GenderTalk

Noelle Howey, author of "Dress Codes" and daughter of a man who changed his sex, shares some of her criticisms of the HBO film "Normal"

Dean Kotula, photographer and author of a new book called "The Phallus Palace: Female to Male Transsexuals"

The HBO movie "Normal," about a family in which the father 'comes out' as transsexual, has generated both praise and criticism. Noelle Howey, daughter of a noted mtf transsexual playwrite and author of a book about her father's transition, tells why she and her father both found the film greatly lacking.

Noelle wrote the book "Dress Codes: Of Three Girlhoods - My Mother's, My Father's and Mine." She also co-edited "Out of the Ordinary: Essays on Growing up With Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Parents." Most recently she authored an article on Salon.com about HBO's "Normal."

Changing sex is no cakewalk, and often the person who undertakes such a journey of change and discovery finds themselves in suddenly hostile territory. Dean Kotula wrote "The Phallus Palace: Female to Male Transsexuals" with the hope of reducing the animosity and fear surrounding this issue.

Dean is a nationally known artist who has worked as a documentary photographer for twenty years. Dean changed his sex -- from female to male -- under the scrutinizing eyes of 2,000 predominantly male shipyard workers while working as a machinist. The ordeal prompted him to create a book to "take us one step closer to understanding what life is like for FTMs as they find their identity and learn about themselves."