This new docuseries is helping trans and non-binary people 'Shine True'

Queeries is a weekly column by CBC Arts producer Peter Knegt that queries LGBTQ art, culture and/or identity through a personal lens.

As the pandemic has limited in-person contact, people in the queer community who are trying to come into themselves have been left without an integral resource: mentorship. And that's part of why the docuseries Shine True has been a lovely and powerful addition to viewing schedules in these last few months. 

With its first season concluding next Monday, May 10th on OUTtv, each episode of Shine True has focused on a non-binary or trans person who is feeling challenged by how to navigate their gender expression. With the assistance of mentors Richie Shazam and Lucas Silveira, the series helps them get there. It's not about coming out — these folks are long past that. Instead, it's about helping them sort through what happens next — something that hasn't been easy when we've been stuck inside our houses alone.

"We need this in our community," says Ronnie, a 31-year-old Toronto-based therapist, in one episode. "We need help to bring our vibrancy out because we spend a lot of time stifling that vibrancy in order to survive."

Ronnie identifies as non-binary trans feminine (but prefers the term "queer" because it "has so many possibilities") and had never worn a dress out in public before their episode of Shine True. 

Shot during the pandemic in Toronto, Chicago and Reno (following all protocols, of course), Shine True is much more than a "makeover" show.

"The idea was to create a utopic, queer world, shooting with an all-queer crew, and to surround these young people with unwavering support and love," says Michelle Mama, the series' director and producer. "To introduce them to the idea of queer family and intergenerational relationships and to bolster them up with the confidence they needed to step into themselves. The 'makeover show' construction is just a Trojan Horse to take us into a wider and more holistic journey of transformation."

Key to that journey were artist, model and fashion photographer Shazam and musician and relationship coach Silveira, who both utilized their own experiences coming into their own as trans people to help folks like Ronnie do the same. 

"Trans people barely have any mainstream visibility," says Silveira. "Our stories are often put aside or told through a cisnormative hetero lens. Not only was the idea of the show something that really struck a chord in me as something I would have wanted to see when I was younger, but the fact that it was a completely queer production helped me feel safe that what we would get at the end point wouldn't be something that was exploitive. I truly believe this show is saving lives and I say that because I am being told that by the public who is watching it."

Shazam says they wanted to be a part of series to help others like herself — "and for us to come together as a community in offering support and assistance."

"I think it is super vital to have tangible queer family to walk through all of the anxieties and pressures we endure in our journeys and to be of service, in helping one to affirm their identity is super important and life-changing," she explains. "Also, I want to see more of us taking up space in media so all generations can experience our magic, mysticism and power."

Shazam says that through filming Shine True, she learned a lot about the power of vulnerability. 

"I walk in this world with fear and anxiety for my safety and security, and to share these anxieties in front of the camera was a new experience that has helped me to evolve and to be even more comfortable in my skin. I want to show others the importance of being ourselves."

"It is truly such a radical act, that many have fear around, in being different and being judged."

As the show wraps up its first season, everyone involved has been very hopeful about how it's helped not just the people featured on the show but the audience that has watched it.

"As each of these episodes has been rolling out, I've been floored by the deeply emotional responses," Mama says. "The subjects have been watching with friends and family and they have been developing new language and connections with the people they least expected. My friends with kids have been so grateful to be able to watch with them, and they report that it's inspiring great conversation and understanding that was hard to get to before."

"My hope is that as many humans as possible can experience these tender, sweet stories at a time when we're all just emotionally frayed to the bone — to build some empathic bridges. Change only happens in real ways when the public can connect 'ideas' to real people."

Silveira adds that what he really hopes is that for the cis people watching, the show has humanized the journeys of trans and non-binary people. 

"Simply that [they see] we deserve to exist and that we have so much to offer," he says. "And for trans and non-binary folk, I hope that they see they are not alone and that they deserve to be loved, supported and that there are people in the world there for them."

Shine True's first season concludes on Monday, May 11th on OUTtv.