Women Studies community event

Boy I Am : A Review

Last April 10th , I watched a feature-length documentary about one of the first attempt to explore the issues of female-to-male (FTM ) transgender experiences . A film by Sam Feder and Julie Hollar , three young transitioning FTMs in New York City were followed and documented as they go through major moments in their transitions . Nicco , Norie and Keegan went through the issues by discussing the relationships with their own bodies , and the junction of race and class while dealing with their own transgender identity . The stories of the three

major characters were supported with interviews of lesbians , activists and theorists who engage in litigious issues confined in queer and feminist communities but ironically not discussed openly in the public . The individual life struggles of sexuality and identity of Nicco , Nories and Keegan , is just some of the many other stories which links with the long struggles of the queer and lesbian communities . Boy I Am ' is an empowering documentary which challenges the viewer to listen and understand the concepts of forward activism and identity (Kartali , 1

Nicco is a 30 years old queer transgender male who was raised by Jewish immigrant parents in New Jersey . He is has been working hard since graduating from high school , and struggles to raise and save money for chest surgery . Nicco began taking testosterone hormones five years ago and fully changed into a man . His struggle to save and earn money for the surgery entailed his long dream to fully pass his transition . Nicco felt the security from having the surgery because it fully equipped him with the confidence as a man . Norie is 22 years old and identifies himself as a straight transgender male . Raised in Queens , he questioned his identity in 2004 while starting college . The movie showed Norie starting hormone treatments and contemplating on coming out at work and at home . Norie went through chest surgery with the help of his girlfriend , Lucey , who sold her eggs to pay for the surgery . Norie went on the struggles of having to deal with his sexual and racial identity Keegan is a 23 straight transgender male who grew up in a devout Irish Catholic family . His identity as transgender started in the fall of 2002 . The documentary followed him in his first surgery in San Francisco . His appearance made people believe he was a man , and this constant situation made him tired of confronting the issues with other people . He was contemplating in taking hormones during the course of the documentary , but eventually starts taking it for as he mentions , no apparent reason . His surgery empowered him to take control of his body , and his family was very supportive of his decision

Boy I Am ' is a groundbreaking film which captures the issues some women in the feminist and lesbian communities view as a trend or an anti-feminist act (Kartali , 1 . The documentary provides an avenue for lesbian , feminist , and transgender communities to engage in communication and promote understanding of...