Butterfly

A character self-harms in a tense moment; we see bloody lines on their wrist, blood splashed on wall. "I feel better now," he says afterward, and that he cut himself "to calm [himself] down." A child is slapped in the face by his parent in a flashback; in another, the father holds the child's neck roughly in two hands during an argument. Both incidents are prompted by the father's distress at his son behaving in "feminine" ways. A family tickles a dad while he yells "Stop!" and "This is not funny!" Bullies physically menace a much smaller boy.

Talk about body parts and gender is frank, but mild enough for tweens. "I hate my willy," says Max at one point, to his father's consternation. One half of a married couple has sex with another person secretly, causing problems.

Language includes "f--k," "f---ing," "boob," "c--k." Language can have connotations of gender and sexuality: "Bitch!" Lily says to Max, implying that he's being gossipy in a stereotypically feminine way. Boys mocking Max call him "gay boy" and "dance boy"; Max calls himself a "freak."

Adults drink wine with dinner, or when spending time with friends. A woman says she had the "odd" cigarette or glass of wine while pregnant.

Parents need to know that Butterfly is a drama about an 11-year-old who transitions from being a boy to being a girl. Talk about gender identity and related issues is frank and realistic: A kid talks about hating his "willy" and pees his pants rather than use the boy's bathroom at school; his relatives frown over his "acting out" and "funny ways" (though his grandfather is realistic if a bit reductive and asks what's wrong with "liking a bit of frill and a splash of color?"), and try to stop him from acting "like a girl." Bullies at school call him "gay boy" and "dance boy" and stand over him threateningly. A character self-harms and we see bloody lines on his wrist and blood on the wall. We also see flashbacks to two incidents of parental violence connected with Max's gender variance. Language includes words about body parts ("boob," "c--k"), insulting words about LGBTQ people ("gay boy," "freak"), and other curses ("f--k," "f---ing," "bitch"). Adults drink wine; no one acts drunk. Parents are present and supportive, though they sometimes take a while to get there; Maxine's sister, Lily, is a beautifully compassionate and accepting character. Themes of acceptance, tolerance, diversity, and empathy predominate, and Maxine is a strong character with principles and courage.