Reflections on the film Every Body

Oct 9

So grateful to have gotten to see the movie Every Body in Hamilton last week! As a queer person and bodyworker, this film felt so big and powerful.

One key theme for me is succinctly said in a piece by Alicia Roth Weigel, one of the featured activists in the film:

"The problem is, people want boxes. They want to make life “make sense” because it’s easier — easier for folks that “make sense” in our Caucasian, heteronormative, patriarchal system that is.

But this need to “normalize” everything, even humans, comes from a place of fear."

Boxes, binaries, and labels are often not helpful. The film's focus on the medically un-necessary procedures, and the impact of the shame, dehumanizing, and spectacle in our medical system for intersex individuals gives a powerful argument for embracing body and identity diversity.

Additionally being "different," and thus being "feared" can turn to shame and affect us in many ways.

Seeing the courageous folks featured in this film was so powerful, and I feel even more grounded in my work as a massage therapist to continue to learn about and work with all forms of body diversity and to create a body-neutral, shame-free safe space for rest, relaxation, and healing.