Both Fred and Laurence’s mother highlight the stress that a transgender individual’s support system faces on account of the individual’s, in this case, Laurence’s, identity and transition. Both Fred and Laurence’s mother draw the viewer’s attention to the challenges of accepting and maintaining a relationship with someone as they transition. Fred struggles with her lover wishing to alter their body and their gender presentation, while Laurence’s mother struggles with understanding her daughter’s new form of expression, as shown through the scenes when she tells Laurence that Laurence’s father will never expect her being a woman and when Laurence surprises her at the train station with a gift for her birthday. Additionally, both of their mentalities towards their children are drastically altered throughout the film.
