What can you expect from World of
Wonder's Sex Change Hospital? A new appreciation for
transgender folks, for sure.
The six episode docu-drama follows
twelve people as they transition from Jack to Jill and vice-versa.
After premiering in the UK last year, the hour-long show landed on
cable channel WEtv last week.
The show was filmed in Trinidad,
Colorado, where sex reassignment expert – and transsexual – Dr.
Marci Bowers' hospital has turned the sleepy town of 10,000 into the
“sex change capital of the world.”
For most viewers, the medical honesty
of the program might be overwhelming as Dr. Bowers goes about
deleting and appending her patients with saws and hammers, resulting
in a bloody mess.
But like FX's fictional cosmetic
surgery drama Nip/Tuck, the gory medical procedures only serve
to underscore the severity of the alterations – both physically and
psychologically.
The show's real purpose, however, is in
telling the touching stories of the men and women who have found
their way to the hospital, which it achieves artfully. Viewers leave
Sex Change Hospital with a greater appreciation and
understanding of the life-long psychological and emotional pain
endured by transsexuals, and the courage and commitment necessary to
pursue their metamorphosis.
Gay Entertainment Report is a feature
of On Top Magazine and can be reached at ontopmag@ontopmag.com.