It’s easier to see the movie without your head up your ass

What is up with this Salon review of XXY? From what I can tell, the movie’s basically the coming-of-age story of a 15-year-old intersexed girl, which deals with some of her more unusual challenges without allowing them to overwhelm the basic humanity of the story. Assuredly, many people who review the movie aren’t going to be totally comfortable with its subject matter, but the reviews I skimmed at Rotten Tomatoes didn’t seem to have a problem with using feminine pronouns for the protagonist, Alex, or referring to her as intersex. Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir, though, apparently wants you to know that ambiguous gender identities are Just Not Right.

Maybe this film’s international success has something to do with its sensational gender-theory subject matter — the central character is an “intersex” teenager, not exactly a girl or a boy […] Speaking personally, I was afraid that “XXY” might be one of those dogmatic, confrontational lecture-demonstrations in the mode of late-’80s “queer cinema.” Instead, it’s a nifty little Gothic fable of loneliness that would be plenty compelling even if young Alex (Inés Efron) knew what sex s/he was. […]
When Alex’s father finds her and Alvaro sharing a startling private moment, he clearly undergoes a private crisis about his daughter’s (or son’s) identity and future.

The “The Gender Binary Was Good Enough for My Grandpappy and It’s Good Enough for Me” Checklist:
Stubborn refusal to refer to Alex by her chosen pronouns? Check.
Scare quotes around the word intersex? Check.
Transphobic “I guess it’s OK as long as you don’t proselytize” sentiment? Check.

Trifecta!