Born To Be Human

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THOUGH BORN TO BE HUMAN is about the particular struggles that intersex people face, one issue it runs into is the need to define what it means to be intersex for a general audience that might not be familiar with the term. The film is keenly aware that viewers more familiar with trans stories may misinterpret its interrogation of intersex experiences. As a result, characters both sympathetic and unsympathetic affirm that Shi-nan is not trans but intersex. While this is, at times, clumsily explicit, these disclaimers are potentially necessary for a general audience that might not yet understand the differences between trans and intersex communities. Portraying both Shi-Nan and Shi-Lan and especially the former's transformation into the latter isn't an easy task but Lily Lee does a commendable job at it. Extremely slouched and awkward at the beginning, she grows more feminine and comfortable in her skin, as shown through her erect posture and less pained expression. This metamorphosis, though, is not complete, leaving Shi-Nan in a state of liminality between either genders, in the end belonging to neither and just trying to be a human being, as the title suggests.

Another factor here, though, is the level of trust that exists on all sides. Quite obviously, Dr. Ting’s patients have invested a high degree of trust in him, and he responds by trusting them. But no less notable is the trust that all concerned have given the filmmakers. You can’t help but sense that all the patients got to know Cypriano and her crew well enough not just to be comfortable with their presence but to sense that they would tell their stories sensitively, honorably, accurately.For example, what would be a progressive message for a film on Shi-nan as an intersex protagonist might very well be harmful if Shi-nan’s surgery is read as a metaphor for binary trans gender dysphoria. Shi-nan’s assertion that taking estrogen pills is dangerous is correct; hormone therapy is unnecessary since Shi-nan does not want to transition into a woman. However, viewing the film through the lens of a trans metaphor turns that assertion of bodily autonomy into criticism of medical transitioning that is affirming for others. It is unfortunate that societal ignorance about intersex issues mandates extra explanation that occasionally stutters the pace of Born to Be Human’s dialogue, but the film walks that tightrope as well as it can. Medical Trauma Courtesy of OAFF.

In recent years, Ting has taken the lead in advancing the practice of both giving female sexual organs to born males (vaginoplasties) and male organs to born females (phalloplasties), along with other surgeries that help the patients physically realize their images of their chosen gender identities. The film gives enough discussion to the surgical strategies employed here to afford viewers an understanding of the medical issues and innovations involved with Ting’s work. Yet all of this might come across as dry and clinical were it not for something else that’s powerfully conveyed: the meaning of the operations for the people undergoing them. Like Xie, Shi-nan struggles not only with understanding what being intersex means to him, but also with being forced into a new life as a girl. This causes him extreme distress and alienates him from his parents. When he finally begins to make friends at a new school under a new gender and name, Shi-nan still cries at the sight of pre-surgery photos and conceptualizes his past life as akin to a little brother who died but will always still be with him. This sense of loss of bodily autonomy, and medical coercion, stems from the conflation of intersex and transgender experience—and Born to Be Human seems concerned about minimizing any confusion about its message. BUILDING OFF OF Taiwan’s complex relationship with intersex issues stemming from the 1950s, 2021’s Born to Be Human brings light to contemporary misunderstandings of intersex people and the continued medical violence they face. The film proves an emotionally harrowing look at the medicalization of the gender binary through the lens of intersex rights.Building off of Taiwan’s complex relationship with intersex issues stemming from the 1950s, 2021’s Born to Be Human brings light to contemporary misunderstandings of intersex people and the continued medical violence they face. The film proves an emotionally harrowing look at the medicalization of the gender binary through the lens of intersex rights. This medicalization of intersex bodies is, unfortunately, common. For visibly intersex infants, doctors and parents often opt for sex reassignment surgery to align the child’s genitals to a more normative appearance. This can lead to long-lasting trauma, especially for intersex adults who experience dysphoria around their gender assigned at birth. Intersex Invisibility