Sense8

On Friday I wrote about trans love stories and one of them was the Netflix program Sense8 and it takes a little bit of work to follow the show, you can definitely tell it produced and directed by the Wachowskis. They made the Matrix movies among other movies.

Netflix’s ‘Sense8’ Gains Approval From The Transgender Community
Inquisitor
By Rachel Tsoumbakos
June 7, 2015

It seems Netflix’s Sense8 has arrived just at the right time. With Caitlyn Jenner in the news at the moment, the transgender community is getting plenty of airtime and plenty of discussion in relation to a topic that, at times, has been shunned. So, now is the perfect time for TV and film to make transgender less of a heated topic. And that’s where Netflix’s new series, Sense8, comes into the equation. Which is not surprising at all as one of the creative minds behind Sense8 is transgender herself.

Before Sense8, they were known as the Wachowski Brothers, these two creatives were a powerhouse directing team, known for movies such as The Matrix trilogy and V For Vendetta. However, in the early 2000’s, long before Sense8 arrived on Netflix, Lawrence Wachowski started transitioning into the woman we known today, Lana. So, when Sense8 was developed, a character in the series was obviously very special to the brother/sister duo.

What got me was the letter Nomi Marks wrote to her mother in the second episode “I Am Also A We.” Her mother still calls her by birth name “Michael,” and Nomi writes,

For a long time I was afraid to be who I am because I was taught by my parents there’s something wrong with someone like me. Something offensive. Something you would avoid maybe even pity. Something that you would never love. My mom, she’s a fan of Saint Thomas of Aquinas. She calls pride a sin. Saint Thomas saw pride as the queen of the seven deadlies. She saw it as the ultimate gateway sin that would turn you quickly into a sinaholic. But hating isn’t a sin on that list. Neither is shame. I was afraid of this parade because I wanted so badly to be a part of it. So today I’m marching for that part of me that was much too afraid to march. And for all the people who can’t march. The people living lives like I did. Today, I march to remember that I’m not just a me. I’m also a we. We march with pride.  So go f**k yourself, Aquinas.

When she was reading the letter it was like “WOW” she got that right. She nailed it. That was what kept me from transitioning I was afraid of not being loved by my family and part of that was my Catholic upbringing. I lived in shame and fear of my dirty little secret being found out.