The Empire strikes back. Machismo in Roses of steel

Director: Felipe Degregori
Year: 2007
Country: Peru
Duration: 22 minutes
Some of their problems are shown, as the looking for an identity, fight against social discrimination that limited in their education, health, housing, free walking, political participation and employment. This last is the problem that forced them to prostitution as a choice of surviving in order to get basic needs.

The documental had a subtitle that said “to be transvestite is necessary have balls”. This unfortunately phrase take off good intentions of Degregori. Even though that phrase was said by an interviewer, Degregori use it to emphasis the title of their documental Roses of steel. With the rose, Degregori use the symbol of the flower, their delicacy, freshness, beauty, colorful, enigma, charmed and attraction, but also thorn that could hurt and protect their integrity. Making a methaphorical comparison, they are against that life style that is in the sexual binarity which tyrannize others forms of living our sexuality. The rose is so precious, preserve their beauty through their thorns, with them defend itself and it identity. With roses of steel their join this two conditions strongest and are emphasis with protection, rose is not passive, can’t be destroyed. Rose is also feminine, energy, steal. Transvestite are strong, it is need to support all the exclusion and violence they suffer.

The decision of being transvestite (or transsexual or transgender) against stigma and prejudice, there is not fit by balls, as Degregori said, escrotal bag which contains sperm, and that give name to those “semental men”, leit motiv of machismo. If the decision of assume a Tran’s identity is in balls, the space of masculine principle, there is a contradiction, because it is use to go against masculinity, to become in a feminine identity: this make a vicious circle: I’m a man that challenges being a man to become man. Incomprehensible. With that expression feminine is being priceless, and tyrannize of masculine over feminine is repeated. Women don’t count, are invisible, without value.

Degregori, with that subtitle reduce possibilities of interpretation of his documental, to the same binarity masculine/feminine, saying that is blind to what interviewers are saying, beyond what their words could say.

Another transvestite said “that is my reality; I’m a man dressing like a woman”. Other said: “I will never be a woman”, but also didn’t say was a man; “I don’t thing I am a woman, I am only feminine”; and also the person who said it is necessary to have balls, don’t name itself as a man. There is a complex a diversity of speech, many of them contradictories, that couldn’t be resolve in sexual binarity or gender binarity.

The force of transvestite identity, and other Trans identity, become from sense of liberty and dignity, no from balls or ovaries. Degregori loose their way with this unhappy expression that try to found gender in sex, an error that feminism had already resolve.

Belissa Andía Pérez
ILGA Trans Secretarist

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