February is LGBTQIA+ history month. At DIH we decided to publish 8 articles in this period that cover all the identities in this acronym – lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual/aromantic persons and other identities under +. The articles do not necessarily talk about history, they are just a short insight into some interesting facts, persons or otherwise connected to the specific sexual orientation or gender identity.
There are plenty of movies that depict LGBTIQA+ characters and their lives. Transgender persons have been depicted in movies in various ways, but there seems to be more movies that stigmatize or wrongfully depict transgender people their feelings and lives. One recent movie of this kind was Girl. Here are some thoughts about this movie, but they can be also thoughts and criticism of other movies with transgender characters.
When looking at reviews of the film Girl, they are overflooded with positive comments based on reviews and recessions of cisgender people. The film received many awards and the director and main actor have been praised for their work in showing the story. The film, however, cannot be considered good trans representation in any aspect. The problems start already with the casting – a cis man was chosen to play the role of a trans woman, a practice that is incredibly harmful to the trans community and perpetuates the stereotype that “trans women are men in dresses”, which is precisely the line of thinking that puts trans women in one of the social groups at the highest risk of being murdered.
The director replied to criticism of his casting choice by saying that the main actor was chosen because of his dancing and acting abilities, and that the call for casting was “genderless”. Besides he compared casting cis actors as trans people to casting heterosexual actors as gay people, showing not only that he did not consider the criticism he received, but also does not have the knowledge about trans representation necessary to handle the responsibility of producing a movie about a marginalized community. The comparison in particular shows that he does not understand the difference between a trans person’s experience and that of a gay person.
Trans actresses and actors have lower chances of getting jobs for “not being trans enough”, besides all the other levels of discrimination they face, and the director’s explanation of the casting choice is merely an inconsiderate excuse, which in the case of this movie can have highly harmful consequences.
Besides the casting, the portrayal of the characters shows a terrible amount of misogyny as well. The cisgender men in Lara’s life, her father, doctor and psychologist, are showing support to her that is heartwarming – however, there are no other openly trans people featured in the movie and Lara seems not to have any connections to the trans community, which sends the message that the support she receives from the few men around her, and the fact that she lives in Belgium, is enough to ensure a medical transition process without complications as long as she obeys what the people around tell her. In her home, Lara is frequently shown performing various household tasks, the men in her life are portrayed as angels who do no wrong, her classmates and only peers shown, however, are teenage girls who only communicate with Lara in transphobic ways, pressuring her into showering in a shared room with them and later into showing them her penis. Lara’s social connections include no supportive peers, no friends, no community – mostly cis men telling Lara what she should do and how she should feel.
The portrayal of Lara’s gender dysphoria is focused exclusively on her genitalia both throughout the story as through the choice of scenes, without any emphasis on her feelings or psychological aspects of her transition. Freelance film critic and trans woman Cathy Brennan describes it as follows:
“Girl plays neatly into transphobes’ hands, as Lara’s eagerness to medically transition leads her to self-harm and mutilation. She tucks her penis between her legs with tape during strenuous ballet rehearsals, resulting in an infection. The climax of the film elevates the horror in a single long take, where Lara attempts to cut off her own penis, moments after her family have left the house.”
“It’s a scene of severe trauma that the film has not earned the right to depict. Dhont’s portrayal of gender dysphoria is so focused on the genitals that he offers no insight into the psychological facets of trans girl’s psychology. To reduce it down to this one act of self-mutilation is cinematic barbarism” (Citation source).
Generally, the film gives the impression that Lara and her story are here for cisgender people to pity her and shows her character not as the subject, but as the object of the story. The cis man who directed the movie and the cis man who was cast as the lead are profiting off this movie which does no good for the community it’s supposed to represent. As trans masculine journalist Oliver Whitney puts it,
“Lara’s genitals, shown in multiple full-frontal nude shots of Polster’s penis, have a bigger presence throughout Girl and are central to more plot points than the character herself … What could have been a thoughtful exploration of a difficult part of a trans girl’s daily life instead uses her body as a site of trauma, inviting the audience to react with disgust.”
Being part of the LGBTQIA+ community does not make one automatically aware of issues of all people from the community. Regardless of the director’s intentions, this movie can be harmful to trans people and represents the community in a disrespectful and wrong way. What counts is the effect the film has, and not the director’s intentions. Anyone producing media content has the responsibility to educate themselves and include people from the communities they are representing.
We posted an article before the movie premiered in Slovenia, promoting this movie in the faith that it is one of those movies that represents transgender topics and people well. We were wrong and we apologize for not making sure its content was appropriate. As soon as we realized the grave mistake we made, we removed the article from the website and our social media.
Sources:
Reviews:
Director’s comments about the casting: