Film Review

What is the main thesis of this film?

The video "Reteaching Gender and Sexuality" tries to drive home the point that all of us must rethink sexuality. I believe the film attempted to emphasis this point as well. Throughout the world there is a significant amount of gender diversity, and unfortunately, there is an equal amount of diversity concerning how cultures define what gender is. Not only does a male/female definition of gender fail to represent a significant amount of people around the world, it also creates serious problems with people who don't fit into one category of the other. In order to understand someone with 'gender identity disorder' we must rethink what sexuality is, and in so doing we may grow to appreciate the colorful and vibrant diversity all around us.

What were the main arguments in support of this thesis?

The video gave us many evidences of why we must rethink sexuality, both anecdotal and generalizing. Over 50% of boys who grow up transgendered either end up killing themselves or are killed by someone else in America. This sheds light on how accepting and unwilling most Americas are with redefining gender. However, the video also points out that there is nothing inherent in gender that makes a male/female binary definition superior, or the most 'natural'. Cultures throughout the world, from India to Thailand, expand the definition of gender which is more inclusive to the general populace. In the video "Looking Back, Pushing Forward" Dr. Zuker treats kids in order to make them more accepting of their gender. But I think he misunderstands the situation, it's not about the kid becoming more accepting, it's about that particular culture which needs to be more accepting.

Later in the film they show us that a gender binary isn't even the only way to look at gender in the animal kingdom. All this points to the fact that traditional definitions of gender are in serious need of being critically looked at and rethought.

Which arguments/points did you find the most convincing?

I thought the example of how Indian young men that dance with other men to be very interesting. It showed me that people who may define themselves as one gender or sexuality, may not necessarily be 100% one way or 100% the other. As Alfred Kinsey argued, sexuality is not black and white, there are gradients and degrees of sexuality. It also sheds light on the fact that we're all sexual beings, and being denied sexual stimulus from one gender, does not mean that sexual experiences with the other gender is impossible, even if you consider yourself 'hetero'.

Which arguments/points did you find the least convincing?

I didn't think that study with the homophobic men was very convincing. I certainly believe that it is likely homophobic men may have homosexual tendencies, but I would like to know more about how the study was conducted, what questions were asked, and if they took into account extraneous variables that may have effected the results (for example, penis size would greatly effect the outcome).

Choose one argument, point or question that most stands out for you from the film. How would you study this point? Briefly design a research study around that point.

I would like to study the idea of how sexuality and gender is not as black and white as many western cultures seem to think it is. To study this idea I would test people to see what gender they consider intersex people are. Are their answers different when looking at the same person when they intersexed individual identified as male or female? I would also give people the option of choosing outside of a binary definition of gender, in order to gauge how welcoming people are to the idea of wide spectrum of gender identities.

Itlmedia. 2009. “Looking Back, Pushing Forward.” YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0__63nNP1g&feature=player_embedded)

Putthisonthemap. 2010. “Reteaching Gender and Sexuality.” YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51kQQuVpKxQ&feature=player_embedded)