transamerica

A few weeks ago, I saw the movie TransAmerica. Basically, it’s about a transvestite, Bree, attempting to get a sex change. Before Bree can have the operation, her psychologist tells her that she first must find her long-lost son her wrote looking for his father. Bree journeys across America with her son, a seventeen-year old prostitute, who doesn’t know that Bree is his father. They form a strong bond that is challenged once Bree informs her son of her true identity. The movie is a good example of sex negativity, but more importantly gender identity disorder. According to chapter 5 in the course reader, this is when there are feelings of “strong and persistent cross-gender identification and persistent discomfort about one’s assigned sex.” This disorder causes a person to have or want a sex change operation, as Bree eventually does in TransAmerica. Watching this movie made me think in depth about how difficult it must be for a transvestite, or someone in the process of becoming one. Bree was shut off by her family and experienced difficulties engaging in social scenes. It made me once again wonder why so many people care and have problems with someone’s personal life. All anyone wants is to be happy, no matter what kind of procedure this involves.

http://www.transamerica-movie.com/