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Katie Couric said she hopes her TV documentary about gender will promote compassion and understanding in states such as Texas that have proposed a bathroom bill that threatens transgender rights and safety.
“Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric” tells stories of real people — adults, children and their families. The two-hour special explores the complexities of gender in everyday life, from birth through old age.
This sensitive and compelling piece of television debuts at 8 tonight and repeats at 11 p.m. on National Geographic Channel.
Asked about the proposed Texas bill, which would force transgender people to use bathrooms that match their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity, Couric said she hopes “the concerns that people have that are fueling these bills might be alleviated by this documentary.”
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has argued that sexual predators may use trans-friendly bathroom policies to target potential victims even though there never has been a reported case in Texas of someone using a nondiscrimination ordinance to enter a women’s restroom and commit an assault.
In reality, the only ones who need to fear anything are transgender woman; forcing them to use men’s facilities could put put them at risk of hate crimes.
Among the people Couric visits in the doc is Gavin Grimm, a trans teen in Virginia whose groundbreaking case seeking equal bathroom access at his high school is headed to the Supreme Court.
It’s extremely moving to watch this courageous young student face a room full of adult naysayers at a school board meeting and explain why it’s so important to respect his and other transgender kids’ rights to use the restroom and locker room that correspond to their gender.
Other stories that tug at one’s heart:
An adorable 6-year-old trans girl and a transgender woman in her 60s who, along with their families, face unique challenges as the result of their evolving gender identities.
A transgender woman who’s bent on changing the world, one trans employee at a time. Michaela Mendelsohn, a successful L.A. businesswoman, has responded to tragically high unemployment among transgender people by hiring and promoting trans workers at her restaurants.
Couric said she poured her heart into all these stories.
“It was an incredible experience for me to meet these families,” she told TV critics at a recent press session. “We read these headlines about gender nonconforming people and people who are living beyond the binary. I had never really rolled up my sleeves and spent time with many of these individuals. So everything was a surprise to me because I was learning something every day.
“I tried to put myself in the position of people who wanted to learn and understand these issues and to ask the questions I thought people at home would be asking if they had the privilege and opportunity to meet some of the people …who are in the documentary.”
Jeanne Jakle’s column appears Wednesdays and Sundays in mySA.
jjakle@express-news.net
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