History Film / TheyThem

.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/theythem2020.png]]

''They/Them'' is a 2020 South Seas Film & Television School production from UsefulNotes/NewZealand about a troubled teen coming to terms with their nonbinary identity.

Ash is conflicted about their gender. Writing a poem about their womanhood, they think they're just a girl [[TransTribulations even though being a woman doesn't feel right to them, but neither does being a man]]. The next morning at school, a transfer student joins their class and asks to be called by her nickname, Charlie, instead of "Charlotte".

After their teacher reviews their poem and tells them she's looking forward to seeing them perform it in class (to their dismay), Ash asks their teacher to refer to them with their chosen name as Charlie had the same option. However, their request is immediately dismissed, and the school bullies aren't going to let Ash see the end of it.

Not to be confused with the 1954 scifi film ''Film/{{Them}}'', or the 2022 horror thriller film ''Film/TheyThem2022''.

''They/Them'' can be watched on [=YouTube=] for free, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOQAmkDrPbk here]].

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!!Tropes:
* AdultsAreUseless: The teachers do virtually nothing when Ash is humiliated by bullies ''in front of the whole class''. The most that a teacher does is tell her students to calm down when Charlie speaks up against Ash's detractors, but this is after much of the abuse against Ash is said and done with.
* ComingOutStory: Played with; Ash's classmates acknowledge that they identify as nonbinary, or at least trans, without Ash having to spell it out for them. However, Ash gets bullied to hell and back over it, and they're [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube forcibly outed while reciting a poem about their identity]]. The culmination of the story is when [[spoiler:Ash recites the poem in front of their whole class for real, letting them come out on their own terms this time, thus technically playing this trope straight.]]
* DoNotCallMePaul: Ash disliked their previous feminine name, and so changed it. As a nonbinary person they also don't want to be called "she" or "her". In both cases, only Ash's lesbian friend follows their wishes.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Ash tears up their poem about being a woman, and recites an entirely different poem about being nonbinary. The entire class - even the teacher and Dominique's GirlPosse - erupts in applause, and the teacher crosses out Ash's deadname on the student roster, writing in "Ash".]]
* ExhaustedEyeBags: Ash has these after they stay up all night working on their poem.
* GenderBlenderName: Discussed; when Ash requests that their teacher refer to them by their chosen name, the teacher points out that Ash is a male name and doesn't suit them (while misgendering them as a girl and deadnaming them). However, Ash replies that it's a gender-neutral name and that it can be used for any gender.
* InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube: Ash recites a poem about their gender in private, and shortly after, realizes that they were being recorded the whole time. Afterwards, the video is leaked onto social media, with commenters misgendering, deadnaming, and labeling Ash an "attention whore".
* LGBTAwakening: The story deals with Ash coming to terms with being nonbinary, and struggling to accept themself as such when the world sees them as a girl.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Dominique, the one responsible for the tirade against Ash, is incredibly intolerant of trans people. She regularly deadnames and misgenders Ash, calls them transphobic slurs, tells them they don't belong at their school, and embarrasses Ash in biology class when a teacher fails to mention chromosome variants other than XX and XY (leading to Dominique saying that intersex people don't exist).
* TransTribulations: Ash is going through a lot as a nonbinary teen, having to live through being deadnamed and treated like a girl, even at home. Their school life is even worse; they are humiliated in front of their whole class when their teacher turns down their request to be called "Ash". After that, they're physically and verbally bullied for being open about their dysphoria, and a video of them reciting a poem about their gender is [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube leaked to YouTube]].
* WhichRestroomDilemma: Referenced in a brief scene where Ash sees signs pointing to men's and women's restrooms, then runs away, distraught. However, the trope itself is not employed, and is instead used to symbolize Ash's internal conflict about their gender.
* YouAreNotAlone: When Ash decides to spend the night at a party, presenting themself as a cis girl, Charlie sits down with them and talks to them about their TransTribulations. She relates to their troubles, saying that she's also dealt with people refusing to understand her, [[{{Gayngst}} or even acknowledge that she's gay]]. She also adds that there is a term for Ash's gender - nonbinary - and that this is hardly an experience exclusive to them. Ash initially rebuffs Charlie's attempts at comforting them, [[spoiler:but she chooses to openly support them at school the next day, and it's implied they're going to be close friends from there on.]]
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Not to be confused with the 1954 scifi film ''Film/{{Them}}'', or the 2022 horror thriller film ''They/Them''.

Not to be confused with the 1954 scifi film ''Film/{{Them}}'', or the upcoming 2022 horror thriller film ''They/Them''.

Not to be confused with the 1954 scifi film ''Film/{{Them}}''.

* TransTribulations: Ash is going through a gender identity crisis, having to live through being deadnamed and treated like a girl, even at home. Their school life is even worse; they are humiliated in front of their whole class when their teacher turns down their request to be called "Ash". After that, they're physically and verbally bullied for being open about their dysphoria, and a video of them reciting a poem about their gender is [[InstantHumiliationJustAddYouTube leaked to YouTube]].

* AmbiguousGenderIdentity: Ash is nonbinary, and the film is about them coming to terms with their gender identity.

* {{Transgender}}: Ash is nonbinary, and the film is about them coming to terms with their gender identity.

* YouAreNotAlone: When Ash decides to spend the night at a party, presenting themself as a cis girl, Charlie sits down with them and talks to them about their TransTribulations. She relates to their troubles, saying that she's also dealt with people refusing to understand her, [[{{Gayngst}} or even acknowledge that she's gay]]. She also adds that there is a term for Ash's gender - nonbinary - and that this is hardly an experience exclusive to them. Ash initially rebuffs Charlie's attempts at comforting them, [[spoiler:but she chooses to openly support them at school the next day, and it's implied they're going to be close friends from there on.]]

''They/Them'' is a 2020 South Seas Film & Television School production about a troubled teen coming to terms with their nonbinary identity.

* GenderBlenderName: Discussed; when Ash requests that their teacher refer to them by their chosen name, the teacher points out that Ash is a male name and doesn't suit them (while misgendering them as a girl and deadnaming them). However, Ash refutes that it's a gender-neutral name and that it can be used for any gender.

* AdultsAreUseless: The teachers do virtually nothing when Ash is humiliated by bullies *in front of the whole class*. The most that a teacher does is tell her students to calm down when Charlie speaks up against Ash's detractors, but this is after much of the abuse against Ash is said and done with.

"They/Them" can be watched on [=YouTube=] for free, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOQAmkDrPbk here]].