Every Body Review
Every Body (2023) Movie reviewOR movie run by Julie Cohen and playing Old Saifa wall, Alicia Roth Weigel AND Gallo River.
Julie Cohen brings an ambitious new documentary, Everything, which focuses on three members of the intersex community who tell their stories in an effort to help make unnecessary early surgeries for intersex babies a thing of the past. There are so many struggles that the three central people in the film take on that they become like heroes for how they are able to express themselves on screen and make changes that have affected the intersex community at large in positive ways. Cohen’s film is captivating to watch from the start and never fails to captivate the viewer throughout the picture’s running time.
This movie opens by showing us the baby’s gender reveal and how excited people get when they find out the “gender” of their baby. However, these reactions do not always reflect the true identity of babies as they grow or, sometimes, from the very beginning of birth.
Alicia Roth Weigel is a blonde lobbyist. Alicia was born with a feminine exterior, but internal tests, a fact she admits that if she revealed to some people, it would probably be problematic for her until now. She’s casually swiping on a dating app on her couch with her chihuahua at the beginning of the movie. Alicia is quite charismatic and of the three main characters the film focuses on, she seems, perhaps, the most vocal in trying to make changes that will be an integral part of the intersex community for generations to come.
River Gallo’s dilemma is almost the opposite of Weigel’s. River was born with a penis, but no testicles. As River, now an artist/performer/director, grew up, doctors suggested that River receive medical treatment to conform to the ideals of being a man. River struggled to find a true identity as a result and did not identify as that gender.
Sean Saifa Wall is an intersex man who lived life as a girl in the early stages of his life. Sean was well educated and discusses how the medical author(s) of the documents around the time of his birth tried to make decisions that were out of sync with how Sean identified later in life regarding his gender.
While these three main activists take up most of the film’s focus, there are also segments involving Dr. John Money who experimented with the sexuality of a twin who had been born male but was circumcised as a child with horrific results. The circumcision resulted in damage to the boy’s (named David) penis. Dr. Money “helped” shed light on the story of David, who underwent an operation that turned him into a girl, but, later, David was upset by the choices he was made as a child. In this case, his mother was led to believe that what had been done was just in the circumstances, but clearly it was not.
The scenes with David grown up are heartbreaking, and although David found some happiness in life later, the decision made for him ultimately led to a shocking decision that is tragic in its excesses. What Everything makes it right is an advocate for the intersex individual’s right to grow up before making body changes that will have lasting impacts. Doctors can’t talk about babies born that way. Neither can parents. It is the right of an intersex individual to have the final say on what happens to the body when an intersex person is old enough to make that complicated but very necessary decision. What that age is may not be established, but it is certainly not as early as the operations that have been performed.
This film briefly documents a mother on a Zoom call who has an intersex daughter due to the mother’s biological situation. This mother suggests that having more children may not be in her future, but Sean boldly speaks his mind on the subject. Sean is definitely an inspiring campaigner whose efforts have made a difference.
The interviews with Alicia, River and Sean are fascinating to watch. Alicia, in particular, stands out for being so vocal in pursuing the need for change, while Sean and River seem to have suffered earlier in their lives for the choices that were made for them instead of them. When River looks in the mirror while putting on her makeup, it shows that River has come a long way from the early stages of life where everything seemed confusing.
Everything is doing something remarkable for the intersex community. This film should be required viewing for anyone involved in trying to make a decision on behalf of a baby born with both male and female biological characteristics. It’s not that simple (or even fair) for a parent to make life-changing choices for a child. Cohen has created a complex documentary that is rewarding and takes a stand on the subjects it so fiercely discusses. I loved that the film features many of the filmmakers’ names in the end credits in a fun and hopeful way that makes the film even stronger in offering a glimmer of hope to the world.
ASSESSMENT: 9/10
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