Friday, May 13, 2011
Chaz on Becoming
Posted by Cameron Partridge at 3:31 PM

http://blog.transepiscopal.com/2011/05/chaz-on-becoming.html

But as a transman myself, Chaz was the one on which I knew I would be primarily focused. Because he's the son of celebrities, having grown up under completely different circumstances than did I or anyone I know, I honestly wasn't sure how well I would relate. More than that, I was concerned that because of its celebrity connections, this film had the potential to feed into the mass media's sensationalistic appetites. Given all that, I was fascinated how little this film actually does falls into that trap, and how Chaz and Jenny come across as remarkably down to earth and authentic, very human amid a fair bit of drama. Chaz is very clearly and simply himself, take it or leave it. So too is Jennifer. The two of them have been through a lot both individually and as a couple, and they're remarkably honest about that.

I was intrigued — and oddly relieved — to hear that there nevertheless were aspects of the film that stretched their own comfort zones when they saw it after the fact.