Educational Media Reviews Online

Thanks to movies like TransAmerica and its ensuing publicity, the topic of transgenderism has propelled past the Jerry Springer and Maury Povich sensationalism. Television shows such as Sundance Channel’s TransGeneration and documentaries such as Gendernauts give an increasingly accepting audience a language to discuss and understand gender.

Only a handful of U.S. municipalities protect transgendered and transsexuals from discrimination. All those interviewed in Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities live in San Francisco and love the Bay area. They describe it variously as the Sex Capital, the Queer Mecca of the planet, and the final frontier that has attracted people of all proclivities. As varied a group as this is, from straight female Annie Sprinkle to handsome Texas Tomboy, they are all courageous, highly intelligent, creative, and provocative documentary subjects. Scenes from the Club Confidential, where gender-bending drag meets performance art and cabaret, demonstrate gender does not always match genitalia. An unusual medical clinic whose mission is to meet the needs of transgendered people is profiled. Though informing that prescription hormones are safe and affordable, the film is frank about the risks of hormone therapy. Extras include interviews with filmmakers, galleries, private shots, and outtakes. Broadening the definition and understanding of gender, Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities belongs in all public and academic collections.