Transgender Tuesdays: A Clinic in the Tenderloin

In their illuminating documentary, filmmakers Nathaniel Walters-Koh and Mark Freeman (a retired nurse practitioner) profile a clinic in San Francisco's Tenderloin district that has served the transgender population since 1993—the first public health facility to fill that role. Cabaret performer Veronica Klaus provides eloquent narration while patients and providers reflect on the divergent paths that led them to the Tom Wadell Health Center. Hailing from far-flung locales—including the Ozarks and Cambodia—most of the transgender subjects here did not enjoy happy childhoods. Marilyn Robinson, a ward of the state, worked as a prostitute when other jobs kept falling through, while Claudia Quijano, who suffered physical abuse in Mexico, discovered a more welcoming climate in the U.S. Astrid Olsen found the freedom to be herself in the Bay Area, but then her parents tracked her down, shipped her back home, and forced her to live as a boy (she would eventually return). Except for Kelly J. Kelly, who had an awakening at 31, all of the interviewees here knew something was different from an early age, but didn't know what to do about it, or had anyone with whom they could speak openly. Inter-titles offer statistics on the challenges faced by the transgender populace, including lack of access to proper medical care (doctor Barry Zevin recalls that many patients would wait too long to get help due to fear of discrimination). The Tom Wadell Health Center clinic, which stepped in with HIV screening and hormone therapy, proved to be so popular that several other clinics have sprung up in its wake in the Bay Area and beyond. A solid addition to both LGBT studies and general collections, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)