Unfightable (2024) Movie Script

(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music continues)
- [Narrator #1] Racial
inequality, defund the police,
and now LGBT rights,
Portland has become
a hot bed of protest.
- [Narrator #2] Police
declared a riot in downtown.
- [Narrator #3] There
are all these attacks
against trans rights
and trans humanity
that is really
easy to gloss over.
- [Narrator #4] Soon
as Trump was elected,
we saw a significant increase
in white supremacist activity
and misogynist activity.
A lot of trans and queer
people were being assaulted.
- [Narrator #5] Officers
say he attacked Jenny
with a metal pole.
- [Narrator #6] I don't
wanna end up to dead one day.
- [Danica] We had heard about
her, that she was trans,
that she was special forces,
and that she had a
very specific skillset.
- [Narrator #7] So we're now
seeing this widespread movement
to ban women and girls who
are trans from women's sports.
- You didn't transition
to win more medals?
- No.
- [Narrator #5]
Alana McLaughlin,
the second trans athlete
to compete in MMA.
- [Narrator #8] The
South Carolina native
says she has spent
her whole life
physically resisting violence,
so mixed martial arts.
- [Narrator #5] The human
rights campaign says
a record 34 states introduced
anti-trans gender bills
last year.
- [Alana] The only
way that trans people
are gonna have more
freedom and more inclusion
is if we step up
and make that space,
clear it out for ourselves,
because it's definitely
not gonna be given to us.
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
- [Campbell] I know it
sounds like outta left field,
I'm thinking about
bringing Fallon Fox back.
- [Mike] Well, if I
put my purist hat on,
yeah, I don't think it's great.
How old is she?
She's like over 40 or 40
years old right now, I think.
- [Tony] I'm on the same
page with you, Mike,
I'm worried about the optics.
I do know of Fallon Fox, I
don't know her personally,
but I know there was a
lot of bad press on that,
so I'm not sure how
this would pan out.
- [Mike] It's
definitely gonna create
an explosive situation, so
I'm uncomfortable with it.
- [Campbell] You
know, it's funny,
I know how respectful
you guys are.
So when you tell me
politely you don't like it,
you're probably thinking, this
is the dumbest fucking idea
we have heard on
one of these calls.
I didn't think Fallon
Fox was over 40.
Let's find out if she's
still active as a fighter,
and let's table it.
I mean, if she's not
fighting and whatever,
alright?
- Okay, do some homework.
(Alana slurping)
- I did not create
the Wikipedia page
and I'm not quite sure who did.
I remember I said something on
Twitter about like, you know,
I'm surprised I don't have one.
And then it was a couple
days later, one popped up.
But if you look at the
editing history on that page,
most of the edits are someone
from an anonymous IP pops on
and changes all
the gender pronouns
to he and him just to be shitty,
and then someone
changes it back.
- My name is Anne Lieberman,
I use they/them pronouns,
and I'm the Director
of Policy and Programs
for Athlete Ally, a
nonprofit organization
that works to dismantle the
structures of oppression
that isolate, exclude,
and endanger LGBTQI+
people in sports.
Every trans person is different,
we are not a monolith,
so that's also just
important to say.
But gender dysphoria is when
someone's deeply held belief
of their gender does not match
what is happening
on the outside.
- No, it was like five or six,
and I saw there was
some kind of TV show,
like some expose on
Christine Jorgensen,
who was she was a trans woman
back in like the '40s and '50s.
- Have you finally
achieved full acceptance?
- Oh, I don't know whether
things would be full acceptance.
With the intelligence,
of course,
on the educational level of
colleges and so forth, yes.
In John Q Public, I'm
not so sure sometimes.
People are still believing
that little boys should
have blue booties
and little girls should
have pink booties.
- Seeing that and feeling
something click, you know?
And even then, I didn't
really have the words for it,
I didn't have the
vocabulary to describe it.
You know, you know who you
are and nobody else does.
You know, it's maddening,
it'll drive you crazy.
I knew I was a girl,
even if nobody else did.
You know, keep in mind,
I grew up in the '80s and '90s.
I knew it was
dangerous to discuss,
because we went to
church five times a week,
and you know, it was a church
where they firmly believed
that everyone in the world
is going to hell except them.
My paternal grandfather was gay
and he died in the AIDS
crisis during the '90s.
- The threat of aids, just
the very threat of it,
has changed the lives
of millions of people.
And you heard from the
talk about prevention,
about which I wanna
say more in a moment.
It needs to change
the lives of millions
of more Americans.
- Probably like between
the age of like 5 and
10, sometime around then,
grandpa started
coming around again,
and I guess dad and grandpa
sort of repaired
their relationship.
And then grandpa got sick,
and then dad took care of
him while he went terminal.
But even in spite
of that, you know,
grandpa made it clear
that he had no regrets,
you know, he was happy
to be who he was.
But when he passed my parents,
I don't know if this was
to comfort themselves,
they were just certain that
he repented before the end.
You know, and that mindset,
well, it never sat well with me,
I wasn't able to
be open about it.
I don't know if my parents
ever spoke with him about it,
but I mean, I didn't
intentionally come out to them.
Like they used to dig
through my belongings,
they'd read my diary, you know,
find girl clothes in my dresser
in the back of my closet.
And because of that, they
took away my bedroom door,
they took away my
bedroom curtains,
so you know, every morning
I'd see hundreds of cars
going by on the
main highway there
on the way to school
while I was standing
there in my underwear,
you know, because they
wanted to make sure
I wasn't cross-dressing, right?
They did all these things
to sort of try to make me
conform to masculinity.
That kind the focus
of their lives really
was the church for
most of my life.
- We know that trans
kids experience
higher rates of suicidality
and mental health issues,
especially when they're
not in a welcoming
and inclusive environment.
If there is at least
one supportive adult
in a trans kid's life, that
that increases their ability
to survive and connect to their
communities exponentially.
in a- Around the time Ithat
that was five years old,lity
my parents started to take
me to a nearby chicken farm
owned by some members
of their church.
This was an effort
to get me to man up
by spending time with
their adult sons.
Instead, one of them raped me
and continued to
do so for years.
The only reason they believed me
is because they went to my
abuser's parents and said,
"You know, well,
y'all have raised
five or six boys.
You know, why is our
child telling these lies?"
And then they're like,
"Oh, well,
this isn't the first
time this has happened,
so maybe it's not a lie."
And I know that when
I was being abused,
I know of at least
three other kids
that were actively being
abused at the same time,
and I was the only
one to come forward.
I was the youngest,
I was the smallest,
and I was the only
one to come forward.
I mean, it should
come as no surprise
that as a kid growing
up in the south,
a skinny little queer kid
who was kind of femme,
you know, I got bullied a lot.
So I would hide out in
the blackberry thicket
where nobody could
come in after me.
I was small enough
to get in there
and that was my safe place,
surrounded by thorns,
eating berries.
(gentle instrumental music)
Yeah, I went down and took
those cognitive tests at the VA,
and they said I was
still in the top 2%.
- [Fritz] That's amazing
after all the concussions
you've had.
- Yeah, well,
that's the thing,
I've never been diagnosed
with a concussion,
I've never had a concussion,
getting hit in the head,
or blown up, or otherwise, so.
- [Fritz] Well, lucky you,
you can see all these
- But still.
- beautiful flowers.
- Yeah, all the shit
I got up to when I was
younger and in the army,
I don't know.
- Yeah, we're close confidants,
and Alana's an open book.
I mean, you ask her,
she'll tell you,
we've seen each other
through some hard spots.
She's been there for me and
I've been there for her.
I know about her
family of origin,
I've heard about her
hard years growing up,
I know about the
abuse she suffered
as a trans person
in the public eye.
I like to hold those stories
for her and she holds mine.
- I was so deep in my own head
and my own bullshit, just
trying to muddle through things.
I was extremely
depressed, I was suicidal,
you know, all I could
think about was my gender,
who I was gonna be, the
abuse that I'd suffered.
People knew I was smart, but
they knew something was wrong,
but nobody ever did
anything about it.
Athletics kind of saved me.
Basically, one of
the girls on my track
and cross country team,
she got scholarships
to Newberry College
in South Carolina,
and they were actively
recruiting other runners,
and she gave them my name
and then they recruited me.
And I ran two seasons
at Newberry College
before people were homophobic
and transphobic towards me.
And I was talking to my mom,
this was what it was about.
I was like, these feelings
have not gone away.
You know, I told my parents
that the whole
conversion therapy again
and cutting me off
from any support
wasn't gonna work for me,
so maybe I should join the
army instead, and you know,
get myself killed at war.
And then my mom said, "Maybe
the army's not a bad idea."
- An army of one.
- Yeah, you know,
I was without direction.
All I gave a shit about was
that I was sad, and angry,
and nobody cared about me.
So when I decided
to join the army,
it absolutely was not out
of any patriotic duty.
I don't know what
it is that drives me
to do these things, but it's,
you know, if I was
gonna be a soldier,
I was gonna be one
of the best soldiers.
I wasn't gonna settle for
being a cook or a mechanic.
And if I was gonna go to combat,
I was gonna be one
of the best at it.
(gunshots banging)
Anybody volunteering for
special forces, to an extent,
they are a different breed.
They're there for some
reason or another,
they're driven by something,
and I think some of
them it's trauma,
some of it it's just
toxic masculinity,
like, this is how you be a man,
for whatever reason, I mean,
that's kind of why I was there.
I was at a tipping point
and I knew I was gonna die
one way or another if
I didn't transition.
You know, we were on
exfil from Afghanistan,
we were flying in a
Black Hawk from our FOB
that we'd been at into Qalat,
what they call map of the earth,
so we were flying low down in
a valley in the helicopter.
And, you know,
I'd gone through this
whole deployment,
been shot at and blown up,
and I was still here, you know,
worst I'd had was just
a couple scratches,
you know, piece of
shrapnel in my hip,
like, you know,
being the medic on the team,
I didn't even report that,
I didn't get my purple heart
because I didn't want that
enemy marksmanship badge.
But we were flying
in that helicopter,
and I thought about jumping.
And I don't know,
I can't remember
if it was my team
sergeant or my captain,
and I don't know if they
just had a gut feeling
or if I actually like moved
towards the open door.
I don't remember what
the fuck happened,
but I know that somebody
like grabbed me and pulled me
and held me up against
the wall of the aircraft
until I made eye contact.
And that was.
(suspenseful music)
I was so hopeless, you know?
And I've had people tell me,
"Oh, you're so brave
for doing this."
And it wasn't bravery,
it was desperation.
It was, I'm gonna die
if I don't do this,
either by my own hand
or by someone else's.
And I tried six years in the
military, I did special forces,
I saw combat and was better at
killing than I was at dying.
So yeah, I went up to Asheville,
North Carolina, and I
spent close to a year
in a little cabin outside
of Weaverville by myself.
I had been trying
to ease into it.
And then my birthday
in 2012, I was like,
"Fuck it, I have to do this."
And easing in isn't
working, didn't work.
So I jumped in feet first.
Hormone therapy and
social transition.
So, you know,
I stopped wearing
men's clothing.
But no, I graduated,
got my art degree,
and I went to work
for a blacksmith shop
back in Asheville or
outside of Asheville.
(suspenseful music)
(hammer banging)
Then my friend Sophia talked me
into moving out
here to Portland.
You know, I'd never
been here before,
sight unseen.
Frankly, I honestly believe
that if I had not been trans,
I'd have been in the
UFC by 2011 or 2012
after I got outta the Army.
But that didn't seem like that
was ever gonna be possible
if I couldn't have surgery,
and I didn't think I was
ever gonna have surgery.
It wasn't until 2016, within
a couple months of being here,
someone that I
knew from a forum,
an old trans message
board on the internet,
she got ahold of me
and she was like,
"Hey, you know,
I know this doctor,
this guy out in
Thailand who used to run
a gender transition clinic."
So the deal was they give me
all the surgeries, you know,
bottom surgery, top
surgery, facial surgery.
And then in return,
they get to use my
photos for advertisement.
I jumped at the
chance, you know?
And she's like, "Hey, you know,
don't feel like you
have to take this,
because it's gonna be scary
and it's gonna be lonely,
and it is dangerous."
Because I got top
surgery, bottom surgery,
and facial surgery within
a week of each other.
I ended up losing a lot of blood
and had to have a transfusion,
I'm guessing I had
a bleeder somewhere.
After I got surgery, the
clinic ended up going under.
The guy that put it all
together, I was told,
'Oh, he's wanted
by Interpol now."
After surgery, I was an
emotional rollercoaster.
I apologized to
all of my friends
that were with me at that time
who saw the nightmare
person I was
for a good six
months after that.
I was hard to deal with.
I took some of these
important moments
in my life and put them online.
My social media
presence kicked off
back in the heyday of
Tumblr, a blogging website
where I chronicled my transition
and made some of my
first serious forays
into engaging with
the trans community.
(video beeping)
(suspenseful music)
This is where I dipped my toe
in learning how to
be a baby activist
with local orgs like the
UNCA Feminist Collective.
(suspenseful music)
With the election of Donald
Trump, I saw a real threat,
not only to the LGBTQ community,
but minorities everywhere.
Eventually Tumblr gave way
to Instagram and Twitter.
- We had heard about
her, like there was this
like trantifa super soldier
who came to Portland.
And so we reached out to her,
'cause we do a community
defense project.
- So the past
three to five years
have been the most violent
and scary in the history of
the US for LGBTQI+ people.
Hundreds and hundreds
of pieces of legislation
directly targeting
LGBTQI+ communities
at the state level,
at the federal level.
And the majority
of that legislation
has been targeting
transgender people.
- I got very politically active.
And then, you know,
anybody that's watched the
news reports about Portland
for the past six
years, that's Portland.
(suspenseful music)
(people yelling)
(gentle instrumental music)
(air whooshing)
Everyone's favorite, the
magic fairy wand over here.
When I made it and displayed it,
I had it wrapped with
pink ribbons and it
was really pretty.
But in recent years it's
been used for stress relief.
And usually around
this time of year
we go and smash up pumpkins.
I used to call myself an artist,
I would like to call
myself an artist,
but I can't afford space
in Portland to do that.
So it's mostly complete,
but I want to
build a really big,
ridiculous ostentatious
frame around it.
Back in the '30s, Mussolini's
fascist party headquarters,
this was the front
of the building,
si being the Italian
word for yes,
and it's just Mussolini's face.
I changed si to just dollar
signs and exclamation points,
because Donald Trump is
a silver spoon con man.
I make no secret of
the fact that people
that openly say they
hate people like me
and want me dead, I
hate them right back.
- Alana does have
a tough exterior.
She's seen all sorts of
action from Afghanistan
to even here on the
streets of Portland.
But you know, underneath it,
she's a squishmallow,
she is a little kitten
who wants to curl
up by your side,
get head scratches, and
eat snacks with you.
- [Alana] Okay, the fountain
is seriously looking
very inviting right now.
- Yeah, it's beautiful.
- My therapist wrote
in support of me
when I was filing my
claim from the VA,
that I have one of the worst
cases of PTSD she's ever seen.
And for me it's,
it's not just PTSD,
it's complex PTSD, because it
started when I was very young.
You know, and it's the kind of
thing that happens to people
who are put in
traumatic situations
that are long-term
and inescapable.
- Even with her complex trauma,
with her combat background.
(sirens wailing)
(gunshots banging)
- [Alana] This is real
fucking good for my PTSD.
- Being trans and
living in this society,
she is actively working
on her own mental health.
- She's a person who came
from a world of violence.
And for her to have that,
the thing that honed her,
and turned it into
something that's challenging
and positive for her,
I think is amazing.
- You know, by
the time I was 10,
you know, I'd spent
half of my life
being someone's
personal sex toy.
I'm surprised I'm in any way
a functional human being.
'Cause most of the time people
don't come back from that.
(suspenseful music)
I haven't spoken to
my family in years.
Their false hope of
conversion is long gone.
Sometimes I wonder
if they check in
on my social feeds to
see what I'm up to.
But I have to remind myself
of the reality of
this situation.
Yeah, I know my
story makes me sound
like an anime character brought
to life, but what can I say?
It's my story and I'm
the one that lived it.
I'm a tough as
nails, candy coated,
hard femme, trantifa
super soldier.
(suspenseful music)
I'm Lady Feral.
(suspenseful music)
- [Campbell] This
is a pretty good way
to jumpstart a lot of interest.
I mean, it's if they
don't care about us,
that I think is the problem.
- [Tony] I mean,
I understand that,
Campbell, I'm just
worried about legitimacy.
You know, we're an up
and coming organization,
I think we're headed
for a train wreck.
- I don't.
- Can I speak?
- [Campbell] Yeah,
go ahead, Mike.
- [Mike] Alright,
so here's the deal.
You know, I got the
low down on Fallon,
and she's outta action,
she's not in shape,
and she's kind of
aged out of the sport.
But she did turn me on to
another transgender fighter
who has a really
crazy story, actually.
You know, before she
made the transition,
she was in the special forces.
And now she makes swords.
- She makes swords?
- That's right,
she makes swords, actual swords.
If we're going down this path,
I think she's a much better fit,
you know, regardless of
Fallon's circumstances.
- [Campbell] I just
want to be clear
on what the TV gods
are offering us.
- Yep.
- [Campbell] This is
a fucking no brainer.
Alright.
- We are an MMA organization,
not the United Nations,
just remember that.
(Campbell laughing)
- I forgot.
- I don't even know
what that means, but it's funny.
Look, Tony, I hear you.
Let's find out some more.
What is this woman's name?
- [Tony] Her name
is Alana McLaughlin.
(fighters grunting)
- So that's what you
call karate, hey?
- In the '80s and '90s, I
really got into Bruce Lee.
Kind of a crush, to be honest,
because nobody else
looked like that
and nobody else moved like that.
You know, you go back and watch
any of the contemporary
movies from that era,
Bruce was the only one
that had that kind
of onscreen charisma.
It was the closest I was
ever allowed to dancing.
You know, it was an
expression of the human body
that I was at least
tangentially allowed to access.
You know, my sister's
danced ballet,
and I wasn't allowed.
You know, running
was my first love
when it came to athletics.
But mixed martial arts, just
martial arts in general,
it's a way to sort of
re-inhabit and reclaim my body.
You know, it lets
me feel like I have
some measure of control
that I might not otherwise
feel that I have.
Nobody
No, no, no
Nobody, nobody
does it like me
Nobody
No, no, no
Nobody
(upbeat music)
(singers vocalizing)
- [Interviewer #1] Hey,
Fallon Fox, MMA fighter,
the transgender one.
- Yeah.
- Is trying to fight
in the UFC.
We're not sure if they wanna
welcome her into the UFC.
Would you welcome her
into the wrestling?
- I'll whip her,
I mean, I'll whip him.
I mean.
- You'll whip him,
you'll whip her or him?
- I'll whip her.
I'm confused.
- Well, regardless of.
- Have dinner, submission.
- [Interviewer #2] You think
you can knock out Fallon Fox?
- I can knock out on
anyone in the world.
(upbeat music)
- Is having a long
over due conversation
around transgender issues,
recently inspired by the
likes of Caitlyn Jenner
and Laverne Cox in
"Orange is the New Black".
Among the ranks of transgender
pioneers is Fallon Fox,
the first openly transgender
athlete in the history of MMA.
And she joins us this morning.
Good morning, Fallon.
So good to See you.
(upbeat music)
- The first round.
- Yeah.
Allanna challenges and
Fallon gets her down,
the earliest we've seen
so far in the fight.
- Yeah, got her throat.
- Oh, and Allanna Jones
taps out.
A knee across the
throat from Fallon Fox,
Allanna Jones taps out in
the third and final round.
Fallon Fox comes out on top.
(crowds cheering)
(upbeat music)
- Fallon transcends
the sport she was in.
She transcends MMA.
You cannot do this story
and not talk about her.
In many ways, Fallon is,
if you built a Mount
Rushmore of trans people,
you have to make a strong
case for her being on it
because of what she
did, and how she did it,
and the hits that
she took to do it.
- More than anything,
you admired her for putting
herself in this position.
Somebody's gotta be first,
we've seen it in
every walk of life.
It's always gonna be difficult,
it certainly was for her.
- It's not her undefeated record
that has everyone talking.
The headline is the fact
that Fallon was born a man.
Fallon kept her history private
until breaking the story
to "Sports Illustrated's"
Loretta Hunt this week.
- So the first time around,
no one knew that
she was transgender.
It wasn't until the second
time that we found out,
or she came out
and said publicly,
that she was a
transgender fighter.
- My very first fight
was back in '99.
So it's like, that's early,
early days of the sport.
Accomplished quite
a lot, you know,
I had an amazing career,
won five world titles.
I'm strongly against
trans competing in MMA.
- [Alana] Okay, we
need to pause here,
so I can tell you exactly
who Jake Shields is.
He's a misogynist,
racist, anti-queer,
anti-vax conspiracy theorist.
He thinks climate
change is fake,
that queer people are
destroying civilization,
and that women are sex
objects and baby factories.
This is the man that
suggested Greta Thunberg
just needed a proper
smashing from Andrew Tate
to knock it off with her crazy
feminist climate activism.
He's going to shriek
that trans athletes
are dominating women's sports,
which he acknowledges he
doesn't care about, by the way.
How can we believe he
wants to protect women
and daughters when
he thinks feminists
just need a good fucking.
- Unless they're going
against other trans.
Fallon Fox wasn't
a good fighter, but
she was just bigger,
she, he, whatever it was,
bigger and stronger than
the girls she was fighting.
She hid the fact
that she was a man.
I think at that time period,
people weren't following
trans athletes,
it was kind of a new thing.
Now it's everywhere, it's
being pushed in every sport.
I think the vast majority of
people don't agree with it,
but they're scared to speak out.
- I think it has
gotten more intense
and I think it's
due to the politics.
I think it's because of
the political division
that the country is facing,
we didn't have
that 10 years ago.
It was more of if or
why she should fight.
But now they're bringing in
more of the politics into it.
- I think over the last
10 years in social media
has certainly
heightened all issues.
So why would this
one not be included?
However, it also heightens
the amount of notoriety,
acceptability too.
You know, there's
a yin and yang,
with social media, you know,
you get a lot of people know
about something real quick.
And look, I mean,
we weren't even talking
about athletes that were gay
up until four or five years ago.
- In some ways
it's gotten better
in that more and
more people are out,
more and more people feel safe
to come out and move forward.
We are building the society
I would've liked to have had
when I was 15, 16 years old.
- The younger generation
is just far more
open and inclusive.
What we're seeing in
terms of the pushback
is so rarely with young people,
it's mostly with adults.
- Every single girl in fighting
I've talked to is strongly
against trans and trans MMA.
I think girls don't like
getting involved with politics,
rightfully so, it's
kind of a man's job,
so they really don't
like speaking up on it.
But it's unfortunately
in this situation,
I think they're kind of cornered
where they're gonna have
to start speaking out.
- I think it comes from naivety.
I think a lot of men
have not really watched
a lot of women athlete events.
There's always positives and
there's always negatives.
And the tradition is to
focus on the negatives.
- The problem is though, when
you make progress like that,
there's always going
to be backlash.
And oftentimes,
history has shown us,
that that backlash can be very
violent, can be very sudden,
and can be very panicked.
Take it as a sign of hope,
because that's a symbol
that they're losing
and they know it,
and they need one last
shot at the buzzer.
- [Announcer #1] Fallon
"Queen of Swords" Fox.
- Fallon Fox and I had
connected on social media
like back in like 2014, 2013,
something like that.
And it was mostly
because, you know,
there for a while if you
were trans on the internet,
it was a pretty small community.
And then someone
who was, you know,
I wasn't as prominent
as Fallon was,
but there's not
a lot of former special
forces trans women either.
So I had gotten a
little bit of attention,
like recognition for that.
So Fallon and I
knew of each other.
And I think I had
actually told Fallon
I wanted to make her a sword,
'cause you know, her
name for fighting,
you know, was the
Queen of Swords.
- She appreciated my fighting
and we became Facebook
friends, and you know,
we've been chatting ever since.
- And she's like, "You know,
you could do this?"
It was 2020, I think,
it was like right
before the pandemic hit,
right before COVID 19.
I'd flown out to Chicago
and I trained with
her a little bit,
and I think she was
feeling me out to see
what kind of potential I had.
- The more minorities that
you have competing in a sport,
such as this situation
where people like are hating
against the minority group,
it's better to have
more minority groups
out there competing.
And that way people
can see, you know,
that they're just
like everybody else
and that they belong
in this sport.
- [Narrator #9] The
17-year-old Dallas area
high school student won
the title of champion
in the girls state wrestling
competition Saturday.
A mix of cheers and boos
directed at the wrestler
as he fell to his knees.
(suspenseful music)
- I want trans girls that
are in like school now,
I want everyone
that comes after me
to not have to deal with
the same fucking bullshit
I've had to deal with.
Like, I want a better world
for the people
that come after me.
And apparently that's a weird
thing to want these days.
You know, in American culture
we've got this
idea of pulling up
the fucking ladder behind us.
You know, you look at,
you know, I don't
want to be like,
oh, you know,
the baby boomers
ruined everything.
But I mean, who can
afford a house now?
You know, nobody.
You know, the
climate's collapsing,
the world's on
fire and flooding,
and we're just
supposed to be okay
with this and keep
going to work.
You know, like, this is the
kind of shit that pisses me off.
I wanna see a better
world when I'm gone.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(upbeat music)
(crowds yelling)
- [Narrator #10] Two
great fighters right here.
Two guys putting
it all out there.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(crowds yelling)
- Holy cow.
- Cunningham's come alive,
like Peter Frampton.
(upbeat music)
(crowds yelling)
- I really created this company
to give people an opportunity.
And there were a number of
athletes, a number of countries,
a number of groups of people
that were being overlooked,
for whatever reasons.
And Combate was formed
to give those athletes
and those audiences a chance
to have their own
version of MMA.
- [Alana] Let me introduce
you to Campbell McLaren,
CEO and founder
of Combate Global.
He's been around since the
beginning of what we know
as modern MMA.
In 1993, he co-founded the UFC.
He marketed the first UFC shows
and was a tireless promoter.
He tried to get Fallon
Fox back in the cage,
or La Jaula for Combate,
but she told them she
was outta the fight game
because of her bad knees.
She gave them my name
while she was convincing me
that I had what it
takes to make it in MMA.
I'd say the timing
worked out perfectly,
if it weren't for an
unprecedented global pandemic.
(dial tone droning)
- [Mike] Hey, Alana,
this is Mike Afrmowitz from
Combate Americas, how are you?
Pro debuts, you know,
typically it's very
different from,
you know, training in the gym,
from sparring, very different
from even amateur fights.
You know, when
those lights go on,
you know, typically
sometimes fighters,
they tense up.
But you know, that's something
you just need to be aware of
and prepare yourself
more mentally, so.
- Yeah, definitely
like, I'm ready.
- [Mike] What weight
will you be fighting at.
- 145.
- Okay, yeah,
that's what I thought.
(gentle instrumental music)
Well, there it is,
my shot at another career,
this time a professional
mixed martial arts fighter.
Is this some sort of PR stunt
or is there another motive here?
At least I know
Fallon has my back.
That's the thing, every
fight promotion's a PR thing.
You know, and I think with MMA
they've had a fine line to
tread because, you know,
you remember back in the
'90s it was human fighting.
It was a blood sport, it
was banned in most states.
And now they're trying
to tread that line
between legitimate
sport and spectacle,
because let's be real, you know,
when you think about
mixed martial arts,
you're not thinking
about it the way
you think about
football, or basketball,
or something.
You know, people
that are fight fans,
they want to see blood.
- You look for a fighter
that you can really
create a story about,
and hopefully buzz,
and hopefully hype,
and get people interested
in a particular fight.
That's what a promoter does.
And for me it's a ton of fun.
With Alana, it was a very,
very different approach.
There's so much hate
around transgender athletes
that I didn't want to go
into it in a way that was
going to cause a stir.
Alana's had enough
trouble from people
that don't think she
should even exist,
that I didn't wanna put a
giant target on her back.
- [Narrator #11] Broadcasting
from the heart of Portland,
rise and shine everyone,
and get ready to rock
your morning blues away.
- I'd say cue the
inspirational training montage,
but unfortunately it
doesn't work like that.
Combate Global offered
me a fight down in Miami,
ironically my dad's hometown,
but without having an
opponent lined up yet.
So my plan is to get in shape
and work on my technique
in the meantime,
which takes me to
my next problem.
There's no MMA in Portland
that will train me.
Time to hurry up and wait.
- Alright, well,
today we'll get our feet
and our hands warmed up.
Maybe jump rope a little bit.
- Hmm.
- And then work on
some of your power shots,
wanna work on your upper cut
and your right hook.
- Alright.
- But in between
I wanna work on double jab too.
- Okay.
- Trying to get in.
- Yeah, 'cause right
now I'm still just like,
I mean, I'm basically
trans girl Tank Abbott.
Just, "What's your style?"
"Pit fighting."
- It's hard.
Learning skills are hard.
- Alright.
- Let's get to it.
(Alana exhaling)
(blows thudding)
Breathe.
Go.
One at a time.
So we're gonna breathe until
you feel like you're recharged,
- Okay.
- and throw another hard one.
Okay.
- I mean, let's be real,
when it comes to sports,
the thing that
people are off about
is trans women being included.
We had Laurel Hubbard at
the Olympics, Lia Thomas,
but the pushback has been
worse than I expected.
There is a concentrated
group, like,
a very vocal group
pushing really hard
for trans women to be excluded.
- He can take his male body
and compete against other
male bodies, and fair enough.
And then can go
dress how he wants
and act how he wants in his
personal life, no problem.
- Males do have a
performance advantage
that's based on
their biological sex.
Picking testosterone
is a red herring,
I mean, we are forgetting
about the anatomy,
the fast-twitch muscle,
the bigger organs.
- For the people who are
pushing this level of hysteria,
it isn't about sports at all.
It's about the erasure
of transgender people
from society as a whole.
- We're being told
that trans women
should not be allowed to compete
because we are actually men.
And it's not fucking
true, it's not true.
- In many ways, this is no
different than the hysteria
we saw about gay and lesbian
people in the 1970s and 1980s
that have just been repackaged
and repurposed for a new
time and the new target.
- The conversation and
emphasis on trans athletes
has been part of a much
longer political strategy
to try to center and
dehumanize trans people
in the US and globally.
Many news outlets, many
academics have written
about the way in
which trans people
and trans athletes
specifically are being used
as a political tool.
- MMA is probably
one of the sports
where people are
most gonna be off
about a trans
woman participating
because of the violent aspect
of the sport in the first place.
- You know, I have a daughter,
I have, you know,
mother, girls I love,
and it's just to watch what
a man can do to a girl,
it's something that I don't
feel like I could watch.
Alana says she's a woman
and has some estrogen,
but the truth is,
she was born a man,
she grew up a man, she
has the lungs of a man,
the skulls of a man, she
has the body of a man.
So, you know,
maybe she feels like a woman
inside, but she's just not.
- They make all these
bullshit arguments about,
"Oh, you know,
you have these unfair
advantages, and bone density,
and all this", fuck that,
it is not held up by
scientific inquiry.
You know, in fact,
I've seen studies that show
trans women as a population.
I'm not sure why, don't know
if it's sociological factors
as opposed to physical,
but like trans women
as a population statistically
have lower bone density
than cisgender women,
and I would say
it's probably economic
issues more than anything.
- People are really
misinformed about this,
and they come at it from a
position of anger, emotion,
hate, whether it's religious,
or philosophical, or political.
I think they don't really
understand what's going on here.
When people first hear
transgender fighter,
former military,
they're like,
"No, we don't want that.
We don't need that, we don't
think that should even exist."
- Anyway, not great news.
Had the fight fall through
again, no opponent again.
But it was nice to
actually hear something.
So even though we're
looking at June 25th now,
which is a day before I
turned 38, for fucks sake.
Fallon just messaged me, said,
"Please knock people
out with those knees."
(blows thudding)
(Alana exhaling)
- I'm really struggling to get
through this fucking workout.
Fuck.
- What Alana is describing
and going through right now
in terms of difficulty
finding a coach,
can't find somebody to fight
her, can't find other folks
or allies locally to really
support her in a real way.
That is something that every
single one of the athletes
we're in contact with
have that same issue.
- Process of getting
in the gym for Alana
was not an easy one.
There were a lot that they
didn't wanna accept her.
- The fact that it's
hard for her to get
a place to train where
she feels comfortable,
where she feels
welcome is something
that weighs heavy on her a lot.
But she still figures it out.
(blows thudding)
- MMA, the sport,
it's weird anyway.
There's tons of people that
are addicted to testosterone
or they're doing EPO.
There's weight cutting,
there's rampant steroid use.
- There's a hypocrisy
surrounding trans athletes
that's impossible to ignore.
Caitlyn Jenner says trans women
shouldn't participate
in women's sports,
but she herself competed in
a women's golf tournament.
Jake Shields complains that
I have unfair advantages,
but he's been suspended
for using band substances.
- People wanna focus on trans
fighters because it's easy.
It's easy to say that
this person is doing it
to have an edge.
- All the people that tell me
I should have to fight men,
I legally couldn't and it
be sanctioned, you know?
By every legal
standard I'm a woman.
You know, my hormones are
where they're supposed to be.
My birth certificate,
driver's license,
social security card all say
female where it says sex.
I've been open about who I
am the fucking whole time,
I've passed every test.
There are plenty of cis
women that are doping
that still get to fight.
I invested a lot in not having
testosterone in my body.
I'm sure as shit not
reintroducing any.
- There's not
gonna be real money
or fame for Alana in the end.
She's doing it because she's
always been an athlete,
and always been a woman,
and wants to fight.
She should be able to do
that without this abuse,
without threats online,
without feeling like somebody
might kill you any moment.
That's fucked up.
- Trans athletes always
have an advantage.
You look at men, they
dominate every sports.
That's the reason why we
give women's divisions.
By allowing trans,
we're taking away what
women work so hard for.
I think people say like,
"Oh, you're not being
inclusive in this",
but what about the
girls that care?
What about their feelings?
They've worked so hard.
You know, to take their
rights over a few people,
to take it from the
thousands of women
that work so hard for sports.
That's probably why they should
either make a trans league
or compete against
men, you know?
- I'm the second openly
trans woman in MMA,
who the fuck am I gonna fight?
- I only know one transgender
fighter in the entire world.
What is she gonna do?
Shadow box.
You know, I can't start
a league with one person.
- Women's MMA is
barely able to field
any kind of competition
in the first place,
because it's pretty
small as it is.
You think an even
smaller category
is gonna be able
to make it, like,
that's called segregation,
and historically it hasn't
worked out for people.
They don't care that
women are underpaid,
they don't care that
women don't have access
to the same facilities.
They will tell you
that women's sports
aren't as good as men's sport.
Like, they don't care
about women's sports
until it is an
opportunity for them
to shit on trans
women, that's it.
- So one of the major
myths we hear is that.
- Pretty soon there'll
be no women's sports.
It'll just be men that
couldn't hack it as pros,
they'll switch and become women,
and they'll go dominate
women's sports.
That'll be the future of women's
sports if this keeps going.
- And that is a major one
I wanna debunk right now.
If we take the Olympics and
Paralympics as an example,
the first transgender
policy put forth
by the IOC was in 2004.
So between 2004 and the
Tokyo Olympics in 2021,
over 50,000 athletes competed.
Not a single athlete
was openly trans
until the Tokyo Olympics
when one openly trans woman
competed in weightlifting
and she did not medal, she
could not even finish her lifts.
1 athlete, 50,000 athletes
over two decades.
- We are statistically
underrepresented.
You know, in a more just world,
there would be people
asking questions like,
"Why aren't there more
trans women in sports?"
- People have a lot of
feelings about trans athletes
and about what they're
seeing in the media,
but it's not actually backed up
by the facts of what
is actually happening.
Because essentially
what we're saying
when we make these comments
about women's sports in general,
is that we don't believe
that women can be
powerful athletes.
That if a woman is
too fast, too strong,
too good, too powerful,
oh, then there's no way she
can actually be a woman.
- I think it's a little bit of
a lack of control of the men.
This was always our thing.
Now all of a sudden the
women are jumping in,
and they're good, and
they're good at it,
and they're fun to watch, and
they're extremely talented,
worth investing in.
And that's probably scares a
lot of the pro men athletes.
- I'm hungry.
- Yeah, me too.
What do you wanna get?
- I don't know.
- Tai, Mexican?
- Anything.
I need to watch
my weight though.
- [Alana] You need
to watch your weight?
I'm the one got a
fight coming up.
- Have you heard anything
about a new fight yet?
Like, have they found
anything at all or?
- Like, I don't know
who I'll be fighting,
I don't know when
I'll be fighting,
I just know I'll be going
down to train and that's it.
Like, they've floated
a couple people
who have turned it down.
- Yeah.
- I've been in the
business 14 years now,
in the fight business 20 years,
and I've never had a
more challenging task
than finding Alana
McLaughlin an opponent.
- A lot of us have been
trained to protect women
as men protecting women.
And I think that
really comes out
in the traditional
business of fighting.
So I think the male
coaches, the male trainers
are very protective of
their girl fighters.
And the idea of the girl they're
protecting fighting this,
however they think of
a transgender fighter,
they just don't want to do it.
We couldn't find an opponent.
The fight community
was really against it.
- I don't care what you
want to do to yourself,
go crazy, change whatever
you wanna change,
whatever makes you
happy, go for it,
I don't care.
When it comes to
fighting and competing,
I think it's a complete
different story,
and I think it
shouldn't be allowed.
(Jasmin speaking in Spanish)
- The reactions range from,
"I don't believe in
transgender fighters
being allowed to compete"
to "How could you even
ask me this question?"
You know, there were
people that were offended.
- My luck, they'll put me up
against fucking Cris Cyborg
or some shit and I'll just get
trashed a bit.
- Well, I hope not
for your sake, you know?
- Yeah, I hope not too.
- Yeah, cool.
Well, I mean, I'm glad that,
you know, there's talk about it,
but hopefully you'll
land something soon.
- Yeah, hopefully.
- Yeah.
- Fingers crossed.
- I'm sure you will.
- Yeah.
- One of the first times
where I actually spent some
quality time with Alana,
walked into like a local cidery,
and then we were
talking, you know,
and she goes, "Hey,
have you seen my,
you know, pre-transition
pictures?"
She showed me and and I go,
"Oh yeah,
I don't know that
person, you know?"
And she goes,
"Yeah, I don't think
I really did either."
- She's a fighter at her core,
but she's also one of the
sweetest people I know.
If someone needed housing,
she always had her
couch available,
she would give them her
own bed if they needed.
You know, she's always
been there for people
when they're at their lowest.
- [Alana] But now you
were asking about the pie,
I've done two in the
past couple days.
- Oh really?
Oh good.
- Amazing.
- See, I was wondering
if I had the opportunity
to bring that up.
- Well, listen,
really, what's wrong with that?
- No, you make
pies for everyone.
- I do, I do.
- Yeah.
- And then before
that I did one.
(gentle instrumental music)
I've always wanted somewhere
kind of comfortable and just,
I don't know, comfortable and
nice where I can just relax
and don't have to worry about
all the bullshit, you know?
A forever home, you know,
like I'm some kind of stray cat.
But no, I just want a
little place of my own,
you know, I like
woods and trees,
and I'd like to have
a pointy little house
with maybe a couple
goats and some chickens.
I'd like to keep bees, I think.
And for hedges out
front, I want wild roses
and blackberry bushes.
Baking can absolutely
be relaxing
as long as you're not
messing up your recipe,
then it is substantially
less relaxing.
But no, it's enjoyable for me.
There's no pressure and
just make something sweet,
and nice, and pretty,
and share it with my friends.
(gentle instrumental music)
Just when I think I can relax
and enjoy my blackberry pie,
the Internet's blowing up.
It's wild how much
things have changed
since those early
days on Tumblr,
it almost feels like
a more innocent time
compared to the posts
and comments I see now.
When Fallon was
fighting in 2014,
a lot of people
being transphobic,
it was just out of ignorance
because they didn't
really know any better.
Now, I would say the
landscape has shifted in that
as soon as right wingers,
as soon as Republicans
lost the marriage equality
fight in the Supreme Court,
they shifted their focus
and they knew trans
people were gonna be
their best shot at
a new boogeyman.
Half of the people that
I've been face to face with
in the streets are
in jail right now
for trying to storm the
Capitol on January 6th.
What happens is, you know,
you see flyers for a bunch of
fucking right wing shitheads
saying they're
gonna fly into town
and cleanse the streets
of Portland with fire.
And then everybody in
the community goes,
"Oh, this is fucked up,
we can't let them do this."
And then everybody shows up,
and that's how that goes.
I've actually had
three friends die.
I had another friend
get stabbed in the neck.
It was fucking dangerous.
You know, like I get easily
thousands of death threats.
I think back in 2014,
most of the transphobia
was still out of ignorance.
Where now it's basically
a political statement.
A big part of that's appealing
to some regressive
notion of tradition.
You know, like women
belong in the home
and only men belong out
in the world doing things.
Ultimately, I think
most transphobia
boils down to sexism,
just repackaged.
Now it's become more hate based.
And if you put yourself
out there on the internet,
you become a target
for vitriol and abuse.
It leads to violence.
(crowds yelling)
It's on the streets,
on the TV networks,
on social media.
The hatred is at
a boiling point.
(water splashing)
- If decide tomorrow that
I was a 47-year-old woman,
should I be allowed to go
shower in a women's locker room?
- First off, I'm
not a fucking man.
I'm not a predator, I'm
not a bathroom predator.
If a man wants to abuse
your child or your wife,
a fucking sign on the bathroom
door isn't gonna stop him.
You know what I do
in the bathroom?
I piss.
I piss, I wash my
hands, and I leave.
- [Interviewer #3] Rules that
are set by sporting bodies.
- It's not fair, is it?
- By governing bodies.
- It's just not fair.
- No, but you've got to make
sure that it is fair.
- And it's damaging
to woman's rights.
- That is my point
in this conversation.
- It's got nothing to do
with women's rights.
You don't care about
women in sports,
you don't care about
women's sports.
You don't care that
women are paid less.
All you wanna do is
make sure I can't play.
You wanna make sure
Lia Thomas can't swim.
You wanna make sure that Laurel
Hubbard can't lift weights.
- [Narrator #12] It also states
any form of homosexuality
or transgender identity
is "sinful in the sight
of God and the church."
- It doesn't say anything in
the Bible about trans women.
It really doesn't say
anything about gay people.
So don't gimme any bullshit
about how your religion doesn't
agree with my existence.
Fuck that.
- I think the only
problem that I have
with that transitioning thing
is physical
competition, that's it,
a physical competition.
- You want me in that cage.
You want to be
able to point at me
and talk about that monster
over there, that abomination,
that scary, disgusting creature
that's corrupting your children
and destroying women's sports.
That's what you want.
You want me in there.
So fucking get me a fight.
(suspenseful music)
- [Celine] My name
is Celine Provost,
I'm a teacher in university.
- I found Celine through
a manager contact
who was managing another
fighter that fights for Combate.
Luckily he had somebody
and he had somebody like Celine
that was willing to
take the challenge.
- I agreed because it was a
chance for me to fight again,
no matter, you know,
who the opponent was,
transgender or not,
it was not an issue to me.
But after it got me to
look into, you know,
who transgender were,
and since I've been
into gender studies,
I think it's a good thing.
To be honest with you,
I'm not sure there are any
transgender athlete in France.
And I think it will be like
a 50% for and 50% against,
because France is a
country where you have
a lot of chauvinist guys.
For female fighters, we need
way more female fighters,
way more transgender
fighters to have
so that they're alleged
in the eyes of the people.
- [Alana] Celine
is pretty hardcore.
Set aside that I'm trans,
but I have no record,
no tape to watch, and I'm a
former special forces operator.
It's a scary fight.
Win or lose, I have nothing
but respect for her.
So one seemingly impossible
task done, just one more left.
What gym will have me?
- Combate does all it
shows here in Miami.
I love the weather,
I love the food,
it's just a great home for us.
But in a way it was very
unwelcoming for Alana.
We went to 9 gyms
before we found the 10th
that agreed to train her.
- [Alana] The final
breakthrough, a gym
that'll train me.
Thank you MMA Masters.
Now let's get it on.
Miami, here comes Lady Feral.
(suspenseful music)
(blows thudding)
- Hey.
(suspenseful music)
- Mike, the vice president
for Combate Global,
he contact us and he
told us this situation.
I say, "Yes, man.
Here we don't judge people.
We are coach, my job
is to coach people."
- She wound up at one of
the best training centers,
if not the best, in Miami.
(upbeat music)
(singer singing in Spanish)
(upbeat music)
- We officially started
the gym back in 2009.
A lot of great
MMA fighters here.
- Now we have Colby Covington,
we have Amanda Nunes,
you know, she's
still the champion.
We have a lot of, you know,
high level fighters here.
- And we have a lot of guys
combating in Combate Global.
Great fights and a great
show, and it's been amazing.
- So when I first
came into this camp,
I definitely was intimidated.
While it's a much
different environment,
I definitely had some shades
of walking into basic training,
you know, and basically I
just kind of played it cool.
- Oh, I knew she was very rough.
I knew that we didn't
have enough time
to improve her game a lot.
- Yeah, she's an ex-military,
so you know, she
has the courage,
she has the heart.
You don't need too much
sometimes in the MMA fight,
but the more you stay
basic with your foundation,
the stronger you get,
you stay in the fight.
- We tried to do
as best we could
to get her ready for the fight.
(upbeat music)
- Got a gym, got an opponent,
so now I gotta fight.
The training is no joke.
It took so much work to get
here and now I don't feel ready.
These fighters are years
and levels above me,
and who knows if
they'll even accept me.
Are they talking about
me behind my back?
I feel alone here.
My friends feel so far away
and there's no
family to lean on.
Portland is chaos,
but it's hard to tell a
friend from foe in Miami,
can I really trust my team?
(gentle instrumental music)
So we're at the cemetery
where my grandfather's buried,
'cause I knew he was
buried in the area.
He grew up here in
Hialeah and so did my dad.
But of course, I'm not in
contact with my family,
so I couldn't call them and
ask them where he's buried.
So actually, there was
like an internet post about
the AIDS Quilt, because
my grandfather died
in the AIDS crisis in 1996.
So yeah, I reached
out to my networks
and turned out some people
that were following me
were part of like mortuary
services and stuff.
So they did some research for me
and they found out where he was.
Just strangers on the internet.
(gentle instrumental music)
(gentle instrumental
music continues)
(cars whirring)
Yeah, I don't know.
- How does it feel now?
- I couldn't say.
- Okay.
(gentle instrumental music)
- So I've been
living out of a hotel
for over two months now.
I worked my off every day.
The coaches said to go to
as many classes as I can,
so that's what I do.
I'm in Miami, but I've
barely seen anything
but the gym and the hotel.
Not like I have a
social life here anyway.
- Every day, every single day,
you know, she's very
like consistent.
Like every day here, every
day doing the same technique
over and over again.
And patient, a lot of patience.
She's very nice.
- I want to open doors.
I want people to say,
"Okay, trans people are
just like anybody else",
and that we deserve
a place in public
along with anyone else.
We deserve to be part
of athletic programs.
We deserve to exist
in public life.
This fight, it's not
the most important one,
but it's definitely one of
the most important steps
along the way, because
it's definitely
not gonna be given to us.
- Look, I really believe in
giving people opportunity,
I really do, it's why
I started this company.
And certainly Alana
deserves an opportunity.
As the head of the company,
I had to be really aware,
we were using a lot of resources
just to get her a training camp.
Do I think she's worth it?
Yeah, hell yeah.
That's why we did it.
But I don't want anyone to think
this was an easy thing to do.
We didn't go over the
top in promoting it,
we just put her on the card.
I wanted to give her a
shot and that's what I did.
(Dumar speaking in Spanish)
(Cristian speaking in Spanish)
- To say something
positive is so hard,
but to say something negative,
to get people attention,
oh, that's very fast.
I don't allow that
here, you know?
They know that our
mentality here,
we are the coaches
and we have open mind.
We don't care about
like what you want,
what you are doing outside,
as long as you come
and respect the gym,
that's what we want,
and that's why I think
that's what they want too.
- Like everybody has
this idea in their heads
of a trans woman as being
like some six and a
half foot tall ogre
that's 400 pounds of
muscle with warts and hair,
and like, That's
not what we are.
This is a sport.
There are rules,
there are referees,
there are doctors.
I'm 5'7", I'm fighting at 145.
Pre-transition I was
walking around 190 pounds,
like 6% body fat, eating
anything I wanted,
didn't have to put in
that much time at the gym.
And now I'm in there
every day busting my ass
- I don't know for everybody,
but for me, no problem.
(Cristian speaking in Spanish)
(Mariel speaking in Spanish)
- Hard worker, respectful,
and she put in the
work, you know,
and that's all I need here.
Be respectful, show
up for class on time,
listen it to the
coach, and that's it.
We've never had a problem.
- I'm nervous
because I'm excited,
because man, just being in that,
I feel like I'm fighting.
- Everyone's treated me well,
we've had really good training.
I've gotten, you know,
lots of personal attention
from lots of amazing fighters,
and everybody on the
team has been great.
- [Cesar] Yeah, she improved
a lot and she's very,
very, very intelligent.
- [Marino] You just
need to keep training,
just keep tightening it up,
sharpening up our tools and
just keep pushing, you know?
(suspenseful music)
(blows thudding)
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
- I am checked into
the fight hotel.
I'm firmly in the COVID bubble.
Boom.
(plane whirring)
Almost there.
(suspenseful music)
So this is a little
personal sauna.
The promotion has provided
these for all the fighters
to help us make weight.
It's pumping steam
directly into here,
so you get heated up inside
here, lets you work up a sweat.
Combate Global kept their
cards close to the chest.
They didn't hype the fight
and kept it on the undercard,
but "The Guardian" just
ran an article on me,
so I think people are
gonna know about it.
This cat's out of
the proverbial bag.
(suspenseful music)
- [Interviewer #4]
Why are you so angry?
- Because we just went over
for the PCR testing for COVID,
because of this damn
pandemic, when will it end?
And one of my teammates
walked up wearing MAGA hat.
And yeah, like nothing
makes my blood boil
like seeing that shit.
I guess apparently
Colby gave it to him,
and considering the release
of the article yesterday
and trans flag
everywhere, and you know,
I wonder if that was
a calculated move
to throw me off, you know?
So that's the thing about this
is you're supposed
to be able to trust
the people in your gym to have
your best interest in mind.
And it's really
hard to believe that
when I see that shit
out there, you know?
Oh, there he goes.
There he fucking goes, awesome.
He's always been decent
to me in the gym.
But, you know,
all this bullshit about
civility politics, like,
how am I supposed to be civil
when somebody's walking around
with a sign on their
head that says,
"Fuck you, die", you know?
So yeah, I'm a little angry.
- You know, I think
Alana feels very strongly
about the right wing of
the Republican party,
right wing Americans,
the MAGA Americans.
And I don't believe it's because
she doesn't think people have
the right to express themselves.
I think she believes
those group of people
and that type of thinking
has led, literally,
to death threats.
And it's one thing if you
disagree with somebody,
but it's quite another thing
if death threats follow
the disagreement.
And I know she's
had death threats.
I have seen them,
I've seen them online,
I've heard what
people say about her.
I think for Alana, this is
not merely a political debate,
I think this is quite literally
a life or death situation.
You know, I keep saying to her,
"You don't have to
fight every fight.
Wearing an Antifa hat is not
gonna endear you to people.
You gotta think about, are
you trying to bring people
to your side or are you
trying to fight everyone?"
- Our next fighter to
set foot on the scales
is three rounds,
featherweight division.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
Out of Paris, France,
Celine Provost on the scale.
(suspenseful music)
142.6.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
Debuting inside of La
Jaula out of Portland,
Oregon, on the scale,
Alana McLaughlin.
(suspenseful music)
144.6.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
- First time I've
broadcast any sport
with a transgender
or trans athlete.
I don't know what's
gonna happen,
but I'm really curious to see
what the conversation's
gonna be like afterwards.
- [Alana] Don't think I've
ever been this popular.
- I was impressed that it was
promoted in a respectful way
and not made into a spectacle.
I think it was promoted
just like any other
undercard pro debut fight
would've been promoted
in the women's division
or the men's division.
- I think we're both
probably gonna come forward
and meet in the middle.
And I expect her to
try to use her reach
to keep me on the outside,
and I'm gonna try to
get my way inside,
and either go for the take
down or really punish her body.
(gentle instrumental music)
- [Interviewer #5] What kind
of fight are you expecting?
- From my part, technical one.
From her part, maybe brawl,
because I'm pretty sure she
would like to punch my body
and get to my legs.
- I've been telling her to
try not to be nervous (laughs)
and just go out there
and give her her best,
and use every bit of
technique that she's learned.
- I'd like to be like,
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna be a
world champion one day",
like that's what
every fighter wants.
But the fact of the matter
is I'm making my debut at 38,
so I'm just going to go in here
and run it as long as I can.
Let's just see how
many fights I can get.
- It is Miami, it's
a Friday night,
and you know what that means?
Another massive card,
two undefeated fighters
looking to stay that way,
and also a historic moment
in mixed martial arts.
We will get to all
of that here shortly,
but allowing me to
make the introductions.
My name is Max Bretos,
and we're joined today
by Rodolfo Roman.
How are you doing, Rodolfo?
- Thank you, Max.
Absolutely great,
looking forward to a
stellar fight card tonight.
We have a great one,
including history.
Oh say, can you see
- Fight night.
No matter how much
By the dawns early light
- weight I cut,
I feel the crushing weight of
expectation on my shoulders.
I'm the first trans fighter
to do this since Fallon Fox,
and the world's a
different place.
I just don't wanna
let anyone down.
- I was excited leading
up to that fight,
I was excited on
the night of it,
but I had no idea
what was coming.
You have all the pre-fight
stuff, all the pre-interviews,
all those things,
and then it was time.
And seeing Celine Provost
first come out into the cage,
that said, I'm ready for this.
- Celine is a tough
fighter, over towers her.
What she needs to do is play
that reach to her advantage.
- And then Alana comes up.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Karleigh] And then
she unfurls this flag,
arms stretched out.
And at that point I'm smiling
and I'm also have a little
bit of happy tears going,
because at that moment that
was Alana sending a message
that we needed.
That so many of us as trans
people living out in the world,
and in many ways in
a bunker mentality,
we needed to see her stepping
out with pride and saying,
"Yes, I am Alana McLaughlin,
this is who I am."
(presenters speaking in Spanish)
- [Karleigh] And when she walked
in that cage at that point,
it was nothing but pride.
And no one can say
anything to take that away.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1] Introducing
the blue corner, wearing black.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1] Her official
weight, 142.5 pounds.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1]
She enters La Jaula
for the second time as a pro,
with a record of one defeat.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1] Celine
"Tall Blondie" Provost.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1] Her
opponent in the red corner,
wearing white.
She tipped the scales at
an official 144.5 pounds.
Tonight inside of La Jaula
she is making her
professional debut,
fighting out of
Portland, Oregon.
"Lady Feral" Alana McLaughlin.
- [Alana] Other fighters
have their struggles,
but they couldn't handle
what it took me to get here.
I always hate when fighters
say it's war in the cage.
I've been to war
and this ain't it.
I like this kind of fight.
Nobody's dying, there are rules,
there's a ref, my opponent
doesn't hate me for being trans.
She just wants to beat
me and I wanna beat her.
I could really use a win.
I need this win.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(bell chimes)
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Max] Provost comes out
swinging as we expected.
- [Rodolfo] And we
can see it right here,
right from the get go, Max,
playing the distance,
using her hands,
her kicks.
- Hands up.
Hands up.
- Alana not looking like
the stronger fighter,
and taking a ton of
punishment coming in.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(upbeat music)
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Rodolfo] Celine connected
there, very, very hard.
Oh, and another right hook.
- [Max] Just ton of
activity, a ralley of punches
from Provost.
- Body, body.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(upbeat music)
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Rodolfo] A bit white cross.
And Celine's gonna keep
going for that one, two.
- [Max] Alana with
a big uppercut.
- Hands up.
- Now, Alana is just swinging
for the fences to see
if she catches her.
Celine being the smart
fighter, very technical,
very skilled.
And that's exactly what she's
doing with that one, two,
which has been
working all along.
- [Max] Two minutes to
go in this opening round.
McLaughlin observing pressures.
- [Rodolfo] Alana needs
to keep her hands up
and her head up.
(presenters speaking in Spanish)
- [Max] Alana just
swinging here.
Right from McLaughlin,
with a second overhead.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Rodolfo] Now what
Celine needs to do
is that one, two
move, one, two, move.
It's more like she's
throwing and she backs off.
If she's continuous, she
can have this in the pocket
and call it a day.
- Yes.
(upbeat music)
- [Max] Come on, set it off.
(gavels banging)
We will take a break.
A fascinating first round
between Provost and McLaughlin.
We'll take a quick break back
and be back for ground number 2.
(presenters speaking in Spanish)
(upbeat music)
- [Medic #1] Breathe,
breathe, breath.
Big breath, big breath.
- [Marino] Remember, hey,
you gotta keep pressure, but
you gotta keep your hands up.
You gotta move your head.
You giving too much
of that jab time
'cause you're keeping
yourself straight, okay?
Alright, breathe, okay?
(whistle shrilling)
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Referee] Ready?
(bells chiming)
- [Max] Back here
for round number two.
A different looking
Alana McLaughlin,
she took a lot of punishment.
(presenters speaking in Spanish)
- [Rodolfo] You can
see that Celine's
trying to go for the kick to
the midsection or the rib area,
but it was blocked by
that elbow from Alana.
(presenters speaking in Spanish)
(suspenseful music)
- [Max] Oh, McLaughlin
coming up big,
and now Provost has to survive.
A lot of punishments,
the knees coming in.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(suspenseful music)
- [Narrator #13] And again.
(suspenseful music)
- [Max] Does pretty well,
gets her on the ground,
now we can see how
her ground game.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
Alana McLaughlin has
absorbed a lot of pressure,
but now has the upper hand.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
(suspenseful music)
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Max] McLaughlin's
got the back of Provost
and now she starts.
- We have rear naked choke.
- And a tap.
- And a tap.
- [Max] Alana McLaughlin,
victorious in her MMA debut
via the rear naked choke.
Had to take a lot of pressure
to get there, but she did.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- We have just
witnessed history.
I'll be honest, it
was a weird sensation
as a broadcaster
to go through that,
to talk about these fights.
But something that
we were able to see
and something we take
away from all of this.
- [Presenter #1]
Ladies and gentlemen,
the red corner sinks
in a rear naked choke,
forcing her opponent to tap,
with an official time
of three minutes,
32 seconds of round number two,
your winner in
way of submission.
(presenter speaking in Spanish)
- [Presenter #1] "Lady
Farrell" Alana Mclaughlin.
- I remember seeing
her on screen
that moment when they
announced her name
and this little smile
went over her face,
and I could see the
intense pride that she had
for herself at that moment,
which made me so proud for her.
- That was Ali-Foreman big
deal for a trans person.
And also there was the
t-shirt, end trans genocide,
taking that little bit of an
opportunity to send the message
that needed to be sent.
I wrote in "Outsports"
that it was like a wake
was drafting behind her.
And in that wake were 1.6
million transgender people
right along with her.
- I dedicate this
fight to my friends
and comrades back in Portland,
everybody that's stuck
with me the whole way.
Again, my team, amazing.
I can't thank them enough.
- To me that was a very
good way for this to happen.
Like the people said, you
had such huge advantage,
and this and that,
and you got your ass
beat in that first round,
you got rocked that one time.
I thought the round was over
when she got hit like that,
- Once she hit me a few times,
like rocked me real good,
my game plan kind of
went out the window,
and I just started fighting
on instinct, and emotion,
and it's not really
what I wanted to do.
I wanted to be a lot more
crisp and technical in there
and it just kind of
turned into a brawl.
(Marino humming)
- I think Celine was a
tough opponent, you know,
she rocked her a
couple of times,
surprised her a couple of times.
- She's really representing
transgender athletes
and representing
transgender people well.
And I can't wait to see what
she has to do in the future.
- Alana said to me, if she wins,
she wins because she's a
woman that's really a man.
And if she loses
then she's, you know,
just a real weakling.
She couldn't win.
There was no outcome that
her detractors would not say,
"Look how bad she is."
I think winning with
jujitsu was good
because jujitsu is a martial
art that emphasizes skill,
not strength, not brutality,
not brute force.
And so for her to win this way,
it's just the best
possible outcome.
- She's tough as nails,
gosh, she's tough.
I thanked her.
What I said to her
was, nous defions,
which is French for we defy.
It was one of the slogans
of the French resistance
fighters back in World War II.
And then it got rolled over
into like special operations,
and it felt appropriate
at the time.
The gravity of the situation
hasn't really sunk in yet,
I guess.
Like I know a lot of people
are gonna have a lot to say.
What's next for me, hopefully,
is another fight.
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
We got a lot of
positive messages from,
I would say probably mostly
queer and trans people.
Ad I'm really happy
to have been able
to elbow my way in there
and get some
representation, you know?
The problem is, like,
because I'm trans
and because there has been
so much public backlash,
or there's been
very loud backlash,
anyone that would
speak in support of me
is probably too afraid to.
A lot of folks in the right wing
are looking for a scapegoat.
They have a vested interest
in letting that outrage
continue to be
generated, because they
make money off of it.
- Today for our
daily cancellation,
we turn to the story of MMA
fighter and woman beater,
Alana McLaughlin.
During the Combate Global
prelims on Friday night,
McLaughlin fought and easily
defeated Celine Provost,
another MMA fighter.
To be more specific, after
beating her across the head
and the body for a
couple of rounds,
he eventually got her
into a submission hold
and choked her out.
This was, again,
a man beating the
crap out of a woman.
- Once you get violence
into the equation, right,
then all of a sudden
there has to be
a little bit of pushback.
Like, do you want these
bitches being beat up
by a dude who's like
an ex-Navy seal?
- Just look at this
as like an animal
observing two other animals
in a combat mode.
And you can clearly
see which one
has a higher likelihood
of harming the other one.
- Like more people have been
sort of speaking out about it,
but they still tiptoe around it
and like use correct pronouns,
or pretend like there's
some kind of major
difference between a person
who says they're a
trans woman and a male,
and there really isn't.
So I was pretty like grateful
to see you just call it out
and be like, "No, fuck this."
- No, I'm just not okay
with men beating up women,
it's just disgusting and wrong.
Being an athlete, I know,
this might be a little sexist,
but the difference between
men and women is so big.
I mean, I'm world
class obviously,
so there might be cases of a
good girl beating a bum guy,
that definitely could happen.
But like once you
get to high levels,
the difference is just so
massive, it's so far from fair.
Yeah, when I saw the fight
and I saw the two trans
athletes celebrating, you know,
who'd both beaten up women,
I thought it was sick.
And being a fighter, you know,
I had to go speak my mind,
and Twitter doesn't leave
much room for nuance.
So I wasn't saying trans people
are necessarily perverse,
more saying them fighting
women are sick and perverse,
- You know, if someone loudly
declares themselves my enemy,
I believe them.
If you hate me, I
hate you right back.
I'm not going outta my way
to ruin someone else's life,
but they sure as shit are
trying to do it to me.
- Putting herself out
there in this very, like,
international public
way to be, you know,
a target of transphobic hate.
I do know that it bothers her,
and I've seen it, but I've
also seen her rise above it.
- Look at her Twitter, like,
she says something to somebody,
and they answer thinking
they've shut her down,
but she's set them up.
It's the same as, you know,
like you give a punch and
the fighter moves back
and you come in
or you give a kick and
you move in with a punch,
she does that online.
- It's Jake Shields, right?
He posted pictures of me
before and after, I guess.
It kind of demonstrates
that, yeah,
I lost like 50 pounds
of fucking muscle.
You know, I clearly don't have
the same build that I had.
I mean, most people that see
those two pictures side by side
don't think it's the same person
except the tattoos
match, you know?
And so he kind of pretty
clearly demonstrated my point,
and then he kind of slipped up,
and somebody said
something about me
being attractive or not.
And then I think he specifically
said something like,
"Well, she got hotter, yeah,
but not my type",
which is just like.
- I shouldn't be
allowed to have a phone,
I just tweet weird shit
that pops in my head.
Like, I am obviously strongly
against the trans athletes,
but a lot of it's
fooling around.
You know, I was just
messing around with Alana,
I don't necessarily
think she's a bad person.
I don't think she should
be doing what she's doing,
but I don't have, like,
hate in my heart.
You know, originally
I didn't realize
that the other girl had agreed,
'cause in the vast
majority of these cases,
the girls don't have a
choice, they're forced to.
So that did give
me, like I said,
it gave me a slightly
different perspective because,
you know, I do think
for the most part,
you know, adults should be
able to choose what they do.
- You'll be amazing
whatever you do,
you're one of those
annoying people
that's good at
everything you do,
and yet we still love you.
- You say that.
Yeah, I mean, I don't know.
We'll just have to
see how shit goes.
The death threats that I get,
sometimes it's like open
threats where it's like,
"Oh, we're gonna
fucking kill you."
And then other times it'll just
be like a string of letters,
and it's "You will never
be a woman", you know?
And it's like,
"Sorry, I already am,
you can't fucking change that."
- Could I be
putting trans people
in danger with my attitude?
Honestly, I've absolutely
never thought about that,
'cause I get so many death
threats from trans athletes
and these people, and
I never really thought
that maybe they're
getting the same.
You know, I certainly hope
I've never done anything
to trigger anyone
towards violence.
And you know, I
have to be critical,
I can't not be critical
of something I believe.
So I can't be responsible
if someone follows me
does something crazy.
- They're literally telling
you to kill yourself.
But they'll frame it in a way
where it doesn't get taken
down off of social media.
Join the 41%,
because they're citing high
suicide rates in trans youth.
So Jake Shields will lie to you
and say that he doesn't advocate
for violence against
trans people.
But here he is tweeting
about how teachers
that affirm trans kids
should be tried and executed.
Like, if you search
his profile for trans,
this is it, hundreds
upon hundreds of tweets.
He talks more about trans
people than trans people do.
Jake says that it's
only about sports,
that he doesn't care about
trans people otherwise,
but here he is calling
trans women mentally ill,
we're deviants.
None of this has anything
to do with sports.
No amount of bending
over backwards
is going to win anybody over.
If you wanna stick it
to the woke moralists,
then you hate trans people.
- So often social media
becomes an echo chamber,
and we lose some of the
other really beautiful things
that are happening
around the country.
We talk again a lot about how
many bills have introduced.
The exciting thing
is that last year
we stopped 96% of those
bills from passing.
The other really positive things
that we're seeing is
just more visibility
of trans athletes overall.
You have kids and trans adults
from all over the world
who are able to tune in
and see Alana come out
with a trans flag
around her shoulders.
I mean, when I watched that,
I was in tears, because
never in my lifetime
did I think I would see that
and did I think I would
see it being celebrated.
- Will she fight again?
Look, the truth of the
matter is it's very hard
to find an opponent
for her, it just is.
The truth is, you know,
she's in her late 30s.
The truth is people are
attracted to see her fight
maybe for the wrong reasons.
Whatever it is that we
hear or read about Alana,
that's not gonna
change anyone's mind.
Her commitment to making
sure everyone is protected,
making sure everyone
has the right
to express their point
of view, even her haters,
these are the
strengths of Alana,
and that's what
will convince people
that transgender people are
people, they're not monsters.
I don't think it's Alana's
fighting that will change minds.
I think it's Alana's thinking
and talking that will
change people's minds.
(gentle instrumental music)
(cars honking)
(gentle instrumental music)
- It's ironic that
one of the few places
I felt in peace was in the cage.
It's out here that I
feel like I'm a war,
outgunned and
behind enemy lines.
The fight last year hasn't
launched an MMA career.
A year later and I'm still
waiting for another fight.
Hell, I'm still trying to find
a place to train in Portland
where I'm actually welcome.
I don't really know
what it looks like
to win the public opinion more,
but the fight has elevated
my profile in the
trans community.
Sometimes people tell
me I'm a role model,
but I don't know
if I believe it.
I certainly have more
followers now, more fans,
but a lot more people
screaming for my blood too.
Sometimes I stand alongside
giants, people like Chelsea.
She's another army veteran who
spent seven years in prison
for taking a stand, even
starting her transition there.
- How's it going?
- Good, how are you?
You too.
- Good to meet you.
Are there folks that
you know around here?
- I'm not sure that I do.
- Do I know you?
- Well, people
that know me, yes.
Vice versa, not so much.
- Yeah.
- But yeah.
- How are things
going in general, like in life?
- [Alana] I got.
- I had to bring the shirt.
- Yeah, I mean,
I almost wore that shirt today,
and I'm glad I didn't
because then one of us
would've had to change.
- No, would've
just both worn it.
Girl, one thing,
in case you didn't know,
I'm just telling you,
what you did in that ring
helped me go out to Omaha
and do that, 'cause that
scared the piss outta me.
- Scary shit.
- It is, I mean.
- Nobody can hurt you
like family, right?
- Tell me about it.
A personal anecdote, when I
went home this past summer,
family hadn't seen
me in four years.
They hadn't seen me
since the medical nuts
and bolts of my transition.
They hadn't seen me
since I started that.
So in a sense it was coming out.
And you wanna talk about fear?
That was fear.
I hadn't felt that level
of fear and anxiety,
probably since I
was a little kid.
One of the things that
got me through that
was just that image of Alana
bringing that flag out,
walking down that gangway
towards that cage.
That bucked me up.
What she's done in
terms of using her voice
and her activism,
and continuing to speak
out about trans rights
and continuing to
speak out about things
that have nothing
to do with sports.
Be open about mental
health, be open about PTSD,
be open about the experiences
that she went through
in the military, and
be critical of them.
That is something people need
to hear, because in a sense,
she's an example of how
our society chews people up
and spits 'em out.
She's a transgender veteran,
she fought for your
right to hate her.
And think about the lunacy of
that sentence for a second.
- Well, I decided to walk
out with the trans flag
instead of the American
flag, because frankly,
the American flag,
for a lot of people,
it doesn't stand for
anything good, you know?
You know, I've said it before,
but it's safer in that ring
than it is out here in
the fucking streets.
I didn't have a gun pointed
in my face in the cage,
and I've had that happen here.
- She's gonna go in and fight
the good fight in every fight.
And I think, you know,
ultimately that's a
tough way to live.
And I think what Alana
needs to do is figure out
what's important for her,
and focus her prodigious
and tremendous energies on the
fight for Alana to be happy.
- Whatever happens with
Alana in her fight career,
she will continue fighting,
we will continue fighting,
and eventually, just as the
tides of history will turn,
we will look back on this
conversation 20 years later
and say, "Wow, I can't believe
that we are trying to
deny other human beings
access to sports."
- It's important to
see representation,
to see people like
you on camera,
out in the world doing the
kinds of things you want to do,
because they're symbols
in that imagery, like,
that's how we build
our hopes and dreams.
And I think we all
should do that.
We all should get that chance.
(waves crashing)
- Not really any regrets.
Yeah, I mean,
everything that I
would want to change
is outside of my control.
So there's not really any
point in me fixating on.
About the best I can do
is just kind of be ready
when the call comes, if
there is another fight.
I want a place of my
own, I want happiness.
But when I was a kid, I
think that meant isolation.
And now it doesn't
mean that so much.
You know, when I transitioned,
that was kind of my decision
to actually join humanity,
to be part of things.
So yeah, once again,
like with anything else,
it's a balancing act.
You know, I want my
little piece of the pie,
but I want it to
be part of the pie,
I don't want to be hoisted
off in a corner somewhere.
(gentle instrumental music)
If it were yesterday
I might have sailed away
But the devil had
my soul to take
All the damage done
With that loaded gun
To the streets you run
away alone in the night
(gentle instrumental music)
No time can take
the words I say
Oh, if it were
yesterday today
(gentle instrumental music)
- "A child grows among
palmettos, unsure of their fit,
unsure of their place,
tucked in the Bible
belt, Gamecocks,
tiger show, no fear
while growing up queer.
Molten fire hardened
against the Taliban
queer palmetto child
off to Afghanistan.
Not just a soldier,
but now an operator.
But six years and change later
and you find out
who you really are.
As your psalm and cream,
flowing like a dream,
Athena, Alana will not hide.
You saw the t-shirt,
end trans genocide.
Buckle up, let's ride.
(gentle instrumental music)
Oh, bonjour, mademoiselle,
je m'appelle Celine,
I have come from France
to steal your dream.
The French woman was
tactical, practical,
the reach was locked on,
the tone was too good.
The chin was willing, but
the legs were buckling.
The girl is getting rocked,
the girl is getting knocked.
How did she survive?
How did she survive?
How did she survive
being asked, but why?
The second rounds, her
swarm fought the barrage,
she wants to take down.
If we can get crown bound,
I'll break the fight down.
Slip the punches,
got her foothold,
landed on the canvas,
BJJ, time to roll.
Alana has landed.
And then you heard a
million trans hearts hope.
Rear naked choke, tap out.
That's the show, folks.
Raise that arm high,
raise that head high,
show that sly
smile with a legend
and all us trans
people on your side.
Queer child from the palmettos,
you no longer have to hide."
(gentle instrumental music)
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)
(suspenseful music)