It Runs In The Family Analysis
The Reelout Film Festival brought an insightful, heartwarming, and interesting documentary to their audience with “It Runs in the Family” which was preceded by a short film by the same Filipino-Canadian filmmaker called “Standstill”. Standstill follows the filmmaker’s journey to bring together her gay brother and devout Catholic parents to discuss their conflicts for the first time. Meanwhile, “It Runs in the Family” which was created a couple years after “Standstill” follows the filmmakers and her brothers journey to seek out members of their family that also identify as a member of the LGBT community. To analyze the films one first needs to understand the concept of intersectionality. Intersectionality is a way to analyze and view how privileges
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and oppressions work together simultaneously; for example racism and sexism do not affect the lives of black women separately, but instead interact with each other to marginalize women in a way that is not experienced by black men or white women. (Crenshaw, 1993). The two films together create a direct insight on the different coming out experiences of members of the same family through the intersection of race, geography, gender in relation to their sexual orientation.
The main character of the documentary can be considered to be Jay the film maker’s brother. He is a Filipino cisgender gay man living in British Columbia and his life is impacted by all of these factors. In Standstill, it is revealed that his parents had a very negative reaction to his sexual orientation and this stemmed from the geography of where they lived and their race. Jay’s parents believed that their family needed to work harder to be accepted in Canadian society because they were Filipino and Jay being a gay man would tarnish their reputation. This can partially be explained by Steven Jackson’s article about Masculinity in Canada because he outlines that in Canadian society it is believed that beer sports and masculinity are what defines men as men. (Jackson, 2015). In addition to there is an old idea that is still present today that people of colour are inferior to white people and that white people are superior for just being white. (Storey, 2009). From this one can see how Jay’s life in impacted by the intersection of his various identity categories. He has male privilege in society but because of his sexual orientation he can be seen as less of a man in the judgemental society that he grew in. His sexual orientation also conflicts with the message that he received growing up in which he needs to work harder to be accepted and respected by society because the first thing that they will notice is his skin colour. The outcomes of his life are the way they are because of all the factors that make him, himself and if even one of the factors were different his entire life experience would be different.
Monica is Jay’s Lesbian Cousin living in East Los Angeles California and her experience growing up was much different than Jay’s. Firstly the white population in her neighbourhood is under 2% (which resulted in her parents not being overly concerned of how white people would perceive her. Her mother’s only advice after she came out of the closet was to remember that “girls can cause broken hearts too.” However, the reaction of Monica’s parents to Monica’s sexual orientation can stem from the fact that women’s sexuality is open to being diverse than male sexuality because men are valued more in society for being strong and taking care of their family. (Lester, 2002). It was implied that her parent’s reaction would have been different if it were one of her brothers that had come out of the closet. While this could be taken as a good thing for Monica, it is also problematic because it creates the belief that one’s gender is what quantifies ones worth and that women’s sexuality should only be more accepted because they perceived to be are less important due to their gender. Overall, it is the overlapping identity factors that led to Monica’s coming out experience to turn out the way it did.
Carlos lives in the Philippines also goes by Jazz by their friends had the most complex coming out experience because they identify as both transgender and gay.
However, those terms should be used to describe Jazz with caution because they are in English and do not fully represent their identity. The Filipino word ‘Bakla’ is a word to describe a third gender which can encompass a sexual orientation other than straight and or a gender identity other than a cisgender male or female. If one were to look at “An Introduction to Transgender Concepts and Terms” by Susan Stryker one would know that sexual orientation and gender identity are two separate things however Jazz groups them together in order to express how they identify using Filipino language. Growing up in the Philippines Jazz had access to the knowledge of Filipino culture and the history of the third gender. Today, Baklas are now predominantly disapproved on in society because of the lasting impact of colonization however Jazz’s family was not brought up believing that Baklas are bad because they lived in an area that was more accepting and practised old traditions along with new customs. All the layers of Jazz’s identity intersect to form who they and the layers determined how their family would react to their gender identity and sexual orientation. Because they grew up in the Philippines they did not have the same experiences related to race or geography and because they are not cisgender their experience coming out was again vastly different than their
relatives.
When looking at Standstill and It Runs in the Family as a whole picture one can clearly see how the intersection of race, geography and gender in relation to one’s sexual orientation impacted the lives of the three LGBT individuals who come from the same family. The take away from the two connected films is to remember that while people may have one or two aspects of their lives in common the rest of their characteristics will impact what their lives will be like creating different experiences for each individual person. Nobody will have the exact same experiences in life and it is important to remember that everyone has both oppressions and privileges that impact their lives.
and oppressions work together simultaneously; for example racism and sexism do not affect the lives of black women separately, but instead interact with each other to marginalize women in a way that is not experienced by black men or white women. (Crenshaw, 1993). The two films together create a direct insight on the different coming out experiences of members of the same family through the intersection of race, geography, gender in relation to their sexual orientation.
The main character of the documentary can be considered to be Jay the film maker’s brother. He is a Filipino cisgender gay man living in British Columbia and his life is impacted by all of these factors. In Standstill, it is revealed that his parents had a very negative reaction to his sexual orientation and this stemmed from the geography of where they lived and their race. Jay’s parents believed that their family needed to work harder to be accepted in Canadian society because they were Filipino and Jay being a gay man would tarnish their reputation. This can partially be explained by Steven Jackson’s article about Masculinity in Canada because he outlines that in Canadian society it is believed that beer sports and masculinity are what defines men as men. (Jackson, 2015). In addition to there is an old idea that is still present today that people of colour are inferior to white people and that white people are superior for just being white. (Storey, 2009). From this one can see how Jay’s life in impacted by the intersection of his various identity categories. He has male privilege in society but because of his sexual orientation he can be seen as less of a man in the judgemental society that he grew in. His sexual orientation also conflicts with the message that he received growing up in which he needs to work harder to be accepted and respected by society because the first thing that they will notice is his skin colour. The outcomes of his life are the way they are because of all the factors that make him, himself and if even one of the factors were different his entire life experience would be different.
Monica is Jay’s Lesbian Cousin living in East Los Angeles California and her experience growing up was much different than Jay’s. Firstly the white population in her neighbourhood is under 2% (which resulted in her parents not being overly concerned of how white people would perceive her. Her mother’s only advice after she came out of the closet was to remember that “girls can cause broken hearts too.” However, the reaction of Monica’s parents to Monica’s sexual orientation can stem from the fact that women’s sexuality is open to being diverse than male sexuality because men are valued more in society for being strong and taking care of their family. (Lester, 2002). It was implied that her parent’s reaction would have been different if it were one of her brothers that had come out of the closet. While this could be taken as a good thing for Monica, it is also problematic because it creates the belief that one’s gender is what quantifies ones worth and that women’s sexuality should only be more accepted because they perceived to be are less important due to their gender. Overall, it is the overlapping identity factors that led to Monica’s coming out experience to turn out the way it did.
Carlos lives in the Philippines also goes by Jazz by their friends had the most complex coming out experience because they identify as both transgender and gay.
However, those terms should be used to describe Jazz with caution because they are in English and do not fully represent their identity. The Filipino word ‘Bakla’ is a word to describe a third gender which can encompass a sexual orientation other than straight and or a gender identity other than a cisgender male or female. If one were to look at “An Introduction to Transgender Concepts and Terms” by Susan Stryker one would know that sexual orientation and gender identity are two separate things however Jazz groups them together in order to express how they identify using Filipino language. Growing up in the Philippines Jazz had access to the knowledge of Filipino culture and the history of the third gender. Today, Baklas are now predominantly disapproved on in society because of the lasting impact of colonization however Jazz’s family was not brought up believing that Baklas are bad because they lived in an area that was more accepting and practised old traditions along with new customs. All the layers of Jazz’s identity intersect to form who they and the layers determined how their family would react to their gender identity and sexual orientation. Because they grew up in the Philippines they did not have the same experiences related to race or geography and because they are not cisgender their experience coming out was again vastly different than their
relatives.
When looking at Standstill and It Runs in the Family as a whole picture one can clearly see how the intersection of race, geography and gender in relation to one’s sexual orientation impacted the lives of the three LGBT individuals who come from the same family. The take away from the two connected films is to remember that while people may have one or two aspects of their lives in common the rest of their characteristics will impact what their lives will be like creating different experiences for each individual person. Nobody will have the exact same experiences in life and it is important to remember that everyone has both oppressions and privileges that impact their lives.