Lara Aerts

Why is it so important to be a boy or a girl?

Wen Long was born intersex. That means her body doesn’t fit the definition of male or female. Many such children are operated on at a very young age, in order to 'make' them a boy or a girl. Wen Long did not undergo such surgery. Her parents felt their child had to decide herself what sex she wants to be. The adopted nine-year-old wears both boys’ and girls’ clothes and plays with toys intended for both genders. The only problem is that others don’t know what to think of this. This insightful, playful documentary reveals how preposterous the imposed binary gender divide really is. Clothing, toys, toilets – everything is strictly separated. The societal taboo on intersex causes problems. A typical example is the fact that Wen Long’s teacher considers the subject unsuitable for children, even though it is an entirely natural phenomenon that also occurs in the animal kingdom. So why is it weird in humans?