In “Every Body,” an activist named Alicia Roth Weigel sits on her couch, swiping through profiles on a dating app and explaining to the camera — and a public who’ve likely never had the opportunity or occasion to think about such things — how challenging it is to find a match. Weigel was born with both male and female biological traits, which a doctor immediately sought to correct via surgery (Weigel describes the loss of her testes as “castration”) so the child would conform to society’s idea of female. But Weigel is not female; she/they are intersex, and her/their story is one America needs to hear.
Why? Well, for starters, in the past six months, an estimated 560 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states. Trans and intersex are not the same thing, representing two entirely different letters in the catch-all Lgbtqia+ label. Still, acknowledging the existence of intersex individuals — “whatever that is,...
Why? Well, for starters, in the past six months, an estimated 560 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states. Trans and intersex are not the same thing, representing two entirely different letters in the catch-all Lgbtqia+ label. Still, acknowledging the existence of intersex individuals — “whatever that is,...
- 7/1/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
“Every Body” is a beautiful and cathartic celebration of intersexuality — and should be mandatory viewing for people of all genders.
Directed by Julie Cohen (co-director of the Oscar-nominated “Rbg”), the documentary opens with a montage of increasingly ridiculous gender reveals. The gender reveals set up the crux of the film, which showcases the irrelevance and — frankly — the stupidity of trying to define people based on their bodies.
“Every Body” follows three intersex adults — actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) — who are leading figures in intersex awareness advocacy. Being intersex is defined as “any variation within a person’s sex traits with which they’re either born with or develop naturally during puberty,” according to documentary specialist Katharine Dalke, M.D. who works at the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Group of National Institutes of...
Directed by Julie Cohen (co-director of the Oscar-nominated “Rbg”), the documentary opens with a montage of increasingly ridiculous gender reveals. The gender reveals set up the crux of the film, which showcases the irrelevance and — frankly — the stupidity of trying to define people based on their bodies.
“Every Body” follows three intersex adults — actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) — who are leading figures in intersex awareness advocacy. Being intersex is defined as “any variation within a person’s sex traits with which they’re either born with or develop naturally during puberty,” according to documentary specialist Katharine Dalke, M.D. who works at the Sexual & Gender Minority Research Group of National Institutes of...
- 6/26/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Julie Cohen’s intimate and engaging documentary Every Body is guided by a single question: In a world of binaries, where do intersex people fit? The answer — perhaps we should abolish categories altogether — isn’t very complicated, but creating that reality will be a struggle.
It’s smart that Cohen, who co-directed Rbg and My Name is Pauli Murray, opens her most recent film with a montage of gender reveal parties. The popularity of this practice, in which expectant parents plan an elaborate celebration around the predicted and subsequently disclosed sex of their unborn baby, shows how committed society is to the idea of two genders. Videos of couples staging ornate (and often dangerous) special effects, bursting into tears at the sight of pink confetti or blue fireworks, are haunting. These parties assume that children will play into normative behaviors based on their sex. They are less about the kid...
It’s smart that Cohen, who co-directed Rbg and My Name is Pauli Murray, opens her most recent film with a montage of gender reveal parties. The popularity of this practice, in which expectant parents plan an elaborate celebration around the predicted and subsequently disclosed sex of their unborn baby, shows how committed society is to the idea of two genders. Videos of couples staging ornate (and often dangerous) special effects, bursting into tears at the sight of pink confetti or blue fireworks, are haunting. These parties assume that children will play into normative behaviors based on their sex. They are less about the kid...
- 6/21/2023
- by Lovia Gyarkye
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Julie Cohen’s latest documentary, “Every Body,” premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a sensitive, empathetic look at intersex peoples. Similar to how the doc showcases the extraordinary lives of its subjects, the path to getting it made also came from a unique place. “I used to be a ‘Dateline’ producer many, many years ago,” Cohen told TheWrap. “In 2018, they asked me to come back there for a stint. I’m doing development work, looking through their archives, looking for stories that might make jumping off points for documentaries.”
She stumbled upon the case of David Reimer, a man who was injured as an infant and was, through a series of bizarre events, raised as a girl by his family at the encouragement of the medical community. It led Cohen to wonder how much the world at large knew about the intersex community. “Even people that are pretty...
She stumbled upon the case of David Reimer, a man who was injured as an infant and was, through a series of bizarre events, raised as a girl by his family at the encouragement of the medical community. It led Cohen to wonder how much the world at large knew about the intersex community. “Even people that are pretty...
- 6/11/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
Julie Cohen’s latest documentary, “Every Body,” premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, starts with clips of gender reveal parties. As a male-sung rendition of Ronnie Spector’s “Be My Baby” plays, we see happy couples celebrating their upcoming pregnancies, as pink and blue smoke/confetti/etc swirls in the air. But juxtaposed with this happy scene is the knowledge that, as the doc lays out, 1.7% of people have intersex traits, ie they are born with a combination of male and female biology.
These numbers are skewed, according to Cohen, because people are too afraid to disclose whether they belong to the intersex community, and as the rise in anti-trans legislation starts to take hold, it leaves intersex people even more fearful of advocating for themselves. Into this world Cohen introduces the audience to three intersex advocates: Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo. Each have a unique...
These numbers are skewed, according to Cohen, because people are too afraid to disclose whether they belong to the intersex community, and as the rise in anti-trans legislation starts to take hold, it leaves intersex people even more fearful of advocating for themselves. Into this world Cohen introduces the audience to three intersex advocates: Sean Saifa Wall, Alicia Roth Weigel and River Gallo. Each have a unique...
- 6/11/2023
- by Kristen Lopez
- The Wrap
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