I learned about this film from an episode of the Pure Nonfiction podcast. Before I was half way through, I was so intrigued I sought out the film and watched it, then finished the podcast. The film is fantastic. (So is the podcast, BTW.)
The film is beautifully crafted, with such exuberant and joyful opening and closing credits, you can't help but smile and celebrate the stars of the film, despite the tragedy that shaped their lives. They were all born with genital characteristics that made it impossible to determine their sex. Decisions were made for them by manipulative clinicians based on fraudulent research giving bad advice to frightened parents. Their anomalous sex organs were removed in childhood, depriving them of the right to let nature take its course or make their own decisions. Furthermore, they were assigned a sex and forced to live lives that contradicted who they were.
The history behind why this was the standard of treatment when they were born is told through archival footage of the charlatan John Money, M. D. (1921-2006), and his most famous victim of mistreatment, David Reimer. Director Julie Cohen films the three stars watching the archival footage first time. We see their reactions while also sharing their shock and anger at the injustice done to Reimer and the intersex community whose treatment protocols were based on this one case of bad medical research.
Besides imparting empathy for intersex individuals, the film also explains and illustrates the anatomy and genetics. I am grateful to now have a better understanding of why the spectrum of human gender and sexuality is so broad and diverse.
What I would like to see now is a sequel about intersex people who were treated correctly following enlightened medical protocols, whose sex was never a secret, whose bodies developed naturally and who made their own choices in being who they are. Please, Julie Cohen, continue the story!
