Blog #4 Marissa Kittel

Marissa Kittel
Joelle Ryan
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Blog #4 Sexuality
Stuck in a Body that is Not Yours
Imagine being stuck in a body that does not seem to be quite yours. On the outside, it may appear to be normal female body, however, at the end of the day it is not a female at all, but a male. Many transgender people wish to fix what appear in day time to match what appears after they get home. Many transgender people physical aspects of their body do not match their gender identity in society therefore; many transgender people wish to go through with surgery in order to match the two. In the movie, “Transamerica” the movie showcases the struggle of dealing with gender identity and the hardships of attempting to receive surgery in order to clear the blurry lines of gender identity.
Can you imagine being in thirty something transgender, saving every single penny, working two jobs, in order to be able to biologically match the outside of your body to the gender identity that you live by? Can you imagine the sacrifices that have to be made in order to undergo this procedure? In the movie “Transamerica” produced in 2005, showcases the influence and hardships that transgender face everyday. Bree is the main character, which almost always appears in female, focuses her entire life on saving enough money to get the last operation in order to be completely female. Bree already takes hormones in order to have a soft face and voice, and appears to be female. However, she desperately wants to be a complete female. In order to do this, she must go to a therapist for three years in order to have the surgery approved. During the last six months of the counseling sessions, Bree is faced with a surprise phone call. Apparently, she has a seventeen year old son, which was somehow produced by a maladroit sexual encounter that happened many years ago when she had the gender identity as a man. Toby is the child’s name and needs a legal guidance to bail him out of jail. Even though Bree is very reluctant to help this child that she had no idea that was even a part of her life, her therapist urges her to face her past in order to move on and since Bree needs her therapist approval for her operation she agrees to fly from Los Angeles, California to New York in order to get her son out of jail and this is where the story begins. Throughout the rest of the movie the struggles of Bree desperately wanted to complete her sexual identity by getting an operation while dealing with a trouble teenaged boy. As a unplanned financial responsibly, Bree and Toby travel down their journey of discovering each other and the influence that they each have on one another.
One of the most significant aspects of this film is that Bree does not tell her son Toby that Bree is her father. When Bree bails out Toby she offers him a ride back to Los Angeles without disclosing that Bree is actually Toby’s father. Toby is left to believe that Bree is simply a Christian missionary wishing to mold Toby into a Jesus loving person and someone who wants to change his life. Throughout their journey Bree sees no reason to clear up the miss confusion, however, throughout their trip Toby eventually discovers the truth about his father. As both of Toby and Bree’s plans stir off course, they realized that each of the people they meet a long the trip home all have influenced each other, each character realizes their role in family, gender and always societal expectations. The film showcases the struggles of gender roles and the influence that it has on a family. The film displays transgenderism as a continuous struggle that not only influences the individual but also the family and close friends of the individual. Transgender people are represented as constantly struggling with the truth of their body and gender identity. Even though Bree is saving up and do all the “right things” in order to achieve her final surgery, there are still some issues in her life that can not be resolved with a surgery. The film give the LGBT people an empowering approach to surgical operations. It allows the neutral audience to understand what it is like to be a transgender trying to receive medical surgery for their gender identity.
Personally, I really enjoyed the film. I was surprised how relatable the movie, “Transamerica” was a visual representation of the characters that were represented in the book, “Transparent” by Cris Beam. “Transamerica” showcased that transgendered people are not the much different from the majority of people in the United States, they have issues that are unsolved and struggles that they need to face. It shows that society still does not fully accept transgender people. The film challenged stereotypes of transgender individuals because Bree was not someone that walked the streets searching for drugs and sexual needs, but she was a successful business person with goals and missions to complete with her life. I really like the sense of community that was showcased throughout the film with Bree and other transgender people. After viewing this movie, I went on the web to do some more research on the community aspect of LGBT groups. As I stumbled across many different sites, I really enjoyed the site entitled, “Transgendered care.com” This website is very information and shows the transition of transgender people. I really liked how in depth it looked and show factual evidence to support their claims about gender roles and expectations. I would recommend this website to anyone that is in search for more answers to transgender questions. Also, I recommend this film to anyone who is searching for a visual representation of female Tran sexuality.

Works Cited

Bushong, Ph.D., Carl W. . “Transsexual and Transgender Transition.” transgender care. 1 Apr 2008 .

“IMBD.” Transamerica (2005). 1 Apr 2008 .

“Transamerica.” Transamerica. IFC films. 1 Apr 2008 .