Last look at how Georgie Girl's changed

04.03.2002 By ELEANOR BLACK

Georgina Beyer is hoping that by laying her life bare, yet again, she can finally rid herself of the label that has dogged her since coming to national prominence as Mayor of Carterton.

So the transsexual politician - there's the label - shares her extraordinary life story in the documentary Georgie Girl.

The biopic, co-directed by Annie Goldson and Peter Wells, charts Beyer's journey from a confused childhood in Taranaki to her days as a sex worker in Wellington, and political awakening in the Wairarapa.

Just like its colourful subject, the film is unflinching and unapologetic.

Goldson first approached Beyer about the project in 2000 but the newly elected MP was "too busy learning her job" to spend time with a camera crew.

Last year, having tired of her media portrayal as a one-trick pony, she agreed.

"I'm hoping this is the final need for the media or anybody to write about my life, a conclusion to the fascination that people have," says Beyer with a throaty chuckle.

"If I wasn't a transsexual then nothing I have done would be particularly remarkable.

"What annoys me is the way the media always, or nearly always, have to label me with the transsexual thing. I keep getting labelled the transsexual MP, never MP for Wairarapa. We don't refer to any other Members of Parliament, as far as I know, as being 'heterosexual MP Bill English'.

"On the other side of it, I have nothing to be ashamed of."

Goldson was drawn to Beyer after watching her on television in 1999, when the nervous political newcomer sat out a tense election night at the Carterton RSA.

"Growing up as feminist/hippie/leftie I had always seen the RSA as a bastion of New Zealand conservatism," says Goldson. "And yet I was really struck by how at home Georgina seemed, and how much respect and love, clearly, the folks there had for her.

"It made me curious about Georgina and her ability to inspire that sort of confidence and also made me reflect on New Zealand culture."

The film offers a revealing insight into contemporary New Zealand, where a woman who used to be a man and a prostitute can become a parliamentarian.

Certainly, Beyer's life has not been easy, but she enjoys a position in this country which her counterparts in the US, Australia and Britain have yet to achieve.

It's a remarkable feat which has sparked considerable interest overseas. Georgie Girl will be shown at film festivals in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and has been bought by Channel 4 in the UK.

Goldson and Wells have intercut archive footage of Beyer performing in clubs with their own coverage of her electoral duties, and interviews with friends and former colleagues.

Excerpts from an eight-hour interview with Beyer, taped at the end of the one-year project, tie it all together in a strange and wonderful package.

* Documentary New Zealand: Georgie Girl TV One, 8.30 pm