The main thesis of this film is simple: research, other societies, and human nature tell us that there are more than two sexes so it is impractical to live in a society with only two excepted sexes. The film told the stories of many different individuals who deal with their sexual deviance due to societies lack of acceptance. The film also gave the perspective of different cultures who are more excepting of "middle sexes." It is fitting, in my opinion, that the class was assigned to read "Real Women" by Hanne Black on the same week we watched this film because even though the two are dealing with different issues, they are very similar in ideologies. Black writes about all the things that real women are and are not, like and do not like, have and do not have with the main point being that there are many variations of women so it is wrong for society to appreciate and value one type.
Some main arguments that were in support of the thesis were the mention of research that proves the complexities in sex and the fact that there are at least five known sexes. Also, the countless personal stories of people who were assigned the wrong sex at birth and the struggles they face. Other arguments were the research done in other countries such as India and Japan were middle sexes are widely accepted. I feel as though American society hides the acknowledgement of middle sexes by the rest of the world and makes it seem like it is only a U.S. problem so that they can justify calling it a "problem." I think that if the American public knew that this is normal in other developed countries, they would be more accepting of it.
The thesis of the film relates to class in a number of ways. First off, it is dealing with sexual identity deviance. The film is trying to convey the point that identifying with a sex other than the dominant male and female is only considered deviant because people are taught that it is relevant to their lives. Relativism as defined by the book states that "deviant behavior by itself does not have any intristic characteristics unless it is thought to have those characteristics" (Thio & Calhoun & Conyers, 3). The film can also be related to class because of the many different aspects of deviance it covered. not only did it talk about ones sexuality but it also dealt with deviant bodies, genders, family approaches and ways of dealing with the issues at hand.
I thought the entire film was a great argument in favor of multiple sexes. I don't think that any one point or argument was better than the other because they all had merit and all were relevant. I think the mixture of personal stories and research helps convey the message because it is hard to watch the personal stories of people and not empathize with them. The one story that stands out to me was that of Noah who was born intersex and surgically converted to male. As he got older, he started expressing himself in feminine ways and clearly does not conform to societies ideals as a male.
In the film, it was mentioned that around 1 in 100 babies are born intersex. I would design a study around that. It would be a longitudinal study that fallowed several intersex individuals from the time that they were born to the time they hit puberty. The study would consisted of different surveys that the parents fill out immediately after birth and periodically during the study to gauge any changes in opinions. The study would also measure the well being of the intersex individual at different stages of life. I think an intricate study like that could benefit the intersex community and open the public's eyes to their issues.
References
Film-Middle Sexes: redefining he and she
Book-Readings in Deviant Behavior
Article- Real Women
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