Over the past few weeks, I have been reading about a movie
called “Girl.” It is the story of a transgender teenaged girl that is
struggling to be a ballet dancer. I have not seen the movie, and I’m not going to comment on its artistic merit,
what I want to comment on is the reactions that I’ve been reading. A few years
ago, Eddie Redmayne played Lili Elbe in “The Danish Girl,” and there was
negative feedback for his portrayal as well. In both instances, one of the most pervasive complaints was that the transgender character was being played by a
cis-gendered actor. In both cases, the arguments are wrong. Lili Elbe
was one of the first women to undergo gender confirmation surgery, which means
that for the majority of the story, she was male-bodied
and having her be played by a male actor
is totally appropriate. The same goes for
the main character, Lara, in “Girl.” In that movie, the main character is male-bodied and having her be played by a male actor is perfectly correct.
The main complaint regarding “Girl” is that it is in some
way obsessed with Lara’s body. There are several
scenes concentrating on her body, and
there is a scene at the end of the movie that hints at self-harm. I hate to say
it, but one of the side effects of being transgender is that there is a number among us that are very conscious of
our bodies and all the things we hate about them. We either have or don’t have
what we should. Our bodies are wrong, and we fixate on that incongruity.
Disclaimer time, everyone’s transgender journey and experience is different. My
journey has been mostly positive and smooth, but there have been times when the
weight of it all has pressed down on me, and
I contemplated extreme measures. I can see the despair and desperation that
would drive someone to take matters into their own hands as depicted in the
movie.
Without having seen the film I don’t know how good or bad
the movie is, but what I can say, as a trans woman, none of the criticisms I’ve
heard coming from the trans community will keep me from watching it.
Hugs and Kisses
Vicki
