Transgender men give VERY honest accounts of everyday life - from checking that public loos have cubicles and 'crying at everything' thanks to taking hormones
- Short film show transgender talking about their day-to-day lives
- The video, directed by Jake Graf, stars five trans men and one woman
- Offers honest accounts of using public toilets and the pitfalls of hormones
A group of young transgender people have offered searingly honest accounts of their day-to-day lives in a bid to help other youngsters who are struggling with their identity.
The video, created by Jake Graf, features bloggers and vloggers in the transgender community offering details on how they deal with difficult scenarios such as which toilet to use and the effects of taking hormones.
The footage, which features five trans men and one trans woman, is also light-hearted with one of its stars relaying how he scouts out the toilet situation when entering a new bar.
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Kieran Moloney, pictured left, speaks out about how he has to 'suss out' every venue he goes to for toilet facilities (pictured with Romario Bayliss)
Kieran Moloney, originally from New Zealand, says: 'Whenever I go to a bar with my best mates, we'll sit down. One of my mates will go to the loo, come back and say "two cubicles and a couple of urinals" and off I'll say "sweet, see you later"'.
He adds: 'I suss out every place I go to before I go in.'
London-based Jake Graf, who is an actor, writer and director, opens up about how taking testosterone affected his emotions.
'I spent most of my formative years and teenage years and most of my 20s just crying at everything and about everything. I was just an emotional wreck.'
He continues: 'Testosterone totally plugged up my tear ducts and I was just unable to cry.'
Graf said the inspiration behind the short film, which has already been viewed 12,500 times on YouTube and was made in association with ftmmagazine.com, was the ongoing battle for awareness.
German vlogger and trans activist Benjamin Melzer, right (pictured with Brighton-based blogger Lewis Hancox) was the first trans male in the running for the cover of Men's Health magazine in Germany. He tells an anecdote about he could relate to a cat that acted like a dog
Jake Graf (left) poses with his subjects, standing from left to right: Kieran, Romario, Lewis and Benjamin, holding Allie
Graf told FEMAIL: 'I had the idea for the video having seen a lot of other trans themed videos, and whilst finding them very inspiring, felt that they were often quite heavy in tone, or were very much from one angle or point of view.
'I wanted to get something out there that hopefully gave more of a varied and diverse perspective, and so reached out to all the people involved, and put the idea to them.
I chose Ben, Romario, Lewis, Kieran and Allie as I had seen all of them online in various guises, and I knew that all would bring something fresh, positive and unique.'
Left to right: Filmmaker Jake Graf, Kieran, Allie, Romario, Lewis and Benjamin
He added that it has been 'an amazing year for trans visibility' and '[while the tone of the video is hopefully positive and inspiring, all of us have gone through dark times pre transition, and we wanted very much to give hope, and let other trans folk know that things do get better, and that there is light at the end of what can be a very long tunnel.
'If we can brighten even one person's day, then our work is done.'
He told HuffPost UK Lifestyle: 'On a weekly basis I still see the heartbreaking account of another young trans man having killed himself, as a result of bullying, family rejection or simply the long wait for help and recognition.'
Graf adds that he is 'painfully aware of how far we still have to go'.
The video talks about the importance of family support. German vlogger and trans activist Benjamin Melzer reveals that his mother stayed with him for three weeks while he was in hospital undergoing his gender reassignment surgery.
Brighton-based blogger Lewis Hancox also talks about how the public helped him when he was rejected for chest surgery, saying he 'couldn't believe' the response when people offered to pay for the operation.
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