Girls to Men: Born in the Wrong Body

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Available Summary:

Follows three young transgender Brits fulfilling their dreams of becoming men. The film features unprecedented access to surgical procedures and also meets the increasingly confident online community of young transgender men baring everything on social media.

-IMDb.

Jack's Summary:

I recommend proceeding with caution, if you do choose to watch this documentary.

One of the first things which occurs in this film is Alfie, a teenage trans boy, entering a clothing store, whereupon the cis male shop owner is allowed to ask Alfie inappropriate questions and quiz him on his medical decisions. This adult stranger asks Alfie whether he has "gone the whole way," reinforcing a norm of a universally-understood "complete" transition, which the filmmakers not seek to rebut. Alfie tries, mentioning that bottom surgery is only performed if it's actually desired, but all this accomplishes is the adult man arguing against such nuance.

As the conversation progresses, Alfie looks increasingly uncomfortable, and the shopkeeper displays absolute apathy for such discomfort by blatantly demanding to know, "Are you just a glorified dyke?" Alfie, in response, is stunned into silence. "It's now fashionably cool for girls to be dykes, and stuff like that," the man presses, "There's no way that you've not experienced that, or seen that." Alfie looks away, at a loss for words.

The filmmakers then treat viewers to a private interview with the shopkeeper, where he offers his two cents about Alfie's identity and medical decisions, misgendering Alfie with they/them pronouns... a persistent issue for many trans men, myself included. They/them is still misgendering if someone doesn't use those pronouns.

The problem is not necessarily the inclusion of these perspectives, as such commentary offers an opportunity for the reassertion of Alfie's identity and experiences, and could be used as a foundation to help viewers understand how distressing commonplace attitudes can be.

The problem is that the documentary does not eagerly seize this opportunity, and does not robustly emphasise the consequences of this encounter for Alfie. The implication is that Alfie, a teenager, ought to expect sexually-inappropriate questions and slur usage from adults, due to how confusing he is. That is an approach I find quite dangerous and anti-trans, beyond the actual substance of the incident itself. Alfie's experience here is horrible. It is not treated as such.

The documentary refers to the shopkeeper, and other cis men, as "natural-born men". This is a term I am not inherently offended by, although I understand why other trans men are. Regardless, the term takes on a whole different vibe, for me personally, when used by the narrator alongside harmful attitudes and degrading framing of the documentary subjects. When I have heard this term used by community members, and even well-meaning allies, it does not bother me... especially in historical media. This documentary is something else altogether.

One minor thing to note is that Alfie claims, "The first thing trans guys think of, when they think of testosterone, is facial hair." This brought to mind Tien Neo Eamas's interview, where he discusses expectations of facial hair as an Asian transman.

Moving on, clips from trans and gender diverse YouTubers' videos are shown, including genderqueer individual CJ, who notably did not identify as a trans man. They later spoke out against the inclusion of their clip in the documentary, calling the film sensationalistic and harmful.

Ethan, a young adult man studying at university, is introduced alongside his fiancé and supportive mother, Pat. He shows a picture of himself, noting that he does not even recognise the person in the image, prompting his mother to affectionately say, "It looks like someone's slapped a wig on you!" He agrees, saying that he's been told his past photos look like "a man in drag". He has been on testosterone for a year and several months.

The documentary discusses his desire for top surgery, and Ethan shows his packer to the viewers, explaining that it allows him to urinate standing up. The narrator notes that the packer also allows Ethan to "have sex as a man". Again, this comment would not faze me coming from an actual trans man, but coming from the narrator, it holds a different level of judgement and normative thinking. Trans men who willingly have sex without the use of prosthetics, and without bottom surgery, are still being intimate as men. Viewers of this documentary are not provided enough information to grasp that.

Ethan and his fiancé, Chloe, discuss their relationship. Ethan notes that, in some ways, they face difficulties which "biological" straight couples do not face. Coming from a trans man himself, I am unbothered by this language... but my opinions are not universal, and many men may feel differently about this terminology.

The narrator, displaying helpful nuance heretofore lacking in the film, distinguishes gender identity from sexual orientation, stating that Ethan and Chloe consider themselves a straight couple. Ethan discusses the dysphoria involved in becoming intimate with Chloe for the first time, also admitting that he wanted to remain clothed so that Chloe would not view him as "a man's head on a woman's body". Chloe insists that she did not see him that way.

Ethan is shown binding his chest, with the voiceover immediately labelling a binder as a "painful compression vest". I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, as discussed here, binding was very uncomfortable for me, was often painful, and was not sustainable. I have been frustrated by a narrative of binding being safe for everyone, provided that arbitrary, clinically undertested guidelines are followed. I do think that the harms of binding need to be more widely acknowledged.

On the other hand, presenting binding as being uncompromisingly painful all of the time, which this documentary does, is counterproductive to encouraging binding awareness and ensuring people bind with harm reduction in mind... because dysphoric individuals, particularly, will always find some way to bind.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, Ethan describes the dysphoria he feels when viewing his current chest, sharing how eager he is for his mastectomy.

A trans male DJ named Billy is introduced, with the narrator sharing his birth name and saying, "many of his fans have no idea that he was born a girl". Party-goers are interviewed outside the venue, having just been told that their DJ for the night is actually a trans man. The people express their surprise, with a couple noting that he is still attractive to them. This is another moment which, in isolation, might not seem too bad, but all I can wonder is whether Billy consented to being outed by the filmmakers, and all I can notice is the vibe of trans-identification being a juicy secret worthy of gossip. Gasp! He's been exposed!

Billy shows viewers and filmmakers a video of a trans man who has had phalloplasty, explaining how the implanted erectile device works. He is then filmed at a barbershop, where he and the barber talk about testosterone thinning his hair, before discussing his plans for bottom surgery. He says he is determined to go ahead with the operations, and describes the erectile function again to the barber, who says that other men will be "envious" of his ability to maintain an erection for as long as he wants.

In the context of his transition being difficult to access, Billy recalls being discouraged from suicide by someone who told him that, if he died pre-transition, he would be dying a woman, which he credits as saving his life.

Footage is shown of Alfie opening a letter, delighted when he sees that it is his testosterone prescription. The narrator provides misinformation about the fertility of trans and gender diverse people using testosterone, claiming that it will make Alfie infertile. The same claim was made by the doctors who treated Kris, a Norwegian trans man who stars in the 2025 documentary Fatherhood, and later disproven when Kris discovered that he could indeed carry a pregnancy. Testosterone may impact the likelihood of conceiving, but has not been proven to cause permanent infertility. More research is needed, and birth control should still be used where necessary.

Alfie himself reinforces this misinformation, reflecting the commonplace advice and medical consensus at the time of filming. He says to his friend that he is choosing not to freeze his eggs because he would not want a future child to find out that he is their "biological mother".

Cathy, Alfie's supportive mother, accompanies him to the appointment where he has his first testosterone injection. She is later interviewed, discussing a sense of bereavement now that her child is no longer living as a girl.

Ethan, prior to his own mastectomy, shows his mother a video of a mastectomy being performed. This footage is shown to the viewers as well, and could be distressing to some people.

He films himself, his fiancé, and his mother as he goes in for the operation, and the documentary thankfully restrains itself from showing more graphic footage. The narrator does not spend much time exploring or describing Ethan's feelings after surgery, skipping over the wondrous change of his chest finally being flat, instead dismissively saying that Ethan will find out "in a month" if the surgery has been a "success".

Dramatically cutting to an ad break, or changing scene, after pointedly emphasising negative/worrying aspects of gender affirmation is an indulgent pastime of the filmmakers.

Eventually, the documentary does return to Ethan, and he cries with happiness as his final dressings are removed. On his twentieth birthday, he goes swimming in a public pool, delightfully sharing how great he feels looking in the mirror.

A urological surgeon shows Billy photos of healed phalloplasty results, explaining that every patient's result is unique. These photos are also shown to the viewer, along with photos taken immediately post-op, which (again) could be distressing. One intra-op photo is shown, but is blurred. After hearing surgical details, Billy admits that the procedure is scary to him, but that he still wishes to proceed. Billy later has a video call with a post-phalloplasty man who talks about his sexual experiences and shows his result.

On the day of the surgery, comments from the surgeon are played, with the doctor emphasising that phalloplasty penises are not "normal" penises, and he trusts that Billy has realistic expectations in this department.

While I understand the point he is making, "normal" is a term which some trans men, intersex people, and gender-diverse individuals may find insulting. There is no single "normal" penis size, shape, or function. In fact, this ideal of a normal phallus is what has been used, and is still used, to justify intersex genital mutilation, and it also persistently rears its ugly head in commonplace body-shaming, even from self-identified progressives.

The narrator, citing no research and providing no proof, claims that testosterone use increases the risk of ovarian cancer. It is possible that this information came from the surgeon himself, as it is pointed to as the justification for Billy's total hysterectomy.

During the surgery, which is shown in extremely graphic detail, the surgeon is interviewed while standing next to Billy's unconscious body. Referring to a phalloplasty penis, he says, "People are quite curious to know, what can it do? Everything. He can have sex, he can pee..." As comedic, mocking music plays, the surgeon continues, "It doesn't look completely real, but it looks reasonable. On a dark night, all cats look alike, so nobody can tell the difference." He goes on to wonder aloud what patients "tell their partners," suggesting that perhaps patients use the excuse of being in an accident and suffering genital damage.

I truly wonder how Billy reacted, if he watched this scene later. I would not be shocked if he felt quite humiliated.

Post-surgery and in incredible pain, Billy is interviewed, and says that he wouldn't go through an operation of such magnitude again.

When interviewed several months after his operation, however, he is happier and has adjusted, describing everything as being "much easier", now that he has a phallus. "It makes all the difference," he says, "not having to wear a packer... It's pretty incredible. It's amazing, actually. I'm just excited to get on with it."

Directly addressing the viewer, Billy says, "If I continued to live as a woman, I probably... I just wouldn't be here. I needed to go through this surgery, to feel complete. To me, it's the end of using accessories to be who I am, and I can just be me, now. In my own skin."

Lowering his packer into a bonfire, Billy says, "It did give me happiness, at one time, but it's not real. It never was, and what I've got now is. I'd do it over, and over again.... To feel the happiness that I feel now is just so incredibly worth it... All the pain that I've been through, and all the waiting that I've done... all the depression and the sad days... I would never have thought I'd be this happy. It's just absolutely unbelievable."

The documentary ends on a happy note, and there are moments of worth in this film... but saying that it is a product of its time is quite the understatement. It's not as bad as Changing Sexes (2008), but it's pretty bloody bad.