We are, however, given enough information to infer that his relationship with alcohol, and the difficulty of attending all the necessary appointments for surgery without support from friends who prove unreliable, are maybe something to do with it. There are two other subjects in the film: Anik, born with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, which resulted in an underdeveloped penis and Lee, who was born without a penis and only obtained one through surgery at the age of 42.Īnik, too, has had his phalloplasty. We follow him as he undergoes yet another operation on his poor groin (his doctor doesn’t recognise his face, Anik notes), this time to reposition the internal hydraulic equipment that will enable him to have erections.
There are many fascinating questions raised by all three stories, about masculinity, what it takes to be a man, what it means to be without a penis in a patriarchy and a phallocentric culture, but they are only rarely examined. But, he says: “I knew I needed a penis from six or seven.” Lee, for example, seems to have been born male but, in the absence of a penis, was raised as a girl (it’s unclear for how long, but for at least the first few years of his life). What this might tell us about biological imperatives, maleness v masculinity is not explored, nor the complicating effects of abuse by his father “before I was five”.
