Photo credit: MTV

Each year during Transgender Awareness Week (November 14 – 20), individuals, organizations, and media across the country participate to help raise visibility and awareness about transgender and gender non-conforming people, and address issues facing the community.

As in years past, MTV is featuring programming throughout the week to highlight stories of transgender and gender non-conforming people, including sharing original content on MTV’s social platforms and SnapChat Discover, while changing account logos to proudly display the transgender flag. 

On Thursday at 9pm, MTV will air a new episode of True Life, “We Are Transitioning,” which follows two couples as one of the partners from each pair embarks on their journey of transition, followed by the premiere of the documentary, Transformation, at 10pm as part of the network’s Transgender Awareness Week programming initiative.

The hour-long documentary follows Madin Lopez, a non-binary hairstylist whose non-profit organization ProjectQ provides life-altering and gender-affirming makeovers to LGBTQIA and homeless youth. Lopez is brought on by the mentorship program, LifeWorks at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, to give six transgender and gender non-conforming teens–Ashton, Carman, Ashleah, Milo, Jessica-Jean, and Zander–greater assurance and confidence in being who they are, while they share in their own words their personal stories and struggles. 

Nia Clark, producer on the documentary, Los Angeles LGBT Center LifeWorks Mentoring Coordinator, and transgender woman herself says:

“In this country, the transgender community at large is categorically rejected by society for not adhering to a limited binary standard of gender identity and expression. Trans youth are particularly vulnerable to this kind of discrimination. These makeovers are intended to provide six trans youth, and hopefully trans and gender expansive youth all over the world, with proof there are caring adults who support and admire them. At its core, this is not a makeover event; it is a global affirmation of people and gender in all forms.” 

Watch the trailer for Transformation here. 

Be sure to tune in to True Life and Transformation, back to back on Thursday, November 17, starting at 9pm on MTV. The documentary will also be live streamed for free on MTV’s Facebook page at 10:15pm. 

On Tuesday, a special pre-screening was hosted by MTV and held at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, followed by a panel discussion on “The Future of Trans Images in the Media” moderated by TV and film writer for the Los Angeles Times Tre’Vell Anderson, with Madin Lopez, (pictured, l-r) actors Alexandra Grey (Transparent, Chicago Med), Elliot Fletcher (Shameless, The Fosters), Jen Richards (Her Story, Nashville), and the filmmakers of the documentary Katelyn Howes and Melissa Johnson. 

All of this is part of MTV’s multi-year Look Different campaign which spotlights issues of race, gender, and anti-LGBTQ bias while providing resources for support and celebrating the resilience of people in their communities.