Media Partnership - TLC

Often, journalists and television production companies want to tell the stories of LGBTQ people, families, and communities. But even with the best of intentions, those stories can go awry. That’s because homophobia and transphobia are deeply entrenched in our society, and there is both an art and a science to telling LGBTQ stories well. Working with a true expert in LGBTQ messaging is one way you can ensure that your subjects aren’t put in the line of fire as a result of your partnership with them.

Here is an example of an effective partnership with TLC. It took place in 2018, when the show Lost in Transition was released. The show detailed the lives of several transgender women who came out later in their lives. TLC approached Family Equality Council, where Trystan Reese (now CEO of Collaborate Consulting) was working as the Director of Family Formation. TLC wanted to ensure that the discussion materials surrounding the show were appropriate, with the goal of spurring meaningful, productive conversations in families.

Unfortunately, no one working on this side of the show was a transgender person, and no one had advanced knowledge of the community and the language surrounding it. So the initial draft from the company was quite rough. As with many approaches to transgender discussions, it was rooted in negativity, asking questions like, “What did this character do wrong?” and “What do you think the hardest part of being transgender is?” While the author of that first draft may have aimed to create empathy, this type of analysis only serves to reinforce the worst stereotypes about transgender people: that their lives are sad and lonely.

Luckily, TLC was very open to edits and feedback. Here is the final product, which was released on TLC.com alongside the promotional materials for Lost in Transition.