‘My secret self” unravels the story of a young male, Dani, who is learning about his sexuality and decides to become a transgender woman.
Similarities among the Children in the Documentary
In all cases, the children are young boys who live as girls. One of the boys is 6 years of age, in kindergarten but lives as a girl; the second is ten years of age and also lives as a young woman (My Secret life, 2016). The third boy is a teenager boy aged 16 but suppresses his masculinity with testosterone injections. Simply put, the boys featured in the story all their lives as women despite being boys.
The fact that underlying reasons for gender identity disorder are unclear, some scholars argue that transgender have a psychological issue that needs addressing while some insist on medical aspects of the challenge (My Secret life, 2016). Nevertheless, the intricate issues still keep on persisting within the community.
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According to a research survey data published in NTDS executive summary, most of the respondents supposed to be transgender by the rest of the school population, experienced ill-treatment in one way or the other (NTDS,2012). The data stated that 54% experienced verbal abuse while 24% were physically mistreated and 13% of the transgenders sexually assaulted. In the work place, the survey showed reported that 30% did not receive promotion or the employer dismissed them from work completely.
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Counselling Techniques
Behavioral techniques help one gain insight into high-risk behavior and formulate measures or interventions against the high-risk circumstances that makes the boys engage in female behavior (Farrell, 2018). Behavior therapy maps out the underlying reasons for an action hence revealing the identity of a person. It may take some time figuring out all the specifics but finally avails a lasting solution.
Reference
Farrell, M. (2018). Exploring Non-Binary Transgender Clients’ Counseling Experiences: Empowerment in Counseling (Doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri--Kansas City).
My Secret life (2016). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyQl_kefmdE
National Transgender Discrimination Survey executive summary 2012
