From This Day Forward

“Gender fluidity” is the increasingly common term for a spectrum of sex identification that rejects the traditional notion of being either male or female. In this illuminating documentary, filmmaker Sharon Shattuck explores the familial ramifications when a loved one is transgender. Shattuck tells the story of how her father Michael's—now Trisha—revelation that she is transgender has affected their family over decades. What emerges is a portrait of a family bond strengthened by facing rather than avoiding challenges, while also accepting that there might not ever be a definitive answer about how best to live with contradictions. Shattuck lets this profile slowly blossom, moving beyond a pleasing surface to discover stories of damage and strength. Trish turns out to be enormously likable, a talented painter, musician, landscape architect, and more, with a self-effacing humor and quite a wardrobe of both men's and women's clothing. Shattuck recounts the mortification and estrangement from Trish that she felt while in school, and Trish shares honest feelings about living on “the fence,” alternating between masculine and feminine personas. Shattuck's mother, Marcia, a doctor who knew early on in their courtship that Michael/Trish sometimes wore women's clothing—and who remains married to Trish—gradually emerges as a conflicted but stalwart partner who genuinely remains in love with her spouse, while Trish feels the same. Offering an eye-opening look at the complex realities behind one family's acceptance of a transgendered member, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)