Miriam A Marvin
Film Review 1 – Middle Sexes Redefining 'he' and 'she'
Soc 360
Professor Williams
1. The thesis of the film was that all people, regardless of their gender identification, were human beings and deserved to be treated and regarded as such.
2. The main arguments in support of the thesis all showed examples of acceptance or of fear leading behaviors. Noah was a good example, as his parents only wanted him to have a good life. Noah's mother contradicted all of the religious arguments with one simple statement: “ I can't believe in a God that doesn't have love for Noah”.
Judy, who later became Max, is another good example. Max's intersex identity was kept from him while growing up, which led to many complications. Once he requested medical records from his doctor and discovered he was intersex, a lot of things became more clear. Has this condition not been dehumanized, Max would have known sooner and could have received the gender identification he chose, not one which was given to him in an attempt to make things easier.
In each and every situation and country which the film visited, there was the reoccurring theme that regardless of why someone is a transgender man or woman, that they are still deserving of respect. Western Culture is very strict and rigid in their beliefs and concepts of right and wrong. The only to country which remained untouched by western ideals was the only country which was accepting of variations- Bangkok, Thailand.
3. The thesis of this film relates to the course quite well as it addressed quite a few of the topics and discussions we have had in class. It all comes down to the fact that deviant people make other, non deviant people uncomfortable and thus must be made to feel badly about themselves. Society expects everyone to fit inside of their box, and when you don't it bothers them. This all points very clearly back to the fact that deviations are socially constructed, as are the consequences.
4. The arguments I found most convincing were:
- The findings of the Dutch Institute of Brain Research; the discovery that the central brain can have a gender identification separate from that of the external genitalia.
- Indian Weddings are a way for men to meet up and release tensions- male male sexual encounters are normal
- The Hizra of India- a subculture devoted to allowing transgender women to live peacefully amongst themselves.
- The Katoi of Bangkok- not only socially accepted, but revered as well.
5. I did not find any of the arguments presented in the film to be non convincing or relevant to the discussion.
6. The argument which stood out the most to me was everything the Katoi send and everything that societal acceptance represents. I would study this by examining the social constructs which make the intersex individuals of Bangkok acceptable in Thailand, but not in America and other Western influenced countries. I would want to determine how this is currently viewed in America and what the attitudes surrounding it are.
It would also require obtaining uninfluenced opinions of the intersex community, as well as if the popularization/infamy of the Katoi had any effect on the level of acceptance demonstrated.
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