‘Every Body’ Review: A Frank Discussion of Intersex Identity Holds Keys to the Culture Wars
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film Critic In “Every Body,” an activist named Alicia Roth Weigel sits on her couch, swiping through profiles on a dating app and explaining to the camera — and a public who’ve likely never had the opportunity or occasion to think about such things — how challenging it is to find a match.
Weigel was born with both male and female biological traits, which a doctor immediately sought to correct via surgery (Weigel describes the loss of her testes as “castration”) so the child would conform to society’s idea of female.
But Weigel is not female; she/they are intersex, and her/their story is one America needs to hear. Why? Well, for starters, in the past six months, an estimated 560 anti-trans bills have been introduced in 49 states.
Trans and intersex are not the same thing, representing two entirely different letters in the catch-all LGBTQIA+ label. Still, acknowledging the existence of intersex individuals — “whatever that is,” a noxious Fox host sneers in one clip — gives the public an entry point for a much-needed conversation about the great many people who don’t fit neatly into the conventional boxes of “male” and “female” (as they might appear on a DMV application or restroom placard).
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