BBC4 Documentary, 'George'

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Anyone see the 1979 documentary 'George, a Change of Sex' shown on BBC4 last night?

It was the first mainstream TV programme to cover transsexuality in any detail, and four subsequent documentaries were made about the late 'George' Grant, who became 'Julia.' All available on the iplayer at the moment.

George was a boy from a broken home with alcoholic parents, who took on a caring role for his younger sisters. He worked as a male prostitute in his teens, but also married and had two children (he didn't mention this until questioned on camera by the psychiatrist!) His sexual preference was for men.

The first doc shows George working as a (frankly unpleasant) drag artist in gay bars before meeting a psychiatrist and beginning his social transition.

Apparently quite a sad story, because Julia's sex change procedure was carried out privately and botched, leaving them with lifelong health problems.

Julia Young was against 'social transitioning' and drug therapy for underage kids, so they are not claimed or highlighted much by the modern trans rights movement. What do we make of their story in the light of current thinking?

Was this reshown in the 90s?

How terribly sad. Jenn Smith also seems to have transitioned as the result of a very hard childhood in foster care.

Interesting story. Seems to me back then that a lot more effort was made by psychiatry to make sure it was the right thing to do. Much to George /Julia's annoyance. But even they seem to recognise now that it was important to have that level of safeguarding, even if they did at the time do everything they could to get round that. An interesting story though. I haven't finished it but so far Julia finally seems to have found some level of happiness after an incredibly sad life.

Jenn Smith also seems to have transitioned as the result of a very hard childhood in foster care.

Isn't that the focus of Jenn's campaigning? That an utterly ludicrous proportion of children in care in Canada now are getting transed?

I remember watching this at the time and then a follow up.

Apparently after the surgery was complete she collapsed in the street and was taken to hospital.

She was bleeding from her artificial vagina and the treatment the hospital gave was not suitable, they treated her as biologically female.

This one of a number of reasons I believe the mantra of TWAW is dangerous.

It does clearly need to be on hospital records that the person is a biological male / female. That botch up was appalling as they thought Julia was a biological female who was having a miscarriage. The intervention as a result of that totally destroyed the 'sex change' surgery that had been done.

It does clearly need to be on hospital records that the person is a biological male / female.

Along with training about how to use that information in a constructive manner.

Yep, watched them all, and I did recall watching one of them back in the day too. Very messy childhood and complex person, who seemed to go from huge success to disaster (business and personal). Interesting piece of social history.

Along with training about how to use that information in a constructive manner.

Yes

Deliriumoftheendless I remember watching this in the 90s.

She used to DJ in nightclubs in Sheffield in the late 80's & early 90's. She was on 4 in a bed a few years ago.

Julia came across as a really funny and likable person on 4 in a Bed.

Even at my terfiest, I cannot help but feel compassion and sadness for someone who had so much happen so young. I don't think Julia ever really found the answer to all of those problems and she was quite open about that.

She died a couple of years ago, I think there was a thread.

She used to DJ at a club in Bradford, she passed away in 2019

Yes, Julia was certainly courageous. Presenting as a woman in 1979 took guts, this was a time when gay men and lesbians were getting bashed in the street, never mind transsexuals.

I just wonder if her traumatic childhood led to her utterly rejecting masculinity as a gay man.

His/her drag act was full of the most horrible misogynistic cliche though...

Off to iplayer tonight to watch the other ones. They're fascinating social history.

I remember watching the follow up in the 90s. I found it interesting as it showed the hard work that Julia put into their appearance and passing and the long road to changing her name, coming out to people etc. You wouldn’t be able to make such an honest documentary now because you can only repeat the mantra that once you get on HRT, you magically become a hot girl and nobody can tell you otherwise.

I watched this on iPlayer recently, it’s such a sad story from the wife and two kids who were mentioned once and didn’t seem to feature in Julia’s life at all to the awful abusive childhood and prostitution and then the discrimination and violent attacks suffered as a result of bigotry. It’s clear that George was a damaged individual and needed better help than he got.

I suspect he never had the reconstructive surgery because a sex change was never the answer to the trauma he’d suffered as a child.

Julia was about the same age as me and I remember watching this when it first came out in 1980 when I was 25 and newly married. I watched it this time with my son and was surprised at things I had forgotten or misremembered. I had completely forgotten that as George he had been married and had two children.

I also remembered the psychiatrist being so awful to him and watching it now in my 60s I am struck still by the awful tone and attitude he showed, but really when you think about it, he hadn't lived for a year as a woman (which was the main rule) and there were a lot of complex past trauma and MH issues to consider too. I think the psychiatrist was right in that George was rushing to become Julia too quickly, thinking it would be the answer to all his problems - but at 25 I was inclined to agree with George.