Movie Title : Venus Boyz
Year : 2002
Running Time: 102 minutes
Directed: Gabrielle Baur
Tagline: Women become men—some for a night, others for their whole lives.
Venus Boyz is a documentary that examines masculinity as expressed by those born female, from drag kings to transfolk who straddle gender lines. It's a mix of interviews and performance clips featuring colorful characters mostly from the NYC drag scene.
Aside from the normal questions about gender (what is it, what makes one male or female), the film raises issues about masculinity and power. Years ago, Eddie Murphy did a skit on Saturday Night Live were he turned white to experience America from a while male perspective. Of course, it was a different world full of entitlement. The "Venus Boyz" experience a similar kind of enlightenment/revelation when they first put on the masculine/male persona: people respect their space, women cater to them, people listen to them (vs. simply hearing them), etc. Even one of the transmen noted that women (lesbians) who knew him before his transition began to treat him differently--they took care of him, saw to his needs first, etc.
Some like the idea of slipping into the secret world of maleness:
"I enjoy the experience of being a man. People would step aside when I walk down the street. It felt very different. Very different. I could at last get my share of the seat on the subway . . . " Diane Torr, drag king pioneer.
Others enjoy satirizing and demystifying it through performance:
"Instead of becoming an angry woman, I became a funny man." Mo Fischer (aka Mo B. Dick)
What makes the movie a real treat is the time spent with two performers in particular: Mildred Gerestant and Storm Webber. Midred's drag persona Dred is a very manly 70's superfly/soul brother--so her ultrafeminine, cutesy voice is totally unexpected. Their stories are engaging, plus it's great to hear about gender/masculinity from a black lesbian perspective.
The DVD is sparse on extra. It has a few outtakes but no content that really adds to the film itself. Thankfully, the documentary itself is worth the price of a rental--no where else can you hear women talking about their own masculinity in there own terms.
To learn more about this movie visit: venusboyz.com
Suggested comparison movie: Paris Is Burning (1990)