A popular misconception about intersex individuals is that they are born with complete sets of both male and female reproductive organs. They are not, as this is biologically impossible. After a wryly amusing montage of typical gender-reveal parties in the opening credits, director Julie Cohen’s documentary Every Body quickly debunks any and all misconceptions. Intersex people are born with any of a wide range of varying sex and chromosomal characteristics that do not fit firmly within traditional medical definitions of male or female bodies. It is estimated that around 1.7% of all live births fall somewhere on this spectrum. Additionally, some intersex traits may present later in life.
Cohen’s film follows three intersex activists — Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel, and River Gallo — as they tell their stories, live their day-to-day lives, and take pride in their identities. All three of them were traumatized as children by completely unnecessary surgeries designed to “fix” what was seen as wrong with them, and make their bodies comport to doctors’ and parents’ views of how they should have identified. As they explain in the film, the trauma of these events stems mostly from a lack of consent. The lack of choice in these surgeries can lead to mental and physical harm later in life, and so a large part of the activism shown here is about preventing medically unnecessary surgeries of intersex kids until they are old enough to decide their identity for themselves. A particularly catchy slogan heard late in the film is, “Unless I say, scalpels away!”
The film also acts as a primer on the history of intersex representation and acceptance, which is sadly not a totally rosy picture as of yet. Cohen focuses heavily on the case of David Reimer, who himself was not intersex, but whose treatment after a medical accident as a newborn influenced the medical world’s treatment of intersex people. Reimer’s parents were urged by sex researcher John Money to surgically reassign David’s gender, removing his testicles after a botched circumcision. Money studied David as “Brenda” for many years, until David found out about the surgery at age 14, accused Money of sexually abusing him, and lived as David before taking his own life at age 38. Meanwhile, Money’s ridiculous “research” became — and in some places, continues to be — the standard of care for intersex children, leading to more and more non-consensual gender reassessment surgeries.
What’s encouraging is how the three activists see their work and the work of others having an impact. In one scene, they talk to a mother of an intersex child. This mother informs them that surgery at the point of birth was never in her mind, even though some encouraged her to take that route. Instead, she’s decided to not mandate anything for her child, opting to have those kinds of conversations when the child is capable of having them. Perhaps Reimer’s story and the visibility of recent activists is finally opening minds and hearts.
One final thing I want to note about this excellent documentary is its choices of music. The gender-flipped singers of recognizable pop tunes here reflect the theme of a wide spectrum of identities, just as our three main protagonists have made distinct choices in how they present themselves. In Every Body, everyone is welcome. | George Napper
