The SBS program ‘Insight’ will focus on transgender issues in this week’s edition of the show.

Appearing on the show will be:

Maddi

Maddi started life as a boy called Maddokk. She says she was “about three or four” years old when she first wanted to be a girl and wear dresses. Now aged seven, Maddi goes by her new name and has recently enrolled at school as a girl.

Roland and Beck

Roland and Beck are Maddi’s parents. They say that Maddi was very angry when she had a male identity and had even started to hit herself “to get the boy out”. They say they are happy they supported her to transition to a female identity and wish they had done it sooner.

Riley Pederson

As a young child, Riley wore dresses and put tea towels on her head to pretend she had long hair. Now 16 years old, Riley ‘came out’ as a girl over a year ago and now uses hormone replacement therapy to develop female characteristics. Riley says she left school after being bullied.

“Kate”

Kate thinks her six year old son might be going through a phase. He’s drawn to pink and glittery clothes and shoes. And he’s gone further, stating that he wants to cut off his penis and says he is saving up money so he can buy breasts and a vagina. Kate has not taken him to see any specialists or doctors.

Crystal

Crystal is known as a “sistergirl” – a word used in some Indigenous communities to mean male-to-female transgender. Crystal lives in the Tiwi Islands, where there are a comparatively high proportion of transgender people. Despite there being many other transgender people, Crystal says there were still a lot of cultural difficulties in changing her identity.

‘Insight’ screens on SBS ONE at 8:30pm, the show is repeated on Wednesday at 1:00pm.