The stories of several transgender women are powerfully told in this documentary short, as the women relate how "they beat the girl out of my boy." This is an all transgender cast that was preparing for four parts in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Ms. Ensler is wonderful as the supportive director of the Monologues and an empowering supporter of females in general.
The Vagina Monologues Gives Transgender Women a Chance to Perform
The individual stories of the women are powerful and poignant. Some were ridiculed and maligned throughout their early lives. Most have received more than their share of rejection. But despite all the trials, there are triumphs they have experienced too. One woman's boyfriend was beaten to death while asleep when his "friends" found out she was transgender, as if they were somehow protecting him from ambiguity by killing him.
That some people are so obsessed with their own comfort zone is disturbing, yet we all hear the statistics of violence enough to know it is true. It is as if when we do not understand something, our first instinct is to be violent towards the unknown and misunderstood. These women are the living embodiment of people who do not fit into the box, do not fill the stereotypical gender assignment that many in our society want them to fill.
The Transgender Women Have a Chance to Speak Out in Celebration in This Film
But in this production, many trans women have come together to offer support, to share their stories, and to sing out in celebration of who they are. Most have taken a long time coming to a place of self-acceptance. They speak at colleges and universities, encouraging young people to be who they really are, not to waste time trying to please other people, but to follow their own hearts and be who they really are. Some of the women have undergone radical procedures to become the woman they always felt themselves to be; others have left nature alone and accepted themselves just as they are.
Beautiful Daughters stars Eve Ensler and the women: Calpernia Addams, Leslie Townsend, Lynn Conway, Valerie Spencer, and Andrea James. Together, they have an interesting and important tale to tell, for their tale is also our tale, too. None of us is exactly able to fit into a preordained box and all of us need to be who we were meant to be. While the women portrated in this short have had to face more challenges than many among us, they have also learned to accept themselves in a way few of us ever do.
With personal, intimate dialogue and encouraging speeches given by the trans women, this is an inspirational film, one that should resonate with most women.
- An Aronson Films Production
- 46 minutes
- View film online
Barbara DeGrande - Barbara DeGrande is a writer, film critic, and blogger, with years of experience as a program developer. She has a Bachelor of Arts in ...
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