Customer Reviews

Sex: Unknown (Nova) [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...ultimately infuriating.

Nature wins this one. In a series of circumstances unlikely and macabre, one of two twin boys loses most of his genitalia in a surgical accident. (How on earth did THAT happen...I guess I'm happy this documentary doesn't go into details.) The well-meaning mother, who is interviewed in this little film, explains how an expert on such matters counseled that the boy be raised as a girl. This doesn't work out. Not at all. I became incredibly angry at the doctor whose advise set this horrible plan into motion.

Because this is Nova, the sensational aspects of this case are diminished while the viewer is asked to explore questions of gender identity from a psychological and sociological perspective. Which I appreciated.

I suppose that this sad and notorious story has had a positive effect, shoving the medical community away from making such poor decisions. There are some parts of our internal wiring that can't be re-routed.

(P.S. The grown Brenda/Bruce Reimer, a family man, makes a brief appearance at the end of the film.)

I ordered this tape for a friend who requested it and he is very pleased with it.