New Fundraising Goals!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us reach 100% of our fundraising goal! Because we have a few more days left, here's what we can do if we reach a few more benchmarks!

$6,500: We can interview prominent trans activists and experts around the country, including artist, sound engineer, activist, professor and all-around rockstar Sandy Stone in California!

$7,000: We can hire a soundtrack artist to create a custom music score for our media. 

$7,500: We can hire a web developer to build a snazzy, interactive, and mind-blowing platform to show off these stories. 

What we're all about

Some girls are called "tomboys" because they like to play sports and climb trees. Some boys are called "sissies" if they cry or like dolls. Every person relates to both masculine and feminine traits in some way or another.

In fact, by age 5, children have developed a gender identity, knowing if they are a boy, a girl or something else. For trans folks, this often means identifying as a different gender than the sex they were assigned at birth.

"The Cost of Gender" is a short documentary that will take a look at the hurdles, challenges and triumphs trans folks face as they transition their bodies to align with their gender.

To have gender reassignment surgery in the U.S., a fully-insured trans person will still pay out of pocket upwards of $30,000 plus staggering pre- and post-surgery medical bills. This is why Americans are traveling in droves to places like Bangkok, Thailand where the same, high-quality surgery is offered for a few thousand dollars. 

We (Dacia+Sara) are traveling to Thailand for 2 weeks in November to interview trans folks and their surgeons as they go through this life-changing transition. We will also explore the Thai culture that has openly embraced the trans community flooding their borders.

This project hits on the two most critical issues facing our American culture; health care reform and LGBTQ rights. Your support will directly fund independent journalism and help share the invaluable stories of the most underreported populations.

International reporting trips can be expensive. These funds will help us get to Thailand, hire translators for interviews, rent much needed gear like microphones and lenses, build a custom platform to publish the work on and buy other sexy things like harddrives and batteries.  

"The Cost of Gender" will be published in February 2013 on The Common Language Project and The Seattle Globalist on a platform featuring video, motion graphics, interactive features, photos and written stories.

After the work is published, we will also create a DVD, hosts screenings/forums in Seattle, and submit the documentary to film festivals and journalism competitions. 

Thank you again for your support in sharing these incredible stories!

Curious about previous series from The Common Language Project? Check out the audio slideshow on water walkers in East Africa or this video on Iraqi refugees in limbo.