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Three individuals who identify as intersex in the United States share their stories with film-maker Julie Cohen, discussing their activism for intersex rights and representation. They also reflect on their childhood experiences in a time when intersex children were often subjected to unnecessary and potentially dangerous surgery without their consent, in an effort to conform to societal norms. This practice was based on a fear of intersex identities.
This is an educational, eye-opening film, though it arguably leaves some questions unanswered. Sean Saifa Wall is an African American researcher and activist who was subjected to a gonadectomy at 13; Alicia Roth Weigel is an intersex advocate who presented as female at birth, though without a uterus and ovaries; River Gallo is an artist and intersex performer whose film Ponyboi was presented at BFI Flare in London. Each is passionate and persuasive, with tough stories from their childhoods about being made to feel taboo.
The traditional medical beliefs that they were raised with seem to have been heavily influenced by Dr. John Money, a sexologist from New Zealand. Dr. Money performed “normalizing” surgeries on intersex infants and gained notoriety for his involvement in the David Reimer case. He believed that gender identity is shaped by society and in 1966, oversaw the gender reassignment surgery of a baby boy from Canada who had suffered genital damage in an accident. He convinced the child’s mother that it would be best to raise him as a girl, which ultimately ended tragically.
The trans debate may present paradoxical aspects, but the film emphasizes the importance of consent and self-affirmation. Weigel’s claim that the existence of intersex individuals challenges the idea of distinct sexes is a point of contention. In the film, she becomes angry with a conservative interviewer who suggests that the biological anomaly of webbed toes invalidates the concept of “feet”. This comparison may be seen as flippant, and it may be more productive to consider whether biracial individuals challenge the concept of race. Overall, this is a compassionate and timely exploration.
Source: theguardian.com
