British soap, Hollyoaks, is introducing a young trans character to the show. According to the makers, we’ll get to follow Jason’s journey from closeted transsexual through to coming out to his parents, friends and family all the way to hormonal treatment. And he’s just 15.

We meet Jasmine, a pretty, blonde, popular and seemingly living the perfect life. The girl people see on the outside isn’t the person on the inside, Jason.

Interviewed in The Guardian, the actress, Victoria Atkin (right), 23, who will play Jason says “she has drawn on Hilary Swank’s performance as Brandon Teena in Boys Don’t Cry“.

It was a big revelation for me how much taunting and bullying there is. The trauma and the effect on the family is huge. The impact on siblings at school, for example, came up with a lot of the people I have spoken to. They are often attacked, too.

The series producer Paul Marquess said:

I am proud that Hollyoaks is able to tackle the issue of gender identity disorder (GID) and the effect the condition has on the families. Around one in 4,000 people in Britain are receiving medical help for gender dysphoria and if we can bring the issue to the forefront to help more young people identify and talk about the condition, then I believe that can only be a positive thing.

Hmmm…..although I agree that any education and exposure to trans issues is positive, the whole media talk around this is skewed and ill-informed. Marquess, above, talks about GID and “medical help” while The Guardian article is entitled Girls Will be Boys and talks about “Jasmine, the girl who wants to be Jason”.

Both may be well-intentioned but they are obviously ignorant of the facts. Let’s get this right people, in this case:

• there is no “girl trying to be a boy”, there is a boy in a girl’s body and he wants to sort that out
• his name is Jason, Jasmine is the name his parent’s gave him when they thought he was a girl
• The Guardian article also says, “Jasmine has always felt like a boy and dresses as one in secret”. Jason is a boy and has been forced to dress as a girl in public.
• It goes on to state: ‘The storyline will chart her transition towards becoming “Jason” (their quotation marks )
  This should read, “The storyline will chart his transition towards becoming recognised as Jason”
• trans people don’t need “medical help” for a “condition”, they need support and understanding while going on an emotional journey, which happens to involve doctors and pills

The storyline in Hollyoaks is to be commended, without a doubt, as obviously a lot of poeple need educating around trans issues, including those who would see themselves as allies.

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