I work at a documentary company called Mentorn. Im conducting initial research into a film for Channel 4 on Body Identity Integrity Disorder. I read your post and I would be very interested to speak to you in confidence about your experiences and your hopes for the future.
We intend to avoid it be a sensationalist documentary and we intend to focus on the neurological aspects of BIID as well as the ethical arguments that tie in with the topic. At this initial stage we are looking to talk with as many of those with BIID as possible to build up a full and honest sense of the condition.
This documentary is of paramount importance for BIID. At the minute, it is not legally permitted to operate on those diagnosed with BIID. The reason being is that there is not enough awareness and thus not enough research that will raise the profile of BIID to a point where it will be recognised and appear in the DSM (the recent publication, in May 2013, had no mention of BIID). If we were to draw parallels to gender dysphoria, only 17 years ago it was not acknowledged by DSM and operations were frowned upon. However, through individual sharing their stories/experience and persistent campaigns for research, awareness was raised and it was finally recognised. Thousands of people have been successfully operated on since.
We hope that a documentary that looks at BIID from a perspective of it being a neurological condition, rather than a 'mental illness', will raise awareness and enable the condition to be recognised by DSM. Such recognition should lead to operations being legal and widely available for those with BIID, thereby alleviating any suffering that those with BIID endure.
If you would like to know more about our project or are happy to help us, please email me on CArnold@mentorn.tv.
We absolutely appreciate that many of those with BIID value their anonymity. At this stage therefore we are not looking for people to appear on camera, only to talk with us about their lives and experiences. Any initial conversation will be in the strictest confidence, and there will be no obligation at all to appear on film.
Thanks so much for reading, and I do hope to hear from you soon.
