60 Minutes: Aug 23

On Sunday night 60 Minutes has a story on gender transition, from ABC’s (US) PrimeTime series.

The story will look at the Prince family which not only has ‘two moms’ but a male to female transgender.

“When you decide to transition, everybody else transitions with you, whether they like it or not,” says Chloe (pictured, left), who grew up as Ted.

The story, by reporter JuJu Chang (right), is already available online and looks like a much better piece on gender identity than the show bought a few years ago that suggested a little boy playing with dolls must be growing up gay (as opposed to gender identity issues).

Other stories include a piece by Charles Woolley on “free-diving” and an Australian nurse who’s dedicated her life to a tribe of nomads in the Ethiopian desert.

Breathtaking!
Occasionally as a 60 Minutes reporter, you can be surprised by something new, something remarkable, something that you have never, ever come across. Something that makes you hold your breath. Which is literally what this story’s about. If you’ve never heard of free-diving and Charles Wooley hadn’t, then you’re about to be introduced to an entirely different world. And to a bloke who pushes the human body to the very limits of its capability. A man with nothing but one giant-sized flipper, a lung full of air and a wonderful, dangerous, rapture of the deep.
Reporter: Charles Wooley
Producer: Jonathan Harley

When Dad Becomes Mum
The neighbours probably thought the Princes were just your average suburban family. Mum Renee, dad Ted and two young sons. Little did they know. Even as a boy, Ted knew he was different. He had a secret. He loved wearing dresses and yearned to be a girl. Then, as a young man, he met Renee, they fell in love and were married. For a while, everything was okay, but eventually Ted’s confusion and frustration got the better of him. And, in May last year, he had gender re-assignment surgery and became a woman called Chloe. So now daddy is mummy and, as JuJu Chang reports, the Prince family has changed forever.
Reporter: JuJu Chang, Primetime
Producer: Naria Halliwell

Desert Angel
There sure is plenty of variety in being a 60 Minutes reporter. Last week, he was in the frozen north, this week, Michael Usher is off to the hottest place on earth. A place where the temperature routinely sits in the 50s and often hits 60. Michael’s going to meet one of our unsung national treasures. A woman called Valerie Browning, an Australian nurse who’s dedicated her life to a tribe of nomads in the Ethiopian desert. They’re among the poorest people in the world, and life for them is a harsh and punishing experience. But where you would see tragedy and despair, Valerie sees beauty and hope. And you know what, her enthusiasm’s infectious.
Reporter: Michael Usher
Producer: Stephen Taylor

It airs 7:30pm Sunday on Nine.