Eri Hayward is a 26-year old Mormon living with her family in Orem, UT. She is now the subject of a short documentary entitled Transmormon, from Video West and OHO Media.
The video has won some awards, being a Vimeo Staff Pick, selected as the Best Utah Short Film of 2014 at the Utah Arts Festival, and winner of an Artistic Vision Award at the 2014 Big Sky Documentary Festival.
Eri Hayward was born and raised in Utah County, comes from a conservative Mormon background, was raised in the LDS Church and even went to Mormon private school – but something wasn’t adding up. Eri was born a boy and it was a slow, painful journey for her to recognize she is transgender. This piece was filmed with Eri and her close-knit, supportive family just before she flew to Thailand for sexual reassignment surgery.
The film, Eri herself, and her parents are
raising a lot of questions in the LDS Church.
Fitting in the boy category, that was always a really difficult process. When I came out as trans, one of my friends said, 'oh honey, we all knew, we were just waiting for you'.
--Eri Hayward
The film documents the final days before Eri underwent gender confirmation surgery in Thailand last year.
Legally speaking, I can now say that I've completed the surgeries and I'm a post-op transsexual.
--Eri
Her parents say they went through the usual stages of grief and denial as they lost their son and gained a daughter.
She's our daughter and she's been this way her whole life, the only thing that's changed is we didn't know it.
--Ed Hayward, father
I'm happy, I'm healthy and I've got lots to be thankful for.
--Eri
Eri's standing within the LDS is under review.
I'm actually working with the church right now, discussing what values are most important to me.
--Eri
I have people saying, 'well it's a choice, not a lifestyle'; that's because for them it would have to be a choice, they don't have those feelings.
--Ed Hayward
The film is almost 15 minutes long.