Growing Up Coy Summary + Review


Growing Up Coy is a documentary released in 2016 that follows the legal battle of a six year old transgender girl Coy Mathis against her school district. Coy began to present as a girl in kindergarten, at first her parents were hesitant and confused, but they quickly grew into advocates for their daughter. The transition in school was smooth for kindergarten, however things took a turn for the worse as she entered first grade. The principal barred Coy from using the girl's bathroom and told her she could only use the boy's or nurses restroom. Coy's parents responded by pulling their children out of school and filing a complaint to the Colorado Civil Rights Division. The documentary follows the ensuing chaos and media storm as the Mathis family went public with their case and took on various interviews and appearances. The film ends on a positive note, with the Mathis's winning their court case, allowing people in Colorado to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. This ruling was very impactful and set a precedent for transgender bathroom laws nationwide.

I really enjoyed this film, even though it was a documentary I still found it entertaining to watch. A common argument against transgender children is that they're too young to know their identity and the parents are forcing it on them, so it was interesting to see how this film addressed that. You could clearly see that Coy was much happier as a girl then when she was forced to present as a boy. Her mom received a lot of hate for "forcing" her to be a girl, but you could see that she was just doing what was right for her child and making her happy. At times watching the film, I thought the parents did too much with the media and made Coy do too many interviews when she was only a child. I understand they needed public support and good media coverage to help win their case, but it seemed overbearing. I also thought it was unnecessary to include the parents marriage issues in the film. I think they wanted to make the documentary seem more authentic and raw, but to me it made it seem more like a reality show and I think they should have kept the focus on Coy and the court case. I really liked to see Coy just playing and acting like a kid because she's just like any other girl and makes you wonder how anyone could possibly hate a child who is just being themselves. I would rate this movie a 9 out of 10.

Resources from growingupcoy.com

TRANS YOUTH FAMILY ALLIES (TYFA) 

TYFA is a non-profit organization, which is dedicated to developing supportive environments in which gender may be expressed and respected. They have assembled a comprehensive list of resources at these links:

LAMBDA LEGAL 

Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. Lambda Legal has compiled an FAQ sheet about Transgender bathroom rights in the United States:

GENDER SPECTRUM 

Gender Spectrum is an organization that helps to create gender sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens. They have resources specifically geared towards parenting and family members of transgender children: https://www.genderspectrum.org/explore-topics/pare...
They also have a new FAQ sheet, which specifically deals with Transgender bathroom issues:
https://www.genderspectrum.org/bathroomfaq/

ANTI-VIOLENCE PROJECT (AVP)

Regardless of your gender: whether you’re trans or cis, consider becoming a hotline volunteer, participating in community Safety Nights, or joining the hate violence committee at New York’s Anti-Violence Project.
https://avp.org/get-involved/

THE CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS 

If you’re not Transgender, or even a member of the LGBTQ community, but you want to be an ally, consider visiting the Center For American Progress’s website. Their page “Helping State and Local Officials Advocate for LGBT Communities” is a great place to learn about issues that affect trans people nationwide.
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/...

RESOURCES - BOOKS

“Creating Safe and Supportive Learning Environments: A Guide for Working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Youth and Families” 

by Emily S. Fisher (Editor) and Karen Komosa-Hawkins (Editor)

“Gender Born, Gender Made” 

by Diane Ehrensaft PhD and Edgardo Menvielle MD MSHS

“Trans Bodies Trans Selves” 

by Laura Erickson-Schroth

“You and Your Gender Identity: A Guide to Discovery” 

by Dara Hoffman-Fox






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