Abstract
The principal focus of this essay is a French film, Tomboy (2011), viewed through the prism of an earlier English-language film, Boys Don’t Cry (1999). Both films address the theme of cross-dressing and its effects on others, showing that the emotional and psychological reactions of close adults can have equally traumatic effects in the case of children as in that of teenagers. Both films therefore represent a plea for understanding of transsexual tendencies, whatever the age concerned, raising questions relating to sexual maturity and the rights of the individual. The discussion draws on the relevant discourses of queer theory, principally the work of Judith Butler, and on appropriate Freudian and Jungian ideas.
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Phillips, J. (2016). Boys Don’t Cry and Tomboy: A Comparative Analysis. In: Horlacher, S. (eds) Transgender and Intersex: Theoretical, Practical, and Artistic Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-71325-7_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-71325-7_11
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