My Transsexual Summer is a British documentary-style reality series about seven transgender people in different stages of transition.
For five weekends in the summer of 2011, they stay together in a large holiday home in Bedfordshire,[2] where they meet and help each other with some of the struggles that transgender people face.
[6] Two speakers in particular addressed the subject of transgender representation: Stuart Cosgrove, Director of Creative Diversity at Channel 4; and Tim Davie, chairperson of the BBC Working Group on Portrayal and Inclusion of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Audiences.
"[7] In a later interview, Cosgrove added that there are "high levels of inaccuracy" in British media reports about transgender people.
Her overall assessment was that "although the programme makers undeniably made some compromises to draw in viewers, millions will have enjoyed the company of these seven, shared in their lives and learned a lesson in diversity.… They will now have an entry point to broadening their understanding of the rich and joyful diversity of gender experience, something which has always existed but of which they were previously unaware.
"[39] Politician and activist Zoe O'Connell[40] described some of the wording in the narration as "cringeworthy", but felt that "it’s more than just a step in the right direction, it’s a programme that pretty accurately reflected how many trans people carry on with each other in private.
"[41] Musician, activist, and writer CN Lester listed some ways in which the show perpetuated misconceptions or otherwise fell short, but still saw it as a turning point in the representation of transgender people on television: "It felt like a game changer.
"[42] When the second episode aired, transgender journalist Juliet Jacques posted her thoughts to the New Statesman's politics blog, The Staggers: "At this point... the limited level of improvement in trans representation on TV shown by My Transsexual Summer is probably the best we can expect."
She felt the major barriers to better representation to be "producers' prejudices about what viewers will accept or understand" and extremely narrow bandwidth for "minority subjects".
One reason for this, he says, is that although "we see... lovely, endearing transsexuals" portrayed in the show, "what I don’t see is anything that is going to make people think or feel any differently about what gender is or how it limits us all in one way or another.
[49][50][51] She became a supporter of Gendered Intelligence[51] (a nonprofit organisation that aids trans youth),[52] and a celebrity patron of the 2012 and 2013 National Diversity Awards.
[58] In January 2014, she reported that she was continuing to work with make-up and to wrestle, that she was still making appearances at schools, and that she was writing an autobiography.
[28] In 2014, she joined the cast of cabaret act Ladyboys of London—a company of three trans women plus four male dancers, with choreography by Kamilah Beckles.
[65][66] They debuted at the Hippodrome Casino in London's West End on 29 December,[67][68] and Donna opened the show with a fire breathing act.
[70] In 2017 BBC News videotaped her for Gay Britannia, television programming that marked the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act 1967.
"[76] Lewis Hancox' fundraising events attracted donations from TV viewers; among those who gave to the cause were Stephen Fry and Graham Norton.
[92] Like Sarah, they felt a new creative freedom from transitioning: "It's easier to make art now because I feel like I've got a huge chunk of my life out of the way.
In July 2017, the university granted them an honorary doctorate "in recognition of their major contribution to raising the profile, both nationally and internationally, of issues affecting trans people and the promotion of arts in the media".