I saw a thread on here about Frankie being transgendered. Did I miss something? I have not seen this addressed at all on the show. Is she a biological boy or girl? Transgendering into a boy or girl? She is talked about as "she" and considered a daughter on the show. However, her style in hair and clothing looks like a boy from the 1980s/early 90s. Very confusing.
shareI think they touch on this in the pilot and then in episode 9 or 10. Probably more to come
in the new season.
Slight spoiler
Missed the reference in the pilot, but I did just watch the last episode and it does appear they will be dealing with this next season. What I don't understand is how shell shocked Sam seems at the very end of the episode. As viewers WE know something is up with Frankie - how could her mom NOT know? (Of course as viewers we have no idea how long Frankie has dressed this way).
I think that was the whole point. Sam is willing to just brush this off and take her daughter's explanation as to why she used the boy's bathroom. Her oldest daughter, duke? is more realistic and says "mom, come on" as a means of indicating that Frankie' may not be telling the whole truth, or that it is a known fact that Frankie is transgender.
shareI just can't believe a mother would be that clueless. Of course I'm basing this on what actual parents have said about their transgender children. They all have the same story - the child insisted they were the opposite sex from a very young age. It doesn't appear Frankie did that, and we don't know how long she's dressed like a boy. I don't know how realistic it is for a child to be transgender and not know it - or not tell the parent ever (and yes, Frankie could be lying to Sam about just wanting to use the boys bathroom to escape crazy girl behavior, but if she truly believes she is transgender wouldn't she have said it to her mom by age 3 or 4?).
I think the thing is that Frankie's mom thought she was a "tomboy" when she was younger, as then as she aged, assumed that she was gay. But being transgender is a person who feels they are in the wrong body - in Frankie's case, she was born with a male brain but in a female body. She obviously doesn't have male genitals, since her mother would have seen that when Frankie was born, and when she changed diapers and such. Since the youngest daughter yelled at their mother "Frankie is not gay, she's a boy!" that gives the impression that Frankie is transgender. I have about 15-20 friends and acquaintances that have gone through some or all of the surgeries and currently take hormones; I also have a small few that started hormone therapy before or just at the start of puberty, so they never developed secondary sexual characteristics (like breasts, or facial hair, etc.). I know both male to female as well as female to male transgender people - I have a 1st cousin and a 3rd cousin who are female to male transgender, they have just had "top" surgery (their breasts removed and made to look like a male chest). The "bottom" surgery is not really perfected to male a penis from a vagina, so many go without - for now. All of my friends who are male to female transgender have had breast implants and had their testicles removed, but only about a handful have had the full surgery to turn their penis and scrotem (used to make the labia) into a vagina, including making the glans (head) of the penis made into the clitoris (of those, many have had an extension on the vagina by having 5"-7" of large intestine used in the building of the vagina, because the intestine self lubricates). If you feel I am being too graphic, I am just explaining what transpeople have to go through to look on the outside how they feel on the inside.
I left out facial feminization/masculizing, shaving of the Adam's apple, rhinoplasty, rasping of the brow area, solid silicone hip implants, and many other medical procedures that are done from the neck up to aid in giving the person the look of a male or female.
I think Sam might start Frankie with a therapist, as is the normal legal procedure, who after confirming that the person is really transgender, would start Frankie on hormone therapy.