Transamerica

Transamerica

By
500374724

Submitted
To
Prof. Graeme Metcalf

November 7, 2012

Ryerson University

What is a transsexual? A transsexual is someone who is born with the characteristics of one sex but feels they belong to the opposite sex. Sex is different than gender. Sex is the physical form while gender is the mental form. Transsexuality happens when one is born in the opposite sex of their alleged gender. They’ve found their gender identity but their anatomy does not fit. Being a transsexual is not something that can be ignored by the person. Imagine a woman living in a man’s body or vice versa. This agony can lead to self- destruction unless treated. The way to treat this is to change to the opposite sex.
The movie “Transamerica” starring Felicity Huffman, is about a transsexual named Bree who was born a male but felt emotionally and psychologically the need to change sexes. In the movie Bree shows the difficulties of being a transsexual. As a transsexual, she experiences society’s perspective of transsexuals and the loss of social power. Common stereotypes for transsexuals are that they are prostitutes or they have a mental illness. The movie shows transsexuals are not what today’s stereotypes portray. Bree works two jobs and struggles to pay for her surgery, which is one week away. The surgery she is having is to change her penis to a vagina. Other than having a sex change, Bree is no different than any other person. The movie has a good representation of a Transsexual’s life and helps educate the society understand more about transsexuals, how it is just a representation of identity. The society’s perspectives on transsexuals are negative on the most part. Bree encounters a lot of negativity regarding her sexuality in the course of the movie. In the beginning of the movie Tobi, who is Bree’s son does not know Bree is a transsexual nor she is his father. When Tobi finds out that Bree is a transsexual, he calls him a freak. This shows transsexuality is still not accepted to the mainstream. Transphobia is a huge concern in today’s society because people do not have enough knowledge about trans genders. Transsexuals are still portrayed as freaks or crazy by the norm. According to a survey 78 percent of transgender Americans faced severe harassment during their childhood (Ms. Blog). Tobi then begins to accept Bree’s sexuality and says “you’re not a freak, you’re just a liar”. The transphobia disappeared after Tobi realized that Bree is just a normal person. Transsexuals are discriminated constantly throughout the society. There was a case in Vancouver where a transsexual, Kimberly Nixon was denied the privilege to council rape victims. Kimberly Nixon was born with a penis but “was always a woman in her mind” (Observer, 2001). In today’s society a penis is invested with too much symbolism, that if a person has a penis he must be a man. The symbol of a penis is so powerful that one with a penis is brainwashed into being and acting like a man. "If a woman were born with a third arm we would not think her less woman” (Observer, 2001), and that is true. They why do we put so much attention to one’s anatomy? Because society is not well educated about trans genders. Like everything else, people need an education process in order to understand the situation. Similar to homosexuality, laws have just recently legalized same sex marriages. Tobi at first did not understand Bree’s situation and rejected her for being a transsexual man. He then later got to know Bree and understood what she was going through in life. The movie “Transamerica” is a good way to introduce the topic to the mainstream and start to educate the society about transsexuals. A transsexual in today’s society does not possess much social power. It is hard fitting in the harsh world we live in due to the large amounts of discrimination against transsexuals. In the movie “Transamerica”, Dee has no friends and has a poor relationship with her family members. In preparation to get her surgery done, she has a conversation with her doctor. The doctor asked, “do you have the support of friends?” Dee uncomfortably answers, “I 'm very close to my therapist.” Why do transsexuals have a hard to fitting into today’s society? This goes back to discrimination and how people are not educated. Transsexuals often feel isolated and lonely because they are “simply not fitting into the expected social role” (Petersen, M, FTM). In the movie Dee stops by a group of transsexuals who are hosting a gathering. You can notice the number of people in the group is limited and only consists of a few people. It shows transsexuals are a small group of people who are isolated in the society. In the movie “Transamerica”, Dee has a poor relationship with her family members. When her therapist asked if she had support from her family members, she said, “My family is dead”. Her parents do not support her decision to change genders. This is a common situation, where parents reject their trans gender children. In a blog about transsexuals, it talked about parents kicking their transsexual children out of the house and changing the locks and also calling them names such as “whore, puta, slut" (The Huffington Post, When Parents). The reality of a transsexuals life is harsher than the movie portrays.
Harassment towards transsexuals is not only within the family, it happens in their everyday lives. A transsexual college student named Janet Merner was teased, denied of jobs and quit school due to severe harassment. Janet informed the school but the school did nothing about it (The Guelph Mercury, Transsexual says). In the movie, Bree is a working class transsexual. She works two jobs just to afford the money to get her surgery. Bree works as a telemarketer and a dishwasher. These two jobs are considered low-level jobs. It leads me to assume Bree had a similar situation growing up and going through college.
Without an education people can’t get a high-level job that pays well. The multiple surgeries needed to fully change from one sex to another are very costly. They do not only need a genitoplasty, they also need implants and facial reconstruction such as nose jobs or face-lifts. Bree even says she “has to account every penny” when she was bailing Tobi out of jail. When the hippie stole Bree’s car, the first thing she says is “My purse. My hormones!”. The hormone pills must be expensive for Bree to not care about the car but just the pills. The cost of a complete sex change may cost up to $100,000 in the United States, if not more (Jennifer Heisler, Sex Reassignment). For a transsexual, making money to afford their needs is the hardest part.
It is proven trans gender individuals make less money then their heterosexual counterparts. Statistics say 64 percent of trans gender individuals make an annual income of less than $25,000. This is not saying every transsexual is poor and has a low class job. This is to prove discrimination does occur in the workplace, which is against the law. The law states employers must not discriminate on gender reassignment grounds at any stage of employment. This includes recruitment, employment (which includes promotion, training, benefits, pay, working environment), and ending of employment. Although the law tries to prevent discrimination in the workplace, it is inevitable to have discrimination everywhere.
The movie “Transamerica” provided me an education about transsexuals in America. Before watching this movie I thought all transsexuals have a mental disorder and somewhat have a negative feeling towards them. Now I learned they are not freaks, they are just regular people who have found the right gender they belong to. The character Bree shows great determination to complete her sex change even through her struggles. She works two jobs and saves every penny she earns towards her surgeries. After doing research on this topic, the reality is most transsexuals go through even harder times than Bree. The movie is just an introduction to the topic, a good way to easily bring it up. We live in a harsh world where even heterosexual people are discriminated everyday, so imagine if you were a transsexual. It is hard for them to go through college or university without being harassed. Even in the workplace transsexuals are treated with a biased opinion. They may not get that job position or may not get that promotion due to their sexuality. Overall I have found a new perspective of transsexual people after watching the movie and doing research on the topic. I would recommend the society to get some education on transsexuallity before having negative feelings towards these people. It will open your eyes just like how it opened mine.

Works Cited
Greeno, C. (2009, Jul 28). Transsexual says college failed to address harassment. The Guelph Mercury. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/355994257?accountid=13631
Hallett, Stephanie. "Startling Stats on Transgender Discrimination." : Ms. Magazine Blog. 7 Feb. 2011. Ms. Blog Magazine. 06 Nov. 2012 .
Heisler, Jennifer. "Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS)." About.com Surgery. 30 Apr. 2012. About.com. 06 Nov. 2012 .
Petersen, M. (1998). FTM: Female-to-male transsexuals in society. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 7(2), 166-169. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220806449?accountid=13631
Transsexual cries discrimination. (2001, Feb 23). Observer. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/348103728?accountid=13631

Cited: Greeno, C. (2009, Jul 28). Transsexual says college failed to address harassment. The Guelph Mercury. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/355994257?accountid=13631 Hallett, Stephanie. "Startling Stats on Transgender Discrimination." : Ms. Magazine Blog. 7 Feb. 2011. Ms. Blog Magazine. 06 Nov. 2012 . Heisler, Jennifer. "Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS)." About.com Surgery. 30 Apr. 2012. About.com. 06 Nov. 2012 . Petersen, M. (1998). FTM: Female-to-male transsexuals in society. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 7(2), 166-169. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/220806449?accountid=13631 Transsexual cries discrimination. (2001, Feb 23). Observer. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.lib.ryerson.ca/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/348103728?accountid=13631