East Bay native Eddie Araujo was a boy who knew he was a girl. All Gwen, the girl Eddie became, ever wanted was to fall in love and have a family. Gwen Araujo believed in what the Religious Right calls "family values," and lived her life accordingly. She was a sweet girl, filled with love. She never expected to become the face of a movement.
A few years ago, Araujo was brutally murdered for being who she was. Her death and the subsequent trials of her killers made national headlines, and hurled the transgender movement into the spotlight. Araujo, who wanted nothing more than a white picket fence, has become an icon.
Now Lifetime Television dramatizes Araujo's life. A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story, premiering on Monday, June 19, is an intensely moving, four-hankie movie, yet it's so much more than just a tearjerker.
The film puts the life of a transgender under a microscope, and explains the trans phenomenon to those who may not fully understand it. It illustrates the struggles trans people have to deal with, the obstacles they face, and the courage they must surely have to become who they really are. It shows how the changes they make affect their loved ones.
Most importantly, the film shines a light on the hatred of the ignorant. In doing so, it calls for tolerance eloquently, but without preaching.
Acclaimed actress Mercedes Ruehl is top-billed as Sylvia Guerrero, Gwen's mother. Guerrero is now one of our community's most high-profile and staunchest allies, but this wasn't always the case. When she first notices female tendencies in seven-year-old Eddie, Guerrero tries to help him become what society would view as normal. When teenage Gwen begins dating handsome Joey Marino (Corey Stoll), Mom outs her. Guerrero also threatens Gwen's transgender therapist with legal action.
Through all this, it is made clear that Guerrero loves her child unconditionally, and does not want Gwen to be hurt. When the tragic end does come, Mom proudly honors Gwen as her daughter.
Of course, Rome wasn't built in a day. Ruehl plays the changes in Guerrero's attitude gradually, covering a period of years. The Oscar/Tony-winning actress hits all the right notes throughout, and should win another statue for her performance.
As Araujo, newcomer JD Pardo is a revelation. Pardo dives into the role with gusto, bringing the murdered teen back to life.
Araujo had guts. She went to her East Bay high school still dressed as a boy, wearing lipstick and earrings. She did not, could not, would not, pretend to be anyone other than who she was. She touched people's lives. A momentary act of kindness to a Hell's Angels biker results in the man's entire fraternity showing up at her funeral to escort her casket, keeping the Fred Phelps crowd at arm's length.
Joey Marino, who left Gwen when he learned the truth, wept openly at her funeral.
A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story is a deeply moving, haunting story, all the more powerful because it's true. It puts a very human face and heart on the transgender phenomenon. Bravo to Lifetime Television for telling this tale. No doubt, many minds in Lifetime's Middle American audience will be opened by the film.
A Girl like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story premieres on Lifetime on Monday, June 19, at 9 p.m. Many more airings will follow.