Touching on subjects relevant to its core female audience, The Style Network will launch a documentary initiative next month.
Under the "Style Exposed" banner, the network will unveil a number of provocative docs exploring some of today's hot button items and controversial topics, including sexuality, family, personal health and body image. The initiative begins July 9 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) with Baring It All, which examines breast cancer survivors.
"With this new documentary initiative, we hope to explore issues and topics that are often overlooked or misrepresented in the mainstream media but are important to our female viewers," said Katie Buchanan, senior vice president, programming and acquisitions at The Style Network, in announcing the documentary program. "Each installment will speak directly to Style's core audience of young women, presenting them with engaging, informative and sometimes controversial subject matters that we hope will challenge them to understand a different point of view."
Here's how the network describes the first three "Style Exposed" entries:
*Baring It All premieres Saturday, July 9 at 9 p.m.
This heart-wrenching yet inspiring documentary puts a human face on the heroism of breast cancer survivors in their 20s and 30s. It follows New York-based fashion photographer David Jay and four brave women - all in different stages of battling the disease - who become subjects of his groundbreaking photographic series, "The Scar Project." By photographing each woman in various states of their treatment and recovery, the nude portraits - that expose more than their scars and baldness - are beautiful, challenging and powerful. Along with exploring the lives of these young females and their new reality, Baring It All shows the impact cancer has had on them and their loved ones and answers what drives them to be photographed at their most vulnerable.
*Born Male, Living Female bows Saturday, July 16 at 9 p.m.
This documentary takes an in-depth look at the fascinating, complicated lives of four male-to-female transgender individuals living in New York City. Set against a backdrop of a world slow to grasp the changing transgender landscape, these courageous and determined women bravely challenge the status quo in their pursuit of the American dream. Running the gamut of professions, from model, to musician, to fashion executive, to counselor and to escort, each woman will confront and hopefully, overcome a variety of personal issues - identity, sexuality, love, surgery, career and discrimination.
*Single with 7 debuts Saturday, July 23 at 9 p.m.
Being a working single mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. But when you have seven children - ages 7 to 17 - to care for while juggling a high-profile and demanding career, can this be an impossible task? In this moving documentary, Style viewers will follow Yesi Ortiz, a determined single mom and popular Los Angeles-based disc jockey for Power 106FM. At age 25, Yesi's life dramatically changed when her sister became embroiled in legal problems and was sent to jail. As a result, Yesi fought for years to adopt her seven nieces and nephews and finally was granted custody in 2009. Today, she struggles to balance her thriving radio career with raising her adopted children while trying to manage her complex personal life.
Style put a spotlight on Single with 7 during its April upfront press presentation in Manhattan.
