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Every Body (12A)
Directed by Julie Cohen
“WE live in a society that’s so binary... and so for me as an intersex person, where do I fit, where do I belong?” asks one of the key protagonists in Julie Cohen’s powerful and insightful new documentary which shines a much needed light on a little known group of people who are often told to keep quiet about their bodies.
The film opens with a loud and colourful montage of over-the-top gender-revealing ceremonies, set to “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes, before it takes an in-depth exploratory dive into the lives of intersex people. It follows the stories of three individuals who talk openly and frankly about their experiences of being born between two sexes, and whose childhoods were marked by shame, secrecy and non-consensual surgeries. Then as adults they decided to come out as their true selves.
Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him), are brave and impressive, and are at the forefront of a growing movement to make people aware and better understand the intersex community and to end unnecessary operations.
“Our very existence proves that there is no pure male and female,” states Alicia who outwardly looks like a woman. She reveals how although she was born with a Y chromosome, she has a vagina but not a womb or uterus. Plus she had testes internally which were removed without her consent, thus castrating her. All this makes dating tricky, she admits.
She, along with her fellow activists, affirm how they were advised not to say anything to anyone about their intersex traits.
Alongside their moving tales the film interweaves the shocking case of medical abuse in the 1960s, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which explains the treatment of intersex people today. It is absolutely jaw dropping.
Cohen’s detailed and gripping documentary, which claims that an estimated 1.7 per cent of the population has some intersex traits, is truly eye-opening. Hopefully this will be the springboard for much needed discussion and understanding. This is a must see.
Out in cinemas today
