Positive reception for Louis Theroux documentary ‘Transgender Kids’
A Louis Theroux documentary looking at the growing number of young transgender people has been broadly positively received.
The documentary – which aired on BBC Two on Sunday in place of a new episode of Top Gear – drew an overnight audience of 1.68m, according to Digital Spy.
In the film, Theroux travelled to San Francisco to meet a number of young children who identify as transgender – exploring what their identity means, and the challenges they face from medical intervention.
The show featured a number of young children, including 5-year-old Camille, who transitioned to female with the support of her parents.
In the show, Camille explained of her former self: “He was not happy. He wanted to be a girl, and then he did not like his name so he changed his name.”
Camille’s parents explain: “This is very new… it’s hard getting used to going from one to the other. It’s difficult, it’s not an easy thing to do.”
The show has met with a broadly good reception from trans activists and critics alike – though some raised the show’s focus on surgery and “standard trans tropes”.
The Telegraph’s reviewer praised the documentary for the “excellent storytelling”, with “no soapboxing, point-scoring or finger-wagging” present.
Meanwhile, the Independent noted: “Given how often we hear about trans teenagers being rejected by their families, it was joyful to see so many supportive and open-minded mums and dads in action.”
The documentary has also sparked a lot of reaction – with the Victoria Derbyshire show this morning focussing on transgender children in the UK.
Louis Theroux: Transgender Kids is available on BBC iPlayer.
