Sex Change Hospital featuring Dr. Marci Bowers is transforming TV

Currently Sex Change Hospital, a six part series is playing ON Demand via Comcast (Discovery Fit & Health - Channel 222 in the Seattle area) and on several future dates during August.  Each 1 hour show tells the story of 2 individuals changing their gender from either male to female or female to male.  It features Dr. Marci Bowers a well known and beloved Seattle surgeon who relocated to Trinidad, Colorado to preform sex changes at the Mount San Rafael Hospital. 

Dr. Bowers has an amazingly personal and empathetic bedside manner I imagine in part due to her own experience with gender reassignment surgery over 10 years ago.  She has a strong medical background as an OB-GYN in surgical gynecology and has delivered over 3000 babies.  She relocated to Trinidad which has become known as the sex change capital of the world as so many gender reassignments are preformed there.

The town is amazingly supportive of the trans community that flocks to Trinidad for surgery originally under Dr. Stanley Biber who preformed his first male to female sex change in 1969.  Dr. Bowers took over his practice in 2003 when Dr. Biber retired.  Dr. Biber passed away at the age of 82 in 2006.     

I have a bit of melancholy as I watch these shows as I had the experience of going to Trinidad, supporting my then partner/future husband through gender reassignment surgery.  I walked those very halls, did the consults and got to know Marci (who I just love, love, love) over the course of many years.  It is a part of my life that changed my views in so many ways and made me an even stronger advocate for full gender equality.  Parts of my own identity changed and I understood things more fully than before I had this experience.  Ms T.

   

Everett Gender Support Closing and Philosophy of Seattle Announcements added

While I like to deliver good news, I also have the distinction of delivering news that is on the bummer end of things as well. Please see the below letter that was posted on Ingersol's website that I have posted in it's entirety on the closing of the Everett Open Support Meeting.  Ms T.

Friends -
    
    After more than eight years and 444 consecutive weeks,  the Everett Open Support meeting of the Washington Gender Alliance will be held for the final time on August 25, 2010.  The meetings will be held as usual and without interruption through that date.  The Bellingham Open Support meetings are unaffected by this change,  and will continue weekly as they have for more than 14 years.
    
    Unfortunately,  we just don't have the resources necessary to maintain the meeting.  However,  everyone is welcome to join us in Bellingham each Tuesday  7:30 - 9 PM at St. James Presbyterian Church 910 14th Street (at Fillmore Street) in the Fairhaven district. For those who aren't able to travel to Bellingham,  but still need an in person support meeting, Ingersoll Gender Center offers one in Seattle on Wednesday nights. And we will continue to answer questions and offer support via e-mail at info@washingtongenderalliance.com.
    
    We're sorry if this presents any difficulty for anyone,  but we simply have no choice but to take this action.  Many people have come through the doors of the Everett meeting since 2002,  and hopefully they benefitted from participating in the Alliance.  The work will continue,  just further north where it all began in 1996.
    
    Please share this information with anyone you know in the gender community.  It is our sincere hope that everyone gets the word by August 25th so no one comes looking for the meeting after that date.  The reason that our support meetings have been held each and every week is so no one would ever find a closed door.  It would be a shame if after eight years someone first came looking for the meeting after it was closed down.
    
    We've always been proud of being the only gender organization in Washington that has held two weekly support meetings in two different cities 60 miles apart.  While we will no longer have that distinction, our Bellingham meeting has surpassed 735 consecutive weekly meetings without interruption, and counting.
    
    Rory Gould,
    President

Reflections of TransformNation, a documentary about gender identity

Last Friday I was able to attend the the screening of TransformNation, a documentary about gender identity with about 30 other people.  I arrived just before the film started as it was that horrible windy and nasty evening that Seattle was experiencing.  Folks were enjoying snackage, drinks and enjoying getting to know each other before the film started.

The film was shot in ~2002 and provided insight into some of the thoughts and feelings that people have about themselves during their process of changing gender.  There were different age ranges, experiences and reactions that the 8 filmed participants had about their transition process.  Alex DePaz hopes to do a follow up to check in and see where these original 8 are today.  I think this would make a wonderful addition to this first film that Alex has submitted to our upcoming Translations, Seattle Transgender Film Festival.

After the film we had an impromptu discussion about the film and thoughts in general that people had.  I hope that Alex will create this dialogue after future screenings as people seemed very interested in talking and sharing their own thoughts, feelings and experiences.  One of the 8 portrayed in the film was available for the discussion and the audience seemed appropriately respectful but also wanted to ask questions of him.  It was a very successful screening especially if you consider that many of us stayed until close to midnight.

Alex did the original film on his own but now has a team of folks that are enthusiastic that will be working to produce content on a specific time-line.  Purr Productions intends to produce a number of other interesting films.  I will keep you posted about their progress.  Ms T

Future Purr Production Films:

• 'Transformnation revisited' Following up with the individuals from the original documentary to examine how their lives have changed over the last six years.

• 'Broken Shadows' a documentary about HIV/AIDS epedemic and the effects of the last three decades.

• 'Marimacha' a documentary about butch women and their struggles to separate from FTM’s identity.

• ' Hey DOC' a short lesbian comedy about lust in the doctor’s office between a patient and her doctor.

• 'Looking for Love' a script in progress.

TransformNation a documentary about gender identity on April 2nd

This Friday there is the first screening of TransformNation, a documentary about gender identity.  I am looking forward to seeing what this film has to offer as this is a relevant and meaningful topic for many of us.  It would be great to see some of you at the screening to show support for this and for future projects as the proceeds from this film will be rolled into follow up projects that look as timely and interesting as this first film for our community.  Ms T

Purr Productions and Alex DePaz Presents:
Screening of “TransformNation” a documentary about gender identity.

Place: Dexter Lake Union ClubHouse
1215 Dexter Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
206-214-6491

Date: April 2, 2010

Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and screening is at 8:30 pm


Screening Time: 8:30pm
Tickets: $10.00 suggested donation at the door
All proceeds benefit film production costs of this, and future films.

All proceeds benefit upcoming films by this cutting edge film maker:

'Transformnation revisited' Following up with the individuals from the original documentary to examine how their lives have changed over the last six years.

'Broken Shadows' a documentary about HIV/AIDS epedemic and the effects of the last three decades.

'Marimacha' a documentary about butch women and their struggles to separate from FTM’s identity.

' Hey DOC' a short lesbian comedy about lust in the doctor’s office between a patient and her doctor.

'Looking for Love' a script in progress.

Thanks for your support!!
Filmmaker
Alex DePaz, MA
1215 Dexter Ave N. No.736
Seattle, WA 98109
206.214.6491
alex@wholetherapy.org
www.wholetherapy.org


On Seattle Announcements Calendar.