As people transition, so does the world around them. The alterations of in- and out-of-community perceptions, sexism and even medical diagnoses are addressed in these two trans-genre films.

Combining documentary technique, dramatic reenactment, spoken word performance and meta-level commentary by the participants on the film itself, Against a Trans Narrative takes the conversation on trans-masculinities in the United States to a bold new level. A multi-racial, multi-generational, multi-gendered group of three dozen people give voice to many hot-button issues now animating community dialogs: relationships in transition, conflicting interpretations of feminism, passing and privilege, access to health care, the impact of queer theory and the ongoing realities of sexism.

Bypassing old-school Standards of Care for transexualism and confronting the Gender Identity Disorder mental health categorization, Diagnosing Difference lets us hear from real experts, like elder diva Ms. Major who served as a trans activist helping folks in the ’60s, and San Francisco’s own Cecelia Chung contradicting “medicalization” with examples of positive trans identity in other cultures. Plus the down-to-earthiness of activist treasure Adela Vazquez and the punk rock directness of Shawna Virago, rejecting gender transition merely to become “a gender-normative person like a Stepford wife or a tv sitcom dad.”