Every Body (2023)

Every Body review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

There’s something to be said of how little notice society takes of intersex people. It’s very revealing that within this documentary, there’s a montage of bad-faith pundits who are highly dismissive of gender. One of them is the disgraced talking head Tucker Carlson, who mocked social media websites giving multiple gender options, to which he highlights intersex as “whatever that is.” There’s a dangerous notion that intersex is more of a fad or newfound identity when, in reality, it has existed for a long time and with many people. Much like those who have come out as gay or transgender, the numbers were concealed. In a binary-gender society, it seemed so easy to pick one of the two genders and stick with it. Easy, mind you, for those who don’t want to acknowledge intersex.

Every Body is a documentary that follows the lives of various intersex individuals and the history behind intersex itself. River Gallo, Alicia Roth Weigel, and Sean Saifa Wall share their stories of what it was like growing up in a world that barely knew anything about intersex. We get to see their personal lives as adults, which are nothing out of the ordinary. They play with their dogs, have drinks, delight in art, and swipe through Tinder like most people in their thirties. But there’s still a feeling you’ve got to conceal yourself. One of the intersex individuals remarks that they could pass a woman but then brings up how they’d be viewed on the dating scenes. They even address how their identity would complicate their job within a political setting, considering how politically charged the topic has become.

As with the treatment of gays and transgender individuals, there’s a dark history to be told about how intersex has been documented and treated. A wealth of medical abuse and unwillingness to acknowledge intersex is showcased in the film’s archival footage on the topic. The toxic falloff of such negligence is the horror story of the intersex adults, relaying how they felt less like people and more like science experiments. They bring up how medical professionals treated them with cold and uncertain terms, highlighting the medical abuse they endured. The societal issues go beyond the annoying comments these people have faced, with the oddly curious folks questioning their genitals. It’s a concerning medical issue when some legislators would rather let these people be forced into surgery than live their own lives as intersex.

There’s a host of emotions on display in this film. There’s comfort when intersex adults gather for an open and safe discussion. There’s disgust when speaking about how they were treated differently growing up. There’s even anxiety when they’re all assembled and a difficult topic comes up. One of them immediately hides behind a chair, and the other intersex guests give a knowing laugh, sharing that same level of anxiety. There’s also activism going on at the tail end of the film, showcasing how intersex people are still in a war for their basic human rights. This feels like the most important portion of the film, considering how easily it would be for some to ignore intersex simply because more people are out and proud. This battle isn’t over, and part of ensuring that equal rights are there is stopping the practice of pretending that there is no struggle.

Every Body is one of the more important documentaries on sex and gender, considering that one of the intersex adults interviewed for this film highlights that there is no representation for them. Intersex may not garner as much media attention as issues regarding the rights of transgender people and gay people. However, it is still an important issue that requires acknowledgment and attention to understand better and navigate our world with all its variations. For that reason, a documentary like this is essential for painting a bigger picture of a society still growing with acceptance.