Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story (2014)

By Dan Clendenin

Christopher Beck (b. 1966) grew up in small town America. His father was a football coach. After Virginia Military Institute, Chris served for twenty years as a US Navy SEAL, which service included thirteen (!) deployments. No wonder he was a home town hero. His toughest mission, though, began in 2013 when he came out as a transgendering woman named Kristin. This documentary focuses on Kristin's family, about half of whom have accepted her. The other narrative in this movie circles back to his twenty years as a SEAL. Although Chris epitomized the "toughest of the tough," he recounts how he used to feign sickness as a little boy so he could stay home and wear his sister's dresses. Kristin continues to have a difficult life, but her story inspires us to respect the dignity of every human being, be people of compassion, accept things we don't understand, and, maybe hardest of all, love yourself for who you are. For more on Kristin, see her 2013 memoir called Warrior Princess. I watched this film on Netflix Streaming.