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DykeTV

0 one used to give a
second thought to the
behind-the-scenes pro-

ducers of DykeTV, the nation’s
first cable access program “by

I for and about lesbians” found-

ed in the early 90s. But when
Julien Rosskam came out as
trans, he knew that could all
change. Not even sure if he

should still be allowed to work A

in -a dyke space, Rosskam ten-
dered his resignation. For-
tunately — for both the film-
maker and the acclaimed New
York-based cable program —
his boss refused to accept it.

“She said, essentially, that
the times were changing and
people need to change along
with them,” Rosskam remem-
bers gratefully.

Part /of that change, for
Dyke TV, has been an expan-
sion of their definition of
‘women’ to include “past, pres-
ent and future female—bodied
and/or identified.”

Still, Rosskam —the director
of the film Transparent — ‘
admits thatlthere have been
instances when people with-
drew their support for the ven-
erable lesbian program after
learning that a transman was
“not only working at Dyke TV,
but was one of the few people
running the place.”

Rosskam is saddened by
what he calls “this chasm in
the dyke/trans community,”

-' and he hopes that his work will

further a reparative communi-
cation between the overlapping
communities.

“It is a very touchy subject
that I generally think people
don’t want to talk about,”
Rosskam explains. “People act
like the conversation already
happened, but the truth is it
really never did.”

Rosskam is current1y.edit-
ing a documentary, Boy I Am,
which addresses these issues
by exploring “this notion that
to transition from female to
male is somehow inherently
anti—feminist.” Boy, Rosskam
says, interviews F1‘Ms, their
partners, lesbians and academ-
ics about “their thoughts on
transmen and how they fit or
don’t fit in the dyke communi-
ty and the trajectory of the
feminist movement.” Boy I Am
(www.boyiam.com) will hit the

 

 

GLBT festival circuit in
Summer 2006.

Rosskam’s debut film,
Transparent, was a hit at film
fests last summer, where it-
eamed rave reviewsfor its por-

Rosskam’s debut film,
Transparent,’ was a hit
at filmfests last summer,
where it earned ‘rave '
reviews for its portrayal
of female-to-male
transgendered parents

W

Ricky and his son from California ‘shown
in a still from Dyke'l'V producer Julien
Rosskam’s film Transparent

trayal of female—to-male trans-
gendered parents, and gained
Rosskam kudos in Curve mag-
azine’s list of top ten emerging
filmmakers. Focusing on uni-
versal themes of family and
child-parent relationships, V
Transparent touched a broad
audience, reaffirming queer
viewers and prodding straight
audiences.

“Seeing trans people in a
parenting ro1e,” Rosskam
argues, “Seems to somehow be
disarming to straight folks who
maybe were unsure of. how
they felt about [transgender
parents].

“I was dealing with my own
issues of wanting to transition

 

The Man Behind  

and also wanting to have kids
and not knowing how to recon-
cile that,” filmmaker Jules
Rosskam says, describing the
impetus behind his documen-

' tary. “I knew I wanted to make
a movie about the trans com-
munity but I didn’t want to do
another ‘trans 101’ film.”

The auteur focused on FTM .

“mothers” because as he says,
‘_‘Our culture puts a huge
emphasis on women giving
birth", and treats it as the most
feminine thing one can do. So
then you have to wonder what
happens to our notions of gen-
der when men are having
babies.” '

_ Rosskam
calls the
breadth of
Transparent
“anthropolog-
ical” in its

19 parents
T involved in
the project
came from 14
states, vary-
ing socio—eco-
nomic back-
grounds, and
very different
realities, pro-
viding a voice
to a middle-
American
transgender
community
that often is
overlooked.
“I was

tired of this
idea that trans
people only
live in big cities,” Rosskam
says. “Not to mention the
[myth] that transmen are all
white, well—educated on gender
theory and middle- to upper-
class. The film was a lot about
deconstructing those stereo-
types.” Unfortunately for those
who missed Transparent on its
2005 festival tour, the film is
currently only available direct-
ly through Rosskam (info@
transparentthemovie.com).
Still, if you haven’t seen the
film, you should try to do so —
even if that means pressuring a
distribution company to add
the beautiful, groundbreaking
documentary to its roster. V

  

diversity. The T