Jump to content

List of feature films with intersex characters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of films with fictional and factual intersex characters. The films were released theatrically, direct-to-video, or on a streaming platform (non-linear network).

This list does not include documentaries, which are included in the categories of LGBTQ-related films by decade, or animated intersex characters, which are noted in List of fictional intersex characters. Various live-action films feature either intersex issues as a plot element or have intersex characters.

Films are in alphabetical order by year of release. Titles beginning with determiners "A", "An", and "The" are alphabetized by the first significant word.

20th century

[edit]

1900–1969

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)
1932 Freaks Half Woman-Half Man Josephine Joseph Josephine Joseph's only acting performance is the first (mis)representation of an intersex person in cinema. United States [1]
1953 Glen or Glenda Alan/Anne 'Tommy' Haynes Ed Wood's docudrama advocates for tolerance and explores gender roles and social issues in the postwar era, offering a provocative discussion on gender politics. Alan is a war veteran and "pseudo-hermaphrodite", who decides to undergo gender-affirming surgery to become a woman, Anne. United States [2]

1970–1979

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)
1970 Tintomara Tintomara Pia Grønning Based on the novel Drottningens juvelsmycke by Jonas Love Almqvist featuring one of Swedish literature's most enduringly popular characters, the eponymous androgyne Tintomara. Sweden, Denmark [3]
1972 My Dearest Senorita Adela/Juan José Luis López Vázquez The condition of Adela/Juan is deliberately kept vague throughout the film to manage Franco's censorship. The character is an amalgamation of the notions of intersexuality, homosexuality, and transsexuality. Nevertheless, his intersex condition is hinted at, with the masculinizing surgery described by the doctor as a "small intervention". Spain [4]
1973 The Final Programme Miss Brunner merged with Jerry Cornelius Jon Finch Dystopian sci-fi based on the novel The Final Programme by Michael Moorcock. UK [5]

1980–1989

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)
1985 The Mystery of Alexina Herculine Barbin Philippe Vuillemin Based on the story of Herculine Barbin. France [6]
1985 Enemy Mine Jeriba Shigan Louis Gossett Jr. Based on Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear. Will: "Oh, my God! Are you telling me you're pregnant? [...] But how'd..." Jeriba: "With you humans,... birth is a matter of choice. With us Dracs,... it happens. When the time comes,... it just happens." United States [7]
1986 Never Too Young to Die Velvet von Ragner Gene Simmons (bassist of Kiss) In this film, sexual otherness is portrayed as evil: Velvet von Ragner is a sinister hermaphrodite, bisexual drag queen, and cult leader aiming to seize control of Los Angeles. United States [6]

1990–1999

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)

21st century

[edit]

2000–2009

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)

2010–2019

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)

2020–2025

[edit]
Year Title Character(s) Actor Notes Country Ref(s)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ Padva, Gilad (2018). "Joseph/Josephine's angst: sensational hermaphroditism in Tod Browning's freaks". Social Semiotics. 28 (1): 108–124. doi:10.1080/10350330.2017.1278915.
  2. ^ Craig, Rob (2009), "Glen or Glenda? (1953)", Ed Wood, Mad Genius: A Critical Study of the Films, pp. 23–68, ISBN 978-0-7864-5423-5
  3. ^ "Tintomara (1970)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19.
  4. ^ Asenjo Conde, David (2018), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ed.), Artisbando representaciones trans e intersexuales en Mi querida señorita. Discursos genérico-sexuales en el cine pretransicional (PDF), retrieved 2022-12-15
  5. ^ du Plessis, Michael (2011), "Robert Fuest and The Final Programme: Science Fiction and the Question of Style", British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays, pp. 60–72, ISBN 978-0-7864-4621-6
  6. ^ a b De Clerq, Eva (2022), "Intersex in Fictional Films Throughout History: Towards a Cinema of Inclusion?", Interdisciplinary and Global Perspectives on Intersex, p. p= 17-38, ISBN 978-3-030-91475-2
  7. ^ Maslin, Janet (1985-12-20). "Screen: Enemy Mine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2024-12-13.

Sources

[edit]
[edit]