STREAMING CINEMA
Affi rming Patients’ Gender Identity
Doc showcases Mount Sinai transgender medicine program
BY GARY M. KRAMER
Changing lives is all in a
day’s work for Dr. Jess
Ting, the plastic surgeon
profi led in Tania Cypriano’s
thoughtful and sensitive
documentary “Born to Be.” Ting
performs gender-affi rming surgeries
at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai
Hospital, which opened a center for
transgender medicine and surgery
after the State of New York decided
that health insurance must cover
medically necessary procedures.
His work, which involves everything
from facial feminization surgery
to vaginoplasty and phalloplasty,
is in high demand.
“When they asked, everyone
said no, except me,” Ting said in
explaining why he became a specialist
in this fi eld.
His patients, as the fi lm shows,
are extremely grateful.
“Born to Be” sits in on the emotional
consultations Ting has with
his transgender prospective patients
who come to see him. His
compassion shines through always
and shows why he has gained the
trust of the community. He discusses
surgeries and the scars
that may go with them, answering
questions with grace. He manages
to comfort patients even in cases
where he is pioneering a new technique.
His goal, he explains, is to
make his patients “feel whole,” so
that their external body matches
their internal identity.
Ting said that he developed empathy
for the challenges transgender
people face after hearing about
the suicide of a trans individual.
(The fi lm states that 44 percent
of the transgender population
have attempted suicide.) He realized
that transition means different
things to different people — it
can be simply dressing in line with
one’s gender identity or undertaking
➤ TRANSHOOD, from p.23
seriously,” said Alpert. “That’s really
important to us, we took that
Mount Sinai’s Dr. Jess Ting (center) with Mahogany as Mahogany heads into surgery.
confi rmation surgery — and
that spurred his goal of helping the
community.
His enthusiasm with one patient,
Devin, is particularly striking.
Likewise, his rapport with
another, Cashmere, is inspiring.
As Cashmere explains the various
surgeries she had — and even
regretted, because she wanted to
complete her transition so badly
— Ting offers sympathy and reassurance.
Several subjects in the fi lm —
including Ting — get the opportunity
to discuss their backstory,
which make them complete threedimensional
characters in the
documentary. Ting explains that
he was a student at Julliard who
taught himself to play the bass violin,
but he gave up what he loved to
become a doctor.
One patient, Mahogany, reveals
she once worked as an in-demand
male model in South Africa, but
walked away from success because
of her gender dysphoria. In
contrast, Cashmere recalls her life
on the streets and the dangers of
doing sex work.
responsibility seriously being cisgender
women.”
“We take allyship so seriously,”
Liese said. “We want others to be
able to understand and empathize
KINO LORBER
The happiness Ting’s clients express
is infectious. One patient,
marvels at her new breasts; other
clients are thrilled to have new
genitalia (though some are unable
to look at what’s been done). The
post-surgery scenes are warm, and
viewers will feel happy “visiting”
with the patients. A scene where
Devin experiences discomfort using
a dilator on her new vagina,
however, is diffi cult to watch.
“Born to Be” briefl y takes viewers
into the operating room, but
there are very few scenes of actual
surgery, each discreetly fi lmed.
Mostly there are discussions of
procedures, such as one Ting has
with Jordan, who is having a phalloplasty
procedure. Ting explains
he will remove skin and an artery
from Jordan’s forearm to create the
phallus. He later pioneers a new
way of forming a penis that can be
done better and without having to
scar the forearm.
Such efforts — he also created
a better vaginoplasty procedure —
are why Ting is viewed as a superstar
in his fi eld. His waiting room is
full, and his waitlist is six to twelve
with the kids in the doc. We hope
there are kids and families who
see the fi lm and see a part of themselves
in the cast. The cast is super
excited for the world to see their
months. He wants more doctors
to learn these surgeries, and even
trains one woman, Bella, in a fellowship
program. But Ting also
has to fi ght against intolerance, hatred,
disgust, and misunderstanding
about the trans community. He
has a choice response for a troll on
Facebook who is “sickened” by his
work. Ting also acknowledges the
hurdles and burdens his patients
experience long before they get to
have their surgeries, a moment
many have been waiting nearly all
their lives.
“Born to Be” emphasizes not just
the need for access to healthcare
and for Ting’s services, but also
how important it is that the clinic
employs members of the trans
community, like Zil, the program
director, who has strong rapport
with its clients. If the fi lm has a
message, it is that doctors and staff
are needed in this growing fi eld.
The strain of running a clinic is
also addressed. Insurance can be
delayed or denied, and scheduling
electrolysis can be problematic.
The documentary also explores
how some patients continue to encounter
problems even after procedures
are completed. A dramatic
episode late in the fi lm features the
aftermath of a post-op suicide attempt.
This setback is heartbreaking,
but also illustrates that low
self-esteem, depression, and fear
are not necessarily alleviated by
surgery alone.
Still, “Born to Be” is overwhelmingly
an uplifting documentary because
of Ting’s compassion and his
success with his clients. His work
deserves to be celebrated, and this
galvanizing documentary showcases
him well.
BORN TO BE | Directed by Tania
Cypriano | Kino Lorber | Streaming
at Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema |
fi lmforum.org/virtual-cinema
stories after so many years.“
TRANSHOOD | Directed by Sharon
Liese | Streams afterward on HBO
Max
November 19 - November 25, 2 24 020 | GayCityNews.com
/virtual-cinema
/GayCityNews.com
