Transamerica

I have always believed that a person can be born in the wrong body. The movie Transamerica tells the story of a man who becomes a woman because he feels like he identifies with the gender and sex of a woman. I think that wanting to be another sex or gender is not a mental disorder, as a scene in the movie labels it, but more of a genetic trait. There have been numerous stories told on television shows such as, Oprah where the guest says they knew from a young age that they weren’t supposed to be in their body. In the movie, Bree tells the doctor that he/she is disgusted by her/his penis. This shows that there is something more than a mental issue because it is something that she feels she should not possess. Like homosexuality, transgender people suffer the issues of whether or not their lifestyles are nature or nurture. Personally, I feel it could be a little of both, but I do think that people are born with an indication that they are either gay or should be of a different sex or gender. It is not hard for someone to dress as the opposite sex, what people refer to as a transvestite, but it is a whole other issue when someone takes drastic measures to transform their body by eliminating their symbol of sex. The movie was able to illustrate the struggles, both emotionally, physically, and personally of a person going through a transgender identification.