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Middle Sexes

Redefining He and She
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May 25, 2017akirakato rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a 75-minute American television documentary directed by Antony Thomas in 2005. This film explores the issue of gender and sex, beginning with transgender women dancing at a nightclub. Then it introduces you to the murder of Gwen Araujo, a teenage transwoman is described in detail by the narrator. Several acquaintances killed her after finding out that Gwen was born male because two of them had sexual relations with her. The film then looks at different treatment of gender-variant and people of different sexualities across cultures and history. Quite interesting is a story of heterosexual college men who were shown gay pornography. Their physical response was measured. Men who were considered homophobes were more aroused, but claimed they had no reaction. This then goes back to Gwen Araujo, who was killed by two men who were insecure about their sexualities because they had sexual relations with her. All of this supports the theory that people are more likely to get angry at sex, gender, and sexuality differences because they are insecure about their own sexuality or gender identity. It is one of the profoundly thought-provoking documentaries I've ever watched.