Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She, a Review

Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She does just that. The thesis behind Middle Sexes is the redefinition of the gender deviance we see within not only our culture as a country, but our world as a whole. The film begins by sharing the story of Noah, an 8 year old boy who pushes gender boundaries by expressing interest in "female" characteristics and activities in a small midwest town. His family was the one of the most convincing aspects of the entire film, in my opinion. Most people is a stereotypical midwestern town, as said by his parents, are not accepting of Noah's lifestyle. However, as both of his parents expressed, if someone could not love their child the way he is, then it is clearly the other person's problem. 

This course examines deviance in multiple forms, including gender deviance in the form of transgender, intersex, and androgynous "deviance", all of which are examined within the film. It is heartwrenching to hear Max's tale of coming to realize he is the one in every two thousand babies born with "ambiguous genitalia", and having been raised like so many children as a gender determined by either doctors or parents attempting to "fix" their child, regardless of how informed they were of the consequences of their actions. Calpernia's story of her boyfriend, murdered only because he was dating a trans-identified woman. There was nothing in this film I could find to be not convincing of a need for third gendered, or two-spirit identities to be accepted in our western culture, and to be an option outside of female and male norms. 

The ladyboys of Thailand were the only piece of the film that I watched and was slightly bothered by. The wide acceptance of ladyboys not as men dressed as women, or even "transgendered", but a gender all their own is ideal, and what I would hope to see the United States progress to. But as the performers spoke of why they thought they appealed to western visitors, I couldn't help but wonder if these westerners who have "never seen" anyone like the ladyboys do not see them as people, but as a fetishization, or a novelty person. It saddens me to have to wonder if people see them as "just a tranny" who happens to pass exceptionally well. In Thailand, there is not the same issue of passing that we find time and time again in America. 

If I could chose any point in the film to research, it would be about children like Noah, who early on do not adhere to a gender norm, or who identify as transgendered. In the media, we have seen a slew of transgendered children, pitied, championed, and covered sensitively and insensitively. Online articles feature comments supportive and moving, but also ugly and evil, flaying apart small children for coming to terms with gender identities they will spend their entire lives struggling with. I would love to explore further these families that support their transgendered children, to explore and research what it takes for families to acknowledge that a child is not "going through a phase" and what the next step would be, be it hormone blockers or support groups. We should be able to accept these children and the adults they become, and I'd like to see what research and interviews would reveal in a small study of a seldom accepted group.