months leading up to ''TransGeneration'''s TV premiere, Sundance promoted the series across a range of media, including advertisements and mentions in several gay and lesbian magazines; posters;<ref name="posters">{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/transposter/ |title=TransPoster |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=August 29, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> television ads on the Sundance Channel, [[NBC]], and [[VH1]] (all of which are properties of the corporate stakeholders, Viacom and [[NBCUniversal]]); preview screenings at more than 150 LGBT events;<ref name="sellsheet">{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=''TransGeneration'' sell sheet |url=http://www.newvideo.com/wp-content/uploads/sellsheets/NVG9773.pdf |website=NewVideo.com |publisher=New Video Group |year=2006 |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref> a billboard in Los Angeles;<ref name="transcreening">{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/transcreening/ |title=TranScreening |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=September 12, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821204806/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/transgeneration.wow |archive-date=2008-08-21 |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> and [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]] [[Bus advertising|bus advertisements]] in New York<ref name="Agid">{{cite web |url=https://www.flowjournal.org/2005/11/feature-when-i-grow-up-i-want-to-be-a-boy-transgenerations-meditation-on-the-real/ |title=When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Boy: ''TransGeneration''{{'}}s Meditation on the 'Real' |date=November 18, 2005 |last=Agid |first=Shana |website=[[Flow (journal)|Flow]] |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> (one of which wound up in the background of a scene in ''[[The Devil Wears Prada (film)|The Devil Wears Prada]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/the-devil-is-in-the-details/ |title=The Devil Is in the Details |author=<!-- staff writer --> |date=July 24, 2006 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122063145/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Jul/24/the_devil_is_in_the_details.wow |archive-date=2008-11-22 |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref>

===Broadcasts, releases, and screenings===
[[File:CASTRO (2963030160).jpg|thumb|176px|alt=Seen from below, a neon sign that reads "CASTRO" in vertical letters is lit against a night sky. |''TransGeneration'' premiered at the [[Castro Theatre]] on the seventh night of the [[Frameline Film Festival]] in June 2005.]]

For preview screenings, the series was edited to an 83-minute feature film.<ref name="Koehler" /><ref name="SFist">{{cite web |url=http://www.sfist.com/archives/2005/06/27/frameline_29_transgeneration.php |title=Frameline 29: ''TransGeneration'' |author=<!-- staff writer --> |editor-last=Batey |editor-first=Eve |editor2-last=Hao |editor2-first=Rita |date=June 27, 2005 |website=SFist |publisher=[[Gothamist]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060318142255/http://www.sfist.com/archives/2005/06/27/frameline_29_transgeneration.php |archive-date=2006-03-18 |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> The global premiere of the film version was on June 23, 2005, at the [[Castro Theatre]] in [[San Francisco]], for the 29th [[Frameline Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/indie-place-to-be/ |title=Indie Place to Be |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=June 20, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Frameline29: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival |url=https://issuu.com/frameline/docs/29th-sanfrancisco-international-lgbt-film-festival |publisher=Frameline |page=23 |year=2005 |access-date=2017-06-20 |via=[[issuu]]}}</ref> This was the first occasion on which the four students were able to meet.<ref name="Harmanci"/> After the screening, the audience greeted director Jeremy Simmons and producer Thairin Smothers with a standing ovation. A second standing ovation followed as Gabbie, T.J., Lucas, and Raci walked to the stage.<ref name="SFist"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/festival-frenzy |title=Festival Frenzy |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=June 24, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/talking-about-my-transgeneration/ |title=Talking About My ''TransGeneration'' |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=June 26, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref>

Screenings at more film festivals followed, including [[Outfest]] in July;<ref name="Koehler" /> the Gay Orlando Film Festival and the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in August;<ref name="Moore">{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2005/08/19/festivals-features-run-gamut-from-silly-and-scatological-to-serious/ |title=Festival's features run gamut from silly and scatological to serious |last=Moore |first=Roger |date=August 19, 2005 |website=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051204032844/http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/movies/orl-gayfilm05aug19%2C0%2C4437285.story?coll=orl-home-entlife |archive-date=December 4, 2005 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-06-15 }}</ref><ref name="Pam Spaulding">{{cite web|url=http://www.pamspaulding.com:80/weblog/2005/08/must-see-transgeneration-on-sundance.html |title=Must see — ''TransGeneration'' on Sundance |last=Spaulding |first=Pam |date=August 15, 2005 |website=PamSpaulding.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213184555/http://www.pamspaulding.com/weblog/2005/08/must-see-transgeneration-on-sundance.html |archive-date=December 13, 2007 |access-date=2017-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, the [[Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival]], and the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival in September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outinamerica.com:80/home/news.asp?articleid=9409 |title=Conn. Gay, Lesbian Film Fest to Present Transgender Film |date=August 23, 2005 |website=Out in America |publisher=Ethan Interactive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060530045823/http://www.outinamerica.com/home/news.asp?articleid=9409 |archive-date=May 30, 2006 |access-date=2017-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.agliff.org:80/browse_site.php/TransGeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |year=2005 |website=aGLIFF.org |publisher=Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051103232742/http://www.agliff.org/browse_site.php/TransGeneration/ |archive-date=November 3, 2005 |access-date=2017-06-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, T.J. Jourian was on hand to answer questions.<ref name="Pam Spaulding"/>

Of the approximately 150 preview screenings before the television premiere, most were at US colleges and universities.<ref name="sellsheet" /> Among these were the [[University of California, Berkeley]],<ref name="Harmanci" /> the [[University of Georgia]],<ref name="transcreening"/> [[Depauw University]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.depauw.edu/calendar/view.asp?i=80490&detail=true |title=University Calendar: ''Transgeneration'' Film Screening |author=<!-- no byline --> |year=2005 |website=Depauw.edu |publisher=[[Depauw University]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923120016/http://www.depauw.edu/calendar/view.asp?i=80490&detail=true |archive-date=2006-09-23 |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> [[Boise State University]],<ref name="posters"/> and the [[University of North Carolina at Wilmington]].<ref name="Trans Position">{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/trans-position/ |title=Trans Position |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=August 24, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> Some off-campus screenings were organised in collaboration with LGBT groups, such as the [[San Francisco LGBT Community Center]] and the United Gays and Lesbians of Wyoming.<ref name="Harmanci"/><ref name="sellsheet" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/transfer-students/ |title=Transfer Students |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=August 29, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref>

In advance of the television debut, PlanetOut Video [[Streaming media|streamed]] the first episode via [[Gay.com]] and [[PlanetOut.com]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/internet-video/sundance-bow-transgeneration-planetout/300239 |title=Sundance to Bow ''TransGeneration'' on PlanetOut |author=<!-- staff writer --> |date=July 13, 2005 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> The series aired on the Sundance Channel from September 20 to November 8, 2005, and on Logo TV from January 9 to February 27, 2006. Both channels gave it an evening [[time slot]].<ref name="brief" /> The Sundance Channel reran the series in May 2012,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/blog/2012/04/transgeneration-is-back-tuesdays-at-10p-on-sundance-channel |title=''TransGeneration'' is back! Tuesdays at 10P on Sundance Channel |author=<!-- staff --> |date=April 30, 2012 |website=The Sundance Channel Blog |publisher=The Sundance Channel |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref> followed by a [[Marathon (media)|marathon]] in June.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/blog/2012/06/growing-into-his-own |title=Growing Into His Own: An interview with trans youth advocate Sean Ebony Coleman |last=Handwerker |first=Alexis |date=June 21, 2012 |website=SundanceTV Blog |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131250/http://www.sundance.tv/blog/2012/06/growing-into-his-own |url-status=dead }}</ref> In Italy, it was [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated]] by the satellite television channel [[Sky Cinema Cult|Cult]] in 2006.<ref name="Cult" />

New Video Group released ''TransGeneration'' on DVD in the US on March 28, 2006, under their Docurama imprint.<ref name="New Video">{{cite web |url=http://www.newvideo.com/docurama/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |author=<!-- staff --> |website=NewVideo.com |publisher=[[Cinedigm|Cinedigm Entertainment]] |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=DVD Report |last=Russo |first=Tom |date=March 26, 2006 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}}</ref> The two-disc DVD set includes about 19 minutes of [[deleted scene]]s.<ref name="sellsheet" /><ref name="Cornelius" /> In the summer of 2006, the Sundance Channel also made the series available to rent or buy through [[Google Video]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/internet-video/google-search-turns-sundance/299833 |title=Google Search Turns Up Sundance |author=<!-- staff writer --> |date=July 5, 2006 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> and later marketed it on [[iTunes]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/series/transgeneration/about |title=''TransGeneration'': About the Series |author=<!-- staff --> |website=SundanceTV.com |publisher=[[SundanceTV]] |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Before the television premiere===

After Robert Koehler of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' previewed the screener edit of the series at the Outfest film festival, he wrote: "What would have been spectacular stuff just 10 years ago is now something closer to a high-quality ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show|Oprah]]'' special, humanizing in rather simplistic terms complex lives…".<ref name="Koehler" /> Anthony Glassman of the ''Gay People's Chronicle'' was also cautious in his assessment: "The word 'groundbreaking' should be used sparingly, and perhaps it does not apply here. ''TransGeneration'' does one thing, and it does it well. It shows the viewer the reality and normality of the lives of these students and those around them, their family and friends."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories05/september/0916058.htm |title=Talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation |date=September 16, 2005 |last=Glassman |first=Anthony |website=Gay People's Chronicle |publisher=KWIR Publications |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702124148/https://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories05/september/0916058.htm |archive-date=July 2, 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-06-13 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Billy Curtis, director of the Gender Equity Resource Center at [[UC Berkeley]], was deeply moved by the preview; but he also looked at it from a practical perspective: "I knew immediately I could use it as an educational tool for faculty, staff, administration and students.… It doesn't try to represent the entire trans experience, but it… answers some of the most basic questions about what it means to be trans while being this great conversation starter."<ref name="Harmanci" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ejce.berkeley.edu/geneq/about-geneq/staff |title=GenEq Staff |author=<!-- no byline --> |website=ejce.berkeley.edu |publisher=Centers for Educational Justice & Community Engagement, University of California, Berkeley |access-date=2017-06-16}}</ref>

Roger Moore, film critic for the ''[[Orlando Sentinel]]'', described the students as "sexually inexperienced… unhappy… laughably naive kids".<ref name="Moore"/> Meanwhile, columnist [[Mike Adams (columnist)|Mike S. Adams]] told ''[[Townhall]]'' readers that he would attend the [[UNC Wilmington]] screening, and listed taunting questions he said he would ask.<ref name="Trans Position"/>

Joanna Weiss of ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' labeled the series one of the highlights of [[reality television]] in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Amid reality shows, some actual reality documentaries have a big presence on many channels this fall |last=Weiss |first=Joanna |date=September 4, 2005 |newspaper=The Boston Globe}}</ref> She elaborates: "What's radical here isn't the topic so much as the way it's handled with maturity and respect at a time when every personal issue seems fodder for a leering TV treatment. ''TransGeneration'' is provocative, yes, but only in the sense that it's straightforward, unflinching, and, in the end, wholly unsensational."<ref>{{cite news |title=A Smart Look at an Alternative Campus Lifestyle |last=Weiss |first=Joanna |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=September 20, 2005 |page=C.6}}</ref>

===After the television premiere===
The Sundance Channel airings attracted more viewers in the 18-to-24 age range than was usual for their audience, which typically comprised men over age 25.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.multichannel.com/news/content/sundance-rolls-film-non-movies/369763 |title=Sundance Rolls Film on Non-Movies |last=Uumstead |first=R. Thomas |date=March 3, 2006 |website=Multichannel News |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> After the second episode aired, [[cultural critic]] [[Lee Siegel (cultural critic)|Lee Siegel]] wrote about the show for ''[[The New Republic]]''. He pontificated on transgender experience, and characterized the story as a unique form of drama or [[tragedy]].<ref name="Siegel"/>{{rp|199–200}} In his introduction, he commented on the general absence of reviews for the show in major news publications.<ref name="Siegel"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/the-times-its-not-about-a-changin/ |title=The Times It's Not About A-Changin' |last=Saban |first=Stephen |date=November 15, 2005 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204100534/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2005/Nov/15/the_times_its_not_about_achangin.wow |archive-date=2008-12-04 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref>

Bloggers Joey Guerra (''[[AfterElton]]'') and Jay Cheel (''The Documentary Blog'') found Gabbie, Raci, Lucas, and T.J. fascinating and their stories engrossing.<ref name="Guerra">{{cite web |url=http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/TV/2005/9/transgeneration.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009043611/http://www.afterelton.com/archive/elton/TV/2005/9/transgeneration.html |archive-date=October 9, 2007 |date=September 28, 2005 |last=Guerra |first=Joey |title=''TransGeneration'' |website=[[AfterElton]] |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref><ref name="Cheel">{{cite web |url=http://thedocumentaryblog.com/2007/03/17/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |last=Cheel |first=Jay |date=March 17, 2007 |website=The Documentary Blog |access-date=2017-02-21 |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222052930/http://thedocumentaryblog.com/2007/03/17/transgeneration/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Guerra called the show "addictive… not only because of sharp storytelling but because of the students' fully realized personalities."<ref name="Guerra" /> Cheel described the students as "intelligent, articulate and passionate in everything they do".<ref name="Cheel" /> Similarly, on ''[[DVD Talk]]'', David Cornelius gushed with praise. He was impressed by the ways in which the series interwove stories, and presented some themes as a study in contrasts: Gabbie's economic privilege compared with Raci's financial struggles; Lucas and T.J.'s struggle for rights and recognition.<ref name="Cornelius">{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/20691/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |last=Cornelius |first=David |date=March 17, 2006 |website=[[DVD Talk]] |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref>

In a 2005 essay published in the online journal ''[[Flow (journal)|Flow]]'', Shana Agid, guest faculty at [[Sarah Lawrence College]], wondered whether programs like ''TransGeneration'' "take away from other possibilities for change" if—in an effort to make [[queer]] subject matter "straight-friendly" and "consumable"—they only represent transgender people who fit a certain narrative and adhere to a [[gender binary]].<ref name="Agid" /> Like Agid, Todd Ramlow of ''[[PopMatters]]'' lamented the production's fixation on binary gender, but he found positive qualities in its presentation of some of the struggles and anxieties a transgender person might experience. "It prods us to think seriously about transgender issues, and to… create more inclusive communities." In his final analysis, he gave the series three stars out of ten.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/transgeneration-dvd/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |last=Ramlow |first=Todd R. |date=March 27, 2006 |website=[[PopMatters]] |publisher=PopMatters Media |access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref>

K. Nicole Hladky (2013)<ref name="Hladky">{{cite book |title=Queer Media Images: LGBT Perspectives |chapter=The Construction of Queer and the Conferring of Voice: Empowering and Disempowering Portrayals of Transgenderism on ''TransGeneration'' |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xanTduLLgfYC&pg=PA101 |last=Hladky |first=K. Nicole |editor-last=Campbell |editor-first=Jane |editor2-last=Carilli |editor2-first=Theresa |publisher=Lexington Books |location=Lanham |year=2013 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/queermediaimages0000unse/page/101 101–10] |oclc=940611332 |isbn=978-0-7391-8028-0 |via=Google Books |access-date=2017-04-29 |url=https://archive.org/details/queermediaimages0000unse/page/101 }}</ref> identifies four themes in the series: ''process'' (the various dimensions of [[Transitioning (transgender)|transition]]); ''[[Intersectionality|intersection]]'' (of transgender with race, class, age, nationality, etc.); ''[[Social stigma|stigma]]'' (borne by transgender people); and ''prescription'', in which the documentary perspective of ''TransGeneration'' prefers or endorses "particular views of transgenderism and approaches to transition".<ref name="Hladky" />{{rp|107–9}} Hladky concludes that "[al]though the series does present a number of the complexities surrounding transgenderism, it nonetheless limits transgender individuals by the prescriptive view of transition it reinforces".<ref name="Hladky" />{{rp|102}}

In an essay published in the collection ''[[Trans Bodies, Trans Selves]]'' (2014), Pearlman et al. quote a viewer who called ''TransGeneration'' "the only positive [transgender] documentary or film that I've seen. The others—''[[Boys Don't Cry (1999 film)|Boys Don't Cry]]'' [1999], ''[[Soldier's Girl]]'' [2003], etc.—are all depressing."<ref>{{cite book |title=Trans Bodies, Trans Selves |chapter=Arts and Culture |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EuB_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT540 |last1=Pearlman |first1=Lazlo Ilya |last2=Szeszycki-Truesdell |first2=Jae D. K. |last3=Lowrey |first3=Kestryl Cael |title-link=Trans Bodies, Trans Selves |year=2014 |editor-last=Erickson-Schroth |editor-first=Laura |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/transbodiestrans0000unse/page/540 540] |isbn=978-0-19-932535-1 |oclc=860943941 |via=Google Books |access-date=2017-03-28 }}</ref>

====Awards and nominations====
At the [[17th GLAAD Media Awards]] in April 2006, ''TransGeneration'' won the [[GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary]].<ref name="Van Atta" /> The other nominees in the category were ''[[Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She]]'', ''Same Sex America'', ''[[We Are Dad]]'', and the "[[American Experience (season 17)|Kinsey]]" episode of ''[[American Experience]]''.<ref name="Marcus" />

Sisters [[Alexis Arquette|Alexis]], [[Patricia Arquette|Patricia]], and [[Rosanna Arquette]] announced the nominees, and Alexis Arquette (who is herself a transgender woman) presented the award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Apr/10/thearquettesisters.wow |title=Snap! |date=April 10, 2006 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121042538/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Apr/10/thearquettesisters.wow |archive-date=2008-11-21 |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> Gabbie, Lucas, Raci, and T.J.—along with filmmakers Jeremy Simmons and Thairin Smothers—took the stage to receive the award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gettyimages.com/search/photographer?phrase=transgeneration&photographer=john%20shearer |title=17th Annual Glad Media Awards - Show |last=Shearer |first=John |website=GettyImages.com |publisher=[[Getty Images]] |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> T.J. also took the opportunity to deliver a marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Staci Gunner. When Gunner came onstage to accept, the audience responded with a standing ovation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2006/scene/markets-festivals/glaad-to-meet-you-1117941331/ |title=GLAAD to meet you |last=Gardner |first=Chris |date=April 10, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gettyimages.com/search/photographer?phrase=jourian&photographer=john%20shearer |title=17th Annual Glad Media Awards - Show |last=Shearer |first=John |publisher=[[Getty Images]] |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Apr/10/look_at_us_were_winning.wow |title=Look at Us, We're Winning! |date=April 10, 2006 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204103313/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Apr/10/look_at_us_were_winning.wow |archive-date=2008-12-04 |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref>

In October 2006, the [[International Documentary Association]] nominated ''TransGeneration'' for an IDA Documentary Award in the "[[Miniseries#Limited series|Limited Series]]" category.<ref name="McNary"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.documentary.org/online-feature/2006-ida-documentary-awards-nominees |title=2006 IDA Documentary Awards Nominees |author=<!-- staff --> |year=2006 |website=Documentary.org |publisher=International Documentary Association |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> The award went to Brent and Craig Renaud's ''Off to War'',<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2006/film/awards/2006-ida-award-winners-finalists-1117955202/ |title=2006 IDA award winners, finalists |author=<!-- staff --> |date=December 6, 2006 |website=Variety |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> a [[miniseries]] about citizen soldiers in the [[Arkansas National Guard]], who are deployed overseas as part of the [[History of Iraq (2003–11)|military occupation of Iraq]].<ref>{{cite interview |last=Renaud |first=Brent |last2=Renaud |first2=Craig |interviewer=[[Amy Goodman]] |title=''Off to War'': The Story of the Arkansas National Guard's Journey to Iraq |url=https://www.democracynow.org/2004/8/25/off_to_war_the_story_of |date=August 25, 2004 |work=[[Democracy Now!]] |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> Other nominees in the category were ''China Rises'', ''[[The Drug Years]]'', and ''RX for Survival: A Global Health Challenge''.<ref name="McNary"/>

==Legacy==
''TransGeneration'' was "one of the very first media stories about transgender youth" in the United States.<ref name="GLAAD"/> Although it was discussed by scholars, its television premiere was largely ignored by major news publications.<ref name="Siegel"/><ref name="Hladky"/>{{rp|101}}

In February 2006, during the interim between the show's GLAAD Media Award nomination and the awards ceremony, T.J. Jourian was interviewed by [[Larry King]] on the [[CNN]] talk show ''[[Larry King Live]]'', along with trans man Aiden Key; trans women Brenda Chevis and Jennifer Finney Boylan; sexologist Michelle Angello; and [[Felicity Huffman]], star of the 2005 film ''[[Transamerica (film)|Transamerica]]''. Jourian talked about his past, cultural barriers to acceptance, and what it means to be a trans man.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Jourian |first=T.J. |interviewer=[[Larry King]] |title=Larry Discusses Transgender Individuals |work=[[Larry King Live]] |publisher=[[CNN]] |location=Los Angeles |date=February 15, 2006 |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/15/lkl.01.html |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref> The interviews were parodied in a comedy sketch on the [[Saturday Night Live (season 31)#ep598|March 4 episode]] of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', in which [[Natalie Portman]] played Jourian.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://snl.jt.org/detail.php-i=200603045.html |title=03.04.2006 Episode Details, Segment 5 of 15: ''Larry King Live'' |website=The SNL Archives |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://snl.jt.org/imp.php-i=2481.html |title=Impression: T.J. Jourian |author=<!-- staff --> |website=The SNL Archives |access-date=2017-02-24}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://worldofwonder.net/king-con/ |title=King Con |author=<!-- staff writer --> |date=March 6, 2006 |website=The WOW Report |publisher=World of Wonder |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122060103/http://worldofwonder.net/archives/2006/Mar/06/king_con.wow |archive-date=2008-11-22 |url-status=live |access-date=2017-06-15}}</ref> T.J. Jourian has since become a speaker and consultant concerned with the needs and interests of students, queer and transgender people, and people of color.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tjjourian.net/ |title=T.J. Jourian |website=TJJourian.net |access-date=2017-07-07}}</ref>

In the spring of 2006, Bonnie Miller Rubin of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' described ''TransGeneration'' as a pop-culture vehicle that "helped trans issues gain more visibility".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/04/03/transgender-movement-emerging-from-shadows/ |title=Transgender movement emerging from shadows |last=Miller Rubin |first=Bonnie |date=April 3, 2006 |website=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=2017-06-13}}</ref> The show inspired writer/actor [[Megan McTavish]] to create a transgender character for ''[[All My Children]]'', a US [[soap opera]] for which she was the head writer. "I found [the transgender students'] experiences so moving that I started thinking along those lines," she said.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/soap-dish |title=Soap dish: A blond transgender bombshell makes daytime-TV history on ''All My Children'' |last=Greenfield |first=Beth |date=January 18, 2007 |website=[[Time Out New York]] |access-date=2017-02-22 |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216034817/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film/soap-dish |url-status=dead }}</ref> The character she created, [[Zoe (All My Children)|Zoe]], was introduced in 2006, and was played by [[Jeffrey Carlson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.today.com/popculture/all-my-children-features-transgender-role-wbna15910439 |title=''All My Children'' features transgender role |agency=Associated Press |date=November 26, 2006 |website=[[Today (American TV program)|Today]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref>

World of Wonder's next reality television show with a transgender theme was ''[[Sex Change Hospital]]'' in 2007, followed by ''[[Transamerican Love Story]]'' in 2008.<ref name="GLAAD" /><ref name="C4">{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/S/sex_change_gallery/index.html |title=''Sex Change Hospital'': Image Gallery |website=Channel4.com |publisher=[[Channel 4]] |year=2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203181135/http://www.channel4.com/more4/documentaries/S/sex_change_gallery/index.html |archive-date=2007-12-03 |access-date=2017-02-22}}</ref> ''Sex Change Hospital'' focuses on the patients and medical practice of [[Marci Bowers]],<ref name="DiNunno">{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/news/sex-change-hospital-58306/ |last=DiNunno |first=Gina |date=11 November 2008 |title=Transgender Doctor Talks ''Sex Change Hospital'' |website=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=2017-02-06}}</ref> the [[OB/GYN]] who performed Gabbie's genital reassignment surgery.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Episode 8 |series=TransGeneration |network=Sundance Channel |date=November 8, 2005 |season=1 |number=8 |time=44:01}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Television|United States}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* ''[[My Transsexual Summer]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Sex Change Hospital]]'' (2007)
* [[List of transgender-related topics]]
* [[Media portrayals of transgender people]]
* [[Intersectionality]]
* [[Passing (gender)]]
* [[Transgender rights]]
}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news |title=More Than a Lifestyle |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=October 2, 2005 |author=<!-- letter to the editor --> |page=N.3}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=19933 |title=Former local ''TransGeneration'' personae [''sic''] reunites with cast |last=Azzopardi |first=Chris |date=August 24, 2006 |website=[[PrideSource]] |publisher=Pride Source Media Group |access-date=2017-06-20}}
* {{cite web |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/04/08/when_she_graduates_as_he/ |title=When She Graduates as He |last=Brune |first=Adrian |date=April 8, 2007 |website=[[Boston.com]]}}
* {{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/16/magazine/16students-t.html |title=When Girls Will Be Boys |last=Quart |first=Alissa |date=March 16, 2008 |website=[[The New York Times Magazine]]}}
* {{cite book |title=Please Select Your Gender |chapter=The Imperative of Choice § Trans Identities |last=Gherovici |first=Patricia |year=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-80615-2 |oclc=939030308}}
* {{cite web |url=https://transgenderglobe.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/transgeneration/ |title=''TransGeneration'' |date=September 13, 2010 |author=<!-- kmliuws2  --> |website=Trans Bodies Across the Globe |publisher=Department of Gender Studies, [[Indiana University Bloomington]]}}
* {{cite journal |title='Our College Is Changing': Women's College Student Affairs Administrators and Transgender Students |last=Marine |first=Susan B. |journal=[[Journal of Homosexuality]] |volume=28 |issue=9 |pages=1165–86 |date=September 29, 2011 |doi=10.1080/00918369.2011.605730|pmid=21957854 |s2cid=21955222 }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.sundance.tv/blog/2012/06/growing-into-his-own |title=Growing Into His Own: An interview with trans youth advocate Sean Ebony Coleman |last=Handwerker |first=Alexis |date=June 21, 2012 |website=SundanceTV Blog |publisher=SundanceTV |access-date=2017-02-24 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225131250/http://www.sundance.tv/blog/2012/06/growing-into-his-own |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |title=Diversity: Pride in Science |last=Waldrop |first=M. Mitchell |date=September 16, 2014 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=513 |issue=7518 |pages=297–300 |doi=10.1038/513297a |pmid=25230630 |bibcode=2014Natur.513..297W |doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* {{Official website|http://worldofwonder.net/productions/transgeneration/}} [[https://web.archive.org/web/20090227060754/worldofwonder.net/productions/transgeneration/ |Archive from original ]] (World of Wonder)
* {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20061210040723/http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/transgeneration/series.jhtml}} (Logo TV)
* [http://www.23hq.com/wow/album/130896 World of Wonder's ''TransGeneration'' photo album] at ''23''
* {{epguides|id=TransGeneration}}
* {{IMDb title|0461110|TransGeneration}}
* {{IMDb title|1564590|TransGeneration Reunion}}
* http://www.sundancechannel.com/transgeneration/ (Sundance Channel) link broken
}}

{{GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary}}
{{Logo TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transgeneration}}
[[Category:Sundance TV original programming]]
[[Category:2000s American documentary television series]]
[[Category:Transgender-related television shows]]
[[Category:2000s American college television series]]
[[Category:Television series by World of Wonder (company)]]
[[Category:2000s American LGBTQ-related reality television series]]
[[Category:GLAAD Media Award–winning shows]]