Rating: Transsupportive, ABC News, September 3, 2023 (PDF archive) (HTML archive) (Take Action)

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Transgender content creator Grace Hyland says Channel 7 implied that she ‘regrets transitioning’

Australian transgender content creator Grace Hyland has responded swiftly on her social media accounts after she saw a Channel 7 preview video, which included two photographs of her from before and after she transitioned at the age of 13, without her consent.

The story for the Channel 7 investigative program Spotlight titled De-Transistioning, was described by the network as “uncovering the irreparable damage being visited on a generation of confused kids wrongly diagnosed as transgender”.

“Channel 7 kind of made it look like I regret transitioning,” Ms Hyland says at the start of the clip she posted on her social media, which has now gained nearly 400,000 combined views.

Ms Hyland was not featured in the Spotlight episode.

The daughter of Australian actor Mat Stevenson said the preview was not accurate, and that she didn’t agree with the issue the story was covering.

“I mean, why would you choose my photos, my face? It makes no sense.”

Ms Hyland and her father have previously spoken about her transition at the age of 13 and advocated for more early support in Australia for transgender children in order to prevent trans-adolescent suicide.

‘Don’t get it twisted Channel 7’

Ms Hyland showed the section of the preview video in her social media response from the program, which includes a voiceover that describes the episode as “the most controversial story this year”.

Channel 7 journalist Liam Bartlett says in the promo that “children are being told they should change from boy to girl, or girl to boy, from as young as 12-years-old”.

At this point in the clip, multiple photos of children before and after their gender transitions are shown, including Ms Hyland’s.

Spotlight’s program voiceover continues with the claim that “thousands of kids are doing it and regretting it”.

Ms Hyland told her followers that the clip “makes it look like I’m one of the kids that regrets it”.

Ms Hyland, whose father Mat used to star in the long-running Channel 7 television show Home and Away, was frustrated by the mistake.

“Why are you using my photos? Is it because my dad was on Home and Away on Channel 7 back in the day?

“Is it because I’m a public figure? Is it because I’ve publicly defended child transitioning?” Ms Hyland asked.

Hyland calls for ‘more funding, less negativity’

Ms Hyland claimed that Channel 7 was using her medical history to “push a political agenda” by featuring her photos in the preview.

“Transitioning as a child is not how Channel 7 is making it out to be.

“My care by the Royal Children’s Hospital was held with the utmost diligence and I am forever grateful,” she wrote on Instagram.

Ms Hyland also added that she would like to see an increase in funding for gender-affirming care in Australia.

“It doesn’t need this negativity.”

The preview video was reportedly changed after Ms Hyland spoke out.

In a statement a Channel 7 spokesperson acknowledged an  image of a transgender woman was shown during a voiceover discussing children expressing regret over transitioning in a promotional video.

“We acknowledge the photo might inadvertently imply that the individual in question regretted their transition,” they said.

“As soon as we were made aware the image was removed and the promo replaced. We sincerely apologise for any confusion this may have caused.”