Sex Reassignment Surgery and Body Politics

Jessica Forber - 0613305H

Tutor: Darryl Accone

Body Politics Essay:

The reinvention of oneself has become a popular concept in today's contemporary and proudly modern global society. So much so that a hair cut and make-over go hand in hand with liposuction and a new nose in the fight against aging and the defiance of previously unalterable genetic predispositions. This desire to have complete control over ones physical appearance at the expense of ones natural and unique identity simply in the name of conventional beauty is a feature specific to today's world and has never been seen before our time.

It's surprising then to discover that the most heated debates to arise with regard to corrective surgery are not in response to the countless procedures performed purely for aesthetic purposes but those which could be termed 'medical' or 'life altering'. One procedure that finds itself surrounded by more than its fair share of controversy is Sex Reassignment Surgery (SRS), more commonly known as 'The Sex Change.

The "Sex Change" involves the alteration of a person's 'physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics... to resemble that of the other sex' in the treatment of 'Gender Identity Disorder or Gender Dysphoria in transsexual or transgender people'. Physical alterations are not all one undergoes however and the complexities that arise due to such a drastic change in lifestyle affect and alter people's lives entirely. These complexities were recently brought to light in the successful independent film Transamerica in 2005.

Bree, a transwoman or transexual women (ie. male to female) is about to undergo the final step in her transformation from Stanley Schupak to Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne- corrective surgery, in this particular case a vagioplasty. Although it is obvious that Bree identifies with being a woman and the surgery is necessary for her to move forward with her life, this change is also an escape from a painful past life and an attempt to wipe the slate clean. One thing she doesn't manage to leave behind however is her son who reenters her life when he begins searching for his father. This sets in motion the journey of self-discovery that every character in the film experience and allows a viewer insight into the complexities of the transgender world.

The previously mentioned controversy surrounding these people and the operations they undergo is for the most part underplayed in the film and it is really only acknowledged in Bree's strong desire to hide her past as well as her true identity for fear of discrimination (she only undergoes the corrective surgery at the end of the film). However this is only true for the scenes