TV Show directory - Ria: Diary Of A Teen Transsexual
"16 year-old Rihanna Cooper from Hull is in many ways just like any other teenage girl. She drinks too much, has a voracious appetite for casual sex and more often than not gets her heart broken by the older men she regularly dates.
However, in one way Ria is very different. Ria is actually a boy called Bradley who, with the blessing of his mother, stepfather and three sisters, has been living his life as a girl since he first snuck out to a nightclub wearing a wig, make-up and a dress aged just 13.
This documentary follows Ria’s incredible journey as she struggles to be accepted, fighting the system to try and get a sex change operation on the NHS and possibly becoming one of the youngest people ever to do so in the process.
Ria lives on a grim council estate in Hull. Although people that know her are broadminded, people that don’t are not. Ria loves to play the field and has a never-ending string of boyfriends, sometimes 2 or 3 a month, all of whom are blissfully unaware that she is actually a boy. Weaving a complex series of lies and excuses she manages to hide the truth, even going on to have sexual relationships with many of them. But in every case her secret is eventually discovered and the boys’ reactions vary from disappointment to violence.
Yet despite it all this is a documentary with a positive and uplifting message. It follows 2 years in Ria’s complicated life as she continues her journey from boy to woman. From partying with her friends in Leeds to beginning hormone replacement therapy at London’s world renowned Tavistock and Portman Gender Identity Unit, hers is the story of a young person prepared to bravely face up to who she is and show the world that she is determined to achieve what she wants despite all of the odds."
Production Company: Popkorn TV
Year of Publication: 2011
