In the groundbreaking documentary “Changing the Game” an athlete named Sarah Rose Huckman states a basic truth.
“Being transgender is not a choice,” said Huckman. “From the very beginning, I knew I was a girl.”
Huckman, a teen skier from New Hampshire, enjoys hanging out with her friends and posting makeup tutorials on YouTube. While the powerful and emotional documentary examines the more than 100 transgender state bills introduced in 2021 alone, all aimed to restrict the human rights of people like Huckman, the film goes beyond ideology when it shows the humanity of the athletes themselves.
The documentary will make its streaming debut on HULU on Tuesday at the start of Pride Month. “Changing the Game,” by Emmy award-winning filmmaker Michael Barnett, explores the intricate lives of three transgender high school athletes and how their fight for acceptance goes far beyond their sports.
The obstacles transgender youth face have grown over the past decade. One survey in 2020 said over 40 percent of transgender youth seriously considered suicide, only 27% of transgender youth say their families are supportive and only 8% of transgender youth say their place of worship is very accepting.
A Black transgender female student is five times more likely to be murdered than her peers and according to a survey by GLSEN, 75% of transgender youth (age 0-17) feel unsafe at school and less likely to continue their education beyond high school.
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