Gender Identity
Gender Identity
Embedded Files
“Being transgender, like being gay, tall, short, white, black, male, or female, is another part of the human condition that makes each individual unique and something over which we have no control. We are who we are in the deepest recesses of our minds, hearts, and identities” (Thompson, n.d., as cited in Sojatia, 2020).
ote. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
Note. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
As is depicted in the film Girl, “identity formation is both individual and community work” (Vaccaro et al., 2012, p.25). Forming one’s sense of self, as well as understanding the underpinnings and stereotypes associated with gender identity is a very individualized and personal journey. As partners engaging in this reflective process, we found the film Girl to be an excellent representation of one girl’s experience navigating issues surrounding gender identity and transitioning. We deliberately say one girl as Appiah (2006) explained, “groups are internally quite heterogeneous, partly because each of us has many identities [and backgrounds]” (p. 15). While we both found the film to be quite a positive portrayal of gender transitioning through the lenses of familial acceptance and generalized communal support, it also highlighted elements of power and privilege and the potential magnitude of harm that can occur as a result of microaggressions and marginalization, even within a supportive framework.
Note. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
Note. Source: (Monsecour, 2019)
Note. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
According to TSER (Trans Student Education Resources), gender identity is “one’s internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both, or other gender(s). Everyone has a gender identity, including you. For transgender people, their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity are not necessarily the same” (Definitions - TSER, 2020).
In the film, we were able to witness the complete physical manifestation of Lara’s gender expression through her choice of clothing, hairstyle, voice, and body shape. We also reflected on how Lara, in addition to striving to dance on point, is often depicted engaging in what would or could be considered very stereotypical "female" gender normative activities such as cooking, cleaning, hosting dinner parties, and caring for her younger sibling.
Throughout the film, we were also able to compassionately empathize with Lara's desire to have her physicality match her gender identity, rather than the sex she was assigned at birth. We discussed and reflected on how it must feel to be trapped within the confines of your own physicality and being forced to navigate ways to simultaneous express who you are as an individual, while hiding the aspects of yourself you are ashamed of. This desire for transition and transformation is shown throughout the film in the ways Lara undergoes hormone treatments, consistently tapes and conceals her external male reproductive structures, and in the end take it upon herself to remove them completely.
Note. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
While it appears from our perspective that Lara is transgender, it is important to note that “the term transgender is not indicative of gender expression, sexual orientation, hormonal makeup, physical anatomy, or how one is perceived in daily life” (Definitions - TSER, 2020) and as society changes, the terms LGTBQ2S+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender, Queer and Two Spirited) youth use to self-identify and or categorize each other and themselves are continuously changing. Hulko (Thompson Rivers University [TRU], n.d.) reiterated this phenomenon in saying “meanings [associated with socially constructed identities and categories] can be changed and meanings have changed over time” (4:20).
Note. Source: (IMDb, 2018).
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