ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the significance of the emerging body of cinematic narratives focused upon transgender youth. These are screen texts that provide a voice to the contemporary experiences of gender-non-conforming and gender-expansive youth. The central role of supportive families and the devastating consequences of societal non-acceptance for trans youth are all cinematic subjects explored by Trans New Wave filmmakers. Subheadings: ‘Screen families’ will analyse recent documentaries Raising Ryland (Sarah Feeley, USA, 2015) and Tomgirl (Jeremy Asher Lynch, USA, 2015) to illustrate the complex narratives of trans youth from the points of view of the parents, teachers, school friends and social situations as the young people live their lives. ‘The role of education’ will focus upon the outreach role that films with trans youth narratives hold in countering misunderstanding of gender-diverse lives.
