Original subtitles

Hello, my name is William King. And today for Bizarre Productions Newsfilm,

we are going to explore for a few minutes, the world of the transsexual.

Much has been discussed about this controversial subject,

but very few people have had the opportunity to get actual first-hand information,

which we are going to do today.

Sitting beside me here is Mr. Jimmy Michaels who is an admitted transsexual.

It was Mr. Michael's expressed desire to discuss some of the actualities

and some of the myths of transsexuality,

thereby shedding a new light on the subject that has been kept out of the public's eye for some time.

This interview is completely unrehearsed and is presented

so that you will have a better understanding of the world of the transsexual.

Mr. Michaels, just what is a transsexual?

[Michaels:] Transsexual is one who desires to be the opposite sex, either female to male or male to female.

[King:] Can you tell us something about your background? Where you were born. Something about your parents.

Your first discovery that you were different.

[Michaels:] Well, I was born in Europe, because my father being in the military,

and as a child was very effeminate,

preferring to play with girls' toys better than with boys' and enjoying their company to boys.

I didn't go in for the outdoor sports, as baseball, football, things like that.

I would prefer to stay inside or to read and

the more effeminate qualities, I guess. And my parents noticed it about the age of six.

[King:] Tell me do you consider yourself a male or a female?

[Michaels:] Hmm, it's pretty hard to say.

Mentally, female. I think, most of the time, the majority of the time, as a female. I would act as a female.

But then the other percentage when I'm caught off guards and in the depressed state,

you don't know which is which, so therefore you try to be more masculine,

to please society, to make more of acceptance to oneself.

Are you going to have the complete operation?

Well, that's my intended purpose to... to change.

Being a transsexual, that's their purpose or their goal, usually,

to have the operation.

[King:] Which do you enjoy most, the company of men or women?

That's difficult to say, because I enjoy

women's company, not to the degree of a romantic interest, but as for sharing

interests of doing things together, you know, around a house, or

common interest in the theater or things like that. Then I enjoy,

you know, female company. And usually women are more apt to accept me than men.

[Michaels:] But on a bait, on a whole, I enjoy men's company,

to the degree that it makes me feel good to be around them.

[King:] Mmm-hmm. Have you ever had any desire for physical relationship with a female?

None whatsoever. Never has entered my mind. [King laughs]

[King:] Do you consider yourself a homosexual?

Well, if I were a homosexual, that would throw out the complete

belief in me being a transsexual, because the homosexual desires

men, and they have no desire to be women, or to be treated as women.

A lot of them mock women. It's making fun of. [King:] Yes.

[Michaels:] But they have no real desire to be treated, or to actually be women. [King:] Mmm-hmm.

[King:] I presume you have fallen in love. Can you tell us about, a little about the first time that that happened?

If anyone knows what love is. I really don't know.

It was, it may have been just mere infatuation, but I've gone the

route, the road twice, I guess.

Each time with someone who's completely basically straight. And each time, you know, disastrous ending.

As it can be.

[King:] And then I take it that most of your friends would be women. But,

considering the friends that you have, what do they think about your desire to be a complete woman?

[Michaels:] Most my friends, you know, except me - the majority are straight or in the so-called straight world.

A lot of them are trying to help me with different, you know,

viewpoints, different things. You know, to look at both sides instead of just

featuring one road and you know, each angle. They try to help me with.

[King:] Do any of them try to talk you out of it?

I've had a few who have -

not out here, back East, a few were trying to persuade me not to do it. That it was no need.

I usually ignore them. Sometimes it would upset me and

send me into a tremor to my psychiatrist but

usually I just ignore them.

[King:] But those who have tried to talk you out of it, be male or female?

Uh, it's about equal, I guess. There've been males and there've been females.

Usually the males who, who've tried to talk me out of it are

completely involved with me, as to where, you know, they,

their masculinity is threatened. So therefore they put up this defense,

get rid of the blockage there.

[King:] You mentioned the psychiatrist. How has your decision affected you mentally?

It's quite a - well, people think LSD is a trip, they should try taking hormones. [King laughs]

Now that is really a trip. Because one moment you're full, you know,

of vitality and, you know, you're sure of what you want.

And then the next moment you can be completely depressed,

and then you, you know, you think, "why am I doing this?

What good is it gonna do?"

[King:] Mm-hmm. [Michaels:] It's like a merry-go-round. It's up and down, you know, it's...

[King:] Well among the people who are not particular friends, acquaintances.

How does the, the straight person of your own age treat you?

[Michaels:] The ones that I'm not in contact with, usually the ones who are the hecklers on the street are usually,

either they say, "What is it?" Or if they know, you know, they can be obscene.

Youngsters have a tendency to be very cruel. [King:] I guess. [Michaels:] Yeah even in their

school, which - I remember in school, they can be very cruel to people who

have less than they do. And I used - would sit back and watch

this, this barbarism, I guess it would be called. Because it is what it is, you know.

[King:] Mmm-hmm. [Michaels:] They have to pick on one person. They

set them out to, for their little games, their little party games.

[King:] Would you encourage anybody else to go through the physical ordeals that you've experienced?

Uh, definitely not.

They'd have to be out of their mind, I think, or either, you know, very into it.

How have the female hormones affected you physically?

Well, it's a lot it does for you. A lot of women are taking them now too.

It decreases in amount the growth of hair on the face and

the features become softer, more feminine. The skin texture changes.

[King:] Mmm-hmm. [Michaels:] The growth of the pubic hairs also changes.

Hair elsewhere on the body slows down.

And what doesn't stop growing turns white eventually.

And the hair on your head grows thicker and faster, also.

[King:] Mm-hmm.

[King:] What do you intend to do after you've had the complete operation?

That's a good question. It's like starting all over again, I guess,

like being reborn.

Mmm-hmm.

[Michaels:] I have intentions probably of like, every girl, I guess, of getting married someday.

I can't have children but there's always the possibility of adopting them.

And, you know, living in someplace in suburbia, you know, this type thing,

which at the moment doesn't appeal to me very much but that's what I hope to do.

[King:] Hmm. Tell me, do you prefer wearing women's clothes?

Mmm, that's a good question.

Women's, per say, you mean dresses?

[King:] You know, dresses, bras, panties, the silk hose, or nylon hose? Girdles?

I hate nylons. I hate girdles. I do not like to wear bras.

I don't necessarily like to wear dresses except now and then, I get this

mad urge to, you know, do the town. You know, really doll up and everything, you know, this type thing.

But I really have no craving to flaunt, you know, with the makeup. Which I don't like makeup.

You know, spending two hours in the beauty salon, which is a complete waste of time to me.

To me, femininity or a woman does not, is not expressed in, you know, wearing a silk dress

or nylons or having her hair done twice a week at the nearest beauty salon or,

you know, the whole frilly bit. It's from withinside. If you don't have it withinside, no matter what you put on,

you know, on the outside, it's not gonna come through.

[King:] Have you any opinions on the styles today?

It's the greatest time to be born for fashion, I think, because it's,

you know, they, the women are slowly getting out of [...] of the silk dresses,

and the nylons, and the bras, and the girdles, the whole bit.

You know, more the natural look is coming through. The natural beauty.

[King:] Now here's a rather important question. What are you going to do about your name?

Well that can be changed legally and it's no problem about that.

I'm gonna take my grandmother's name.

[King:] Oh, you've already chosen one?

[Michaels:] Yeah. [King, laughing:] Oh well that, that saves going through a list of girls names for it.

Yeah. But, you know, even if my name was still, you know, what it is now,

like femininity is not in a name either.

[King:] Mmm-hmm. True, true. [Michaels:] I think Shakespeare said that once.

[King:] Or something close to it. [Michaels:] Yeah.

[King:] How do you feel about society today?

Well, like society was 200 years ago, 500 years ago. It's pretty well screwed up.

[King:] [laughs] I guess we'll all agree with that one.

[music]

[lyrics begin:] ♪ Changes ♪

♪ There will be changes ♪

♪ New rearranges ♪

♪ waiting for me ♪

♪ Changes ♪

♪ Happy exchanges ♪

♪ New interchanges ♪

♪ setting me free ♪

♪ Gender ♪

♪ is a pretender ♪

♪ change the offender ♪

♪ Let it agree! ♪

♪ With changes ♪

♪ absolute changes ♪

♪ making a being ♪

♪ free to be me ♪

♪ When I was a lad, I was lonely ♪

♪ Deep inside my soul, was a need ♪

♪ Now my inner self wishes only ♪

♪ to let my other being ♪

♪ be freed ♪

[music]

♪ Changes ♪

♪ There will be changes ♪

♪ New rearranges ♪

♪ waiting for me ♪

♪ Changes ♪

♪ happy exchanges ♪

♪ New interchanges ♪

♪ setting me free ♪

♪ Gender ♪

♪ is a pretender ♪

♪ change the offender ♪

♪ Let it agree! ♪

♪ With changes ♪

♪ absolute changes ♪

♪ making a being ♪

♪ free to be me ♪

[music]

[lyrics:] ♪ Gender ♪

♪ is a pretender ♪

♪ change the offender ♪

♪ Let it agree ♪

♪ With changes ♪

♪ absolute changes ♪

♪ making a being ♪

♪ free to be me ♪

♪ Changes ♪

♪ there will be changes ♪

♪ Changes ♪

[humming]

[humming]

♪ Changes ♪

♪ Changes ♪

♪ Changes ♪[lyrics end]