The Torn Identity.

From the moment we’re born, our gender becomes part of our identity. We are a boy or a girl—solid in blue, or pretty in pink. But what if your body says one sex, and your brain says another?

Is it possible to be born as the wrong gender?

Leave behind the stereotype notions of drag queens and tomboys. The Torn Identity features three individuals living ordinary lives, with the exception that they have learned that gender can be flexible, if not altogether changeable. They fall under the umbrella of transgender.

This 26-minute documentary explores what it means to be transgendered. It opens with a sweeping understanding of child development, where gender identity begins. It then gets intimate with two individuals who, nearly in their fifties, made the life-altering decision to surgically change their gender. You also meet a college student on the fence about gender, choosing life as an ambiguous sex.

The Torn Identity also journeys to Trinidad, Colorado, the sex change capitol of the world, where transgender is, as the locals will tell you, old news. Renowned surgeon Dr. Marcie Bowers explains transgender and the process of changing ones’ sex. Then meet the woman who helps in the healing process, Carol Cometto, at her recovery house, The Morning After.

Finally, The Torn Identity acknowledges the Transgender Day of Remembrance, recognizing the hideous crimes committed against the transgender community.  The film concludes with an attitude of hope for acceptance and understanding towards this growing community that teaches us that gender has many shades of gray.