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Becoming Us - Have You Seen It?


Brigsby

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BECOMING US (ABC Family) STORY LINE (From IMDB) In this unscripted drama, a teenager named Ben learns to live with his dad becoming a woman. The series will follow Ben, his family and his friends as they support one another through this unexpected journey and navigate their new world with Charlie now living as Carly.

I'd like to know if anyone who has lived something of this experience has seen Becoming Us? I just want to know if this is like reality, or some fabricated show that spreads untrue stereotypes to people who are unfamiliar with the trans narrative.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see the show yet (I am Canadian, so I can't watch it on the website, and can't find an external link) - but wanted an opinion, other than vile comments I've seen on their advertising, from people who can relate to this show.

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Here's the synopsis as seen on abcfamily.go.com:
"Ben, an ordinary Midwestern teenager, going through a unique situation. After his parents’ recent divorce, Ben learned that his dad is transitioning into a woman, Carly. In the series’ opener, “#WelcomeToMyWorld,” Ben is struggling in school, and his parents, Suzy and Carly, are not happy about it. Ben’s girlfriend, Danielle, would like to introduce Carly to her father, who is also transgender, leading to an awkward shopping trip for the four of them. And Ben’s sister, Sutton, returns home to Evanston to plan her upcoming wedding."

I tuned into the first episode.  I didn't know it was going to be another reality show, so that might have hurt the show's chances with me right off the bat - I was expecting a documentary, and expecting it to be all (only) about the trans people involved.  It seemed to me that the first episode had too much "other" stuff in it besides what was going on with the trans characters.   I'd rather watch a documentary, or a regular [scripted] program.

I might tune in again, and give it another chance now that I know what to expect.

I found episode #1 on hulu...  perhaps you can view it there...   http://www.hulu.com/watch/799388
I also found it on sidereel.com...  you must accept cookies, and it appears you have to register on the site...     http://www.sidereel.com/becoming_us/season-1/episode-1
It appears that both episodes #1 and #2 can be found on streamtuner.me - this site also requires registration... http://streamtuner.me/watch-becoming-us-online-streaming/
I also found links to YouTube, but once on Youtube, you are redirected to hulu

I do not know how long these episodes will be available on these sites - I did not go so far as to check that info

-Michael

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I decided to give this show another chance as I mentioned in my previous comment.  I watched the first two episodes using the links above.  I figured this would give me incentive to tune in to the third episode - which I did.

The show is pretty good at showing how different people deal with a transgender person.  Of course in this show, the main character's biological father is a trans woman, and ironically, so is the biological father of his girlfriend.  Though the girlfriend's parent is not quite full-time, both the daughter and the wife (they are still married and still together) are very supportive of her.

On the other hand, while the main character, Ben, refers to his parent with female pronouns and calls her by her female name, he is upset that he is losing his "father," and has so far refused to call Carly, "mom."  Ben's friends all think that Carly is cool - they like her, and they have even gone to bowl with her and Ben and out to eat.  Ben's mother and Carly are divorced.  Though the mother keeps up a relationship with Carly because of their children - especially Ben since he is still a minor - the mother seems to be very bitter about the whole thing.

I've seen enough of the show now that there are some things I would like to see through:  Carly wants gender confirming surgery.  Ben and Carly discussed why Carly does not want to be called "Dad."  Ben's sister is about to get married - will Carly be at the wedding?  I have this feeling that if it were left up to Ben's mother, she would not.  And, Ben's best friend's girlfriend's brother reminds Carly of Charlie before Charlie was Carly... (:lol:  Did ya get all that?)  Might Lathan be trans in some form?

NOTE:  Becoming Us is to be run on ABCFamilies' sister cable networks - check the thread "Becoming Us" as soon as possible for details.

NOTE:  It now appears that there are full episodes on YouTube.

Edited by UsernameOptional
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