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Archive
46 min
Belgium, 2021

Production : RTBF - Radio Télévision Belge Francophone
French

Gender and sexuality



Synopsis


At 14, Lucie learns that she was born with MRKH. This “congenital syndrome” affects the sexual organs and therefore, sexuality and identity. This discovery shakes her up profoundly and challenges her preconceptions. She writes down her questions and reflections throughout the years. At 46, she reviews her journey between her inner storms and periods of calm. To which point one has to transform his body to match the expectations of others? Is nature unfair or is it our society that doesn’t tolerate differences enough? This audio creation is her intersex coming-out.

A word from Tënk


“This was before the Internet. I thought I was the only person in the world who had this. I was afraid that people would pity me or see me as a monster, so I kept it to myself.”


Years later, Lucie Robet came into contact with a group of people who, just like her, were born with MRKH, and finally understood that intersex people are “just as common as redheads or people with green eyes.”


Through interviews with her parents and passages drawn from the carefully recorded journals she’s kept since adolescence, she traces the journey of her coming-out, questioning gender identity, the societal norms that seem to, inevitably, become self-imposed, and the shame we feel for failing to fit into them. She shares about hormonal treatments and the “artificial femininity” they provoke, the sterile hallways and labyrinths of doctor’s offices. “I remember the murmurs of doctors who examined me without saying a word to me.”


This important documentary is a celebration of self-acceptance, a clear-eyed examination of the hurdles Robet overcame and, above all, a powerful call to liberation from the meaningless shackles that constrain us.

 

 

 

Jenny Cartwright
Documentarian and audio artist

 

 

Item 1 of 4

Item 1 of 4