Comments on: "I began to believe voices in my head -- that I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong with me, that I will never be lovable."

"I began to believe voices in my head -- that I was a freak, that I am broken, that there is something wrong with me, that I will never be lovable."

zarq — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:10:30 -0800

"I am here because when I was young, I wanted very badly to be a writer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, but I couldn't find anyone like me in the world and it felt like my dreams were foreclosed simply because my gender was less typical than others."
On Saturday, Lana Wachowski (co-director of the "Matrix" franchise and "Cloud Atlas") received a "Visibility Award" from the Human Rights Campaign for her recent decision to publicly come out as transgender. In a powerful 25-minute acceptance speech, Lana spoke about the pain she went through growing up and how she developed self-acceptance. Video. Transcript. Q&A with the Hollywood Reporter.

By: zarq

zarq — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:14:11 -0800

She spoke about planning her own suicide, which may be disturbing to some readers.

By: Pruitt-Igoe

Pruitt-Igoe — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:18:20 -0800

Lana was Larry before 2002, if you're wondering which Wachowski she was

By: DU

DU — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:19:19 -0800

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:21:12 -0800

In the original plans for the first Matrix movie "Switch" was intended to be a transgendered character, having a "male" form in the real world and a "female" one in the Matrix.

By: schmod

schmod — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:23:34 -0800

The DC Office of Human Rights have been running an absolutely fantastic "Gender Identity Respect" ad campaign across the city for the past few weeks. It's really nice to see trans-respect and awareness being talked about at the forefront.

By: empath

empath — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:36:02 -0800

I think that there may be a parallel to be drawn between the Wachowskis and Turing, and how their experiences are reflected in their creative focus on artificial intelligence and simulation.

By: gc

gc — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:37:25 -0800

In the original plans for the first Matrix movie "Switch" was intended to be a transgendered character, having a "male" form in the real world and a "female" one in the Matrix. posted by The Whelk at 10:21 AM on 10/24 [1 favorite +] [!] That's so cool and I wished they had left it that way.

By: empath

empath — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:37:51 -0800

And I think the Neoplatonic influences on the matrix become more interesting, what with platonism's distinction between ideal forms and reality.

By: Narrative Priorities

Narrative Priorities — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:45:20 -0800

In the original plans for the first Matrix movie "Switch" was intended to be a transgendered character, having a "male" form in the real world and a "female" one in the Matrix. Someone actually wrote a pretty good short fanfic along similar lines for Yuletide last year!

By: ArmyOfKittens

ArmyOfKittens — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:46:08 -0800

I think I'm safe, but then she takes me home and she's trying to understand what happened, but I have no real language to describe it. I just stare at the floor and she keeps asking me over and over what happened. And I begin feeling the same mounting frustration, the same mounting fury that I felt with the nun. She tells me to look at her but I don't want to, because when I do I am unable to understand why she cannot see me.So this bit triggered some memories for me, wow.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:53:50 -0800

He said, "Look, if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I'm a lucky man. What matters is that you're alive, you seem happy, and that I can put my arms around you and give you a kiss." [applause] Having good parents is just like the lottery. You're just like, "Oh my god, I won the lottery! What the -- I didn't do anything!" Amen.

By: chavenet

chavenet — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:54:30 -0800

When my dad arrived he shrugged it off easier than accepting that his wife and daughter had once voted for Jane Byrne instead of Harold Washington [for Chicago mayor in 1983] -- a choice that still rankles him today. He said, "Look, if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I'm a lucky man. What matters is that you're alive, you seem happy, and that I can put my arms around you and give you a kiss." [applause] Having good parents is just like the lottery. You're just like, "Oh my god, I won the lottery! What the -- I didn't do anything!" Who blew all that dust in here?

By: hoyland

hoyland — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:00:33 -0800

Lana was Larry before 2002, if you're wondering which Wachowski she was Part of me wants to call out this comment as playing into the insistence that a trans person's former name always be mentioned. It's inevitable that any article mentioning one Wachowski mentions the other and it's a pretty good bet the one you remember being called Andy is the one currently being called Andy, meaning you can work out Lana has to be the one you remember being called Larry. On the other hand the Q&A link does get most of the way through without mentioning Andy. Then again, if you can remember both their names, you probably already knew Lana was called Lana.

By: Podkayne of Pasadena

Podkayne of Pasadena — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:04:09 -0800

It's great that the Human Rights Campaign decides to honor a Hollywood Idol Like Lana and throw a big party for Hollywood bigwigs and get all that great press which undoubtedly leads to more donations. I think that's super. What would have been even better is if the Human Rights campaign actually had a track record of supporting transgender people. For example, in 2009 the HRC decided not to include the medically necessary procedures needed for transgender transition into their LGBT medical legislation. In 2008 the NRC decided to exclude transgender people from their ENDA employment discrimination legislation. In 2011 the HRC released a press release for marriage equality which failed to mention transgender people . So it's great that HRC gets to throw a party for transgender awareness - yay us - but it would be greater if they actually supported transgender people where it counted.

By: zombieflanders

zombieflanders — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:04:25 -0800

Aaaand now I want to go watch Archer. But seriously, this is good. The more positive public attention that trans people get, the better, considering that they seem to be the outsiders even within the LGBT world.

By: IAmUnaware

IAmUnaware — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:22:22 -0800

Part of me wants to call out this comment as playing into the insistence that a trans person's former name always be mentioned. It's inevitable that any article mentioning one Wachowski mentions the other and it's a pretty good bet the one you remember being called Andy is the one currently being called Andy, meaning you can work out Lana has to be the one you remember being called Larry. On the other hand the Q&A link does get most of the way through without mentioning Andy. Then again, if you can remember both their names, you probably already knew Lana was called Lana. I knew both of the Wachowski's birth names and did not already know that Lana was called Lana, or indeed that she had transitioned genders. I clicked into the comments specifically looking for this information. I would wager that a lot of people know the Wachowski's names from the Matrix period when they were hotshots but don't actively follow news about them, especially since they haven't produced any work worth watching in a decade or so. I was even cautiously excited about V For Vendetta (and we all know how that turned out) but I don't ever remember hearing the name Lana mentioned in any of the press.

By: ChurchHatesTucker

ChurchHatesTucker — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:22:35 -0800

>>In the original plans for the first Matrix movie "Switch" was intended to be a transgendered character, having a "male" form in the real world and a "female" one in the Matrix. >That's so cool and I wished they had left it that way. It could be tragic. Imagine you escape the "fake" world and find that you're "really" a different gender.

By: ArmyOfKittens

ArmyOfKittens — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:25:10 -0800

Podkayne of Pasadena: "So it's great that HRC gets to throw a party for transgender awareness - yay us - but it would be greater if they actually supported transgender people where it counted." Highlighting this because yes. This is not an untainted happy pill, and it's very easy for the HRC and similar organisations to support us when there's a nice story to tell with a celebrity in it and everyone's okay in the end but apparently much harder to keep that up when there might be political capital at stake. I messed up the formatting in my other comment but missed the edit window, ouch.

By: Podkayne of Pasadena

Podkayne of Pasadena — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:25:42 -0800

Imagine you escape the "fake" world and find that you're "really" a different gender. Now imagine that concept was "Being 10 years old"

By: Theta States

Theta States — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:34:06 -0800

Just popped in to say I'm hyped to see Cloud Atlas! I've also enjoyed the press around it, most of the articles I've read have been very respectful. Often times the only paragraph where her TS history was mentioned was via a quote by Lana herself. (and she's ridiculoid cute, btw)

By: scaryblackdeath

scaryblackdeath — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:36:49 -0800

Local/regional singer in the NW went through full-op transgender switch (female to male) several years ago. My then-girlfriend and I were vending at a faire he (formerly she) performed at, and had the booth closest to the stage. I had no idea who this guy was, but he spoke of "inheriting" the music library and making his piece with "her" dog. I had NO idea what had happened. Said performer had a fairly significant following, including my then-girlfriend... and so I asked her, "Hey, did something happen to Heather? This guy's up there talking about inheriting the music library..." GF paid more attention to the performance, recognized the song but not the performer, grew very upset and ran to the table selling CDs for all the musical acts at the faire. There was a general gag rule about speaking on the transgender op, but with someone visibly tearing up they came out and told her about the op. The thing that amazed me the most was that the transition seemed so smooth (of course, I'm an outsider and not part of the following), and that said performer got his voice back in shape so quickly after it had changed dramatically in tone.

By: Pruitt-Igoe

Pruitt-Igoe — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:40:54 -0800

I was even cautiously excited about V For Vendetta (and we all know how that turned out) It was a pretty good movie with an inspiring message that popularized a certain mask?

By: NationalKato

NationalKato — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:41:32 -0800

That speech was really good. Full of humor and sincerity.

By: KChasm

KChasm — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:52:11 -0800

I thought it was pretty neat the Wachowskis were making another flick. And then Hugo Weaving, James D'arcy, and Jim Sturgess in yellowface and why.

By: Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:58:13 -0800

since they haven't produced any work worth watching in a decade or so. Speed Racer was actually a minor work of genius, IMHO. I'm not a fan of the original cartoon (beyond a certain level of kitsch-appreciation, at least), but the kind of pure imaginative moviemaking going on there was absolutely insane.

By: flyingsquirrel

flyingsquirrel — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:04:04 -0800

I just watched the video of her speech, and I think it's awesome, in the true sense of the word. I sat there in awe of her bravery and her confidence, her humor and her honesty, her irrepressible passion and her quiet nervousness -- in other words, her humanness. It sucks that HRC's policies don't fully support transgender people; hopefully, by Lana relinquishing her hold on privacy in an effort to be visible for those who feel invisible, that will begin to change. I very much relate to the compasslessness of invisibility, not because of my sexual orientation, but because of my battles with depression and bipolar. It is a terrifying feeling, to feel so insubstantial as to be inconsequential. Her anecdote of the man with the square glasses coming down the stairs and seeing her -- really seeing her -- made me cry. I wish more people had the courage to be so boldly honest. I wish I did. Also? She is one fantastic writer. I can't wait to watch "The Matrix" again.

By: You Can't Tip a Buick

You Can't Tip a Buick — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:04:54 -0800

By: zarq

zarq — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:09:46 -0800

So it's great that HRC gets to throw a party for transgender awareness - yay us - but it would be greater if they actually supported transgender people where it counted. Completely agree. They have thrown the transgender community under the bus when it comes to equality and it sucks.

By: dgaicun

dgaicun — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:39:22 -0800

Just popped in to say I'm hyped to see Cloud Atlas! I've also enjoyed the press around it, most of the articles I've read have been very respectful. The Big Media reviews collected so far on Rotten Tomatoes aren't very flattering. Although I do concur with Strange Interlude; Speed Racer is more rewarding than its dismal Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb ratings suggest. I still regret skipping the opportunity to see it on IMAX.

By: anazgnos

anazgnos — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:43:51 -0800

So what about the thing I read years ago suggesting that Larry was not actually transgendered but instead undergoing a forced-feminization by his dominatrix "Ilsa Strix"? Where is that in all this, was it just bullshit?

By: ChurchHatesTucker

ChurchHatesTucker — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:48:51 -0800

Speed Racer was actually a minor work of genius, IMHO. Indeed. I still think it'll be cited as an influential film years from now.

By: This, of course, alludes to you

This, of course, alludes to you — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:50:45 -0800

(and she's ridiculoid cute, btw)
this sounds a little patronizing

By: mikoroshi

mikoroshi — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:02:46 -0800

this sounds a little patronizing This sounds a little like you desperately needed something to say in this thread. Calling a person (of any fucking gender) cute is not inherently patronizing. At least, not in the way your comment is.

By: This, of course, alludes to you

This, of course, alludes to you — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:08:14 -0800

it is kind of painful to hear people, especially those with whom one shares certain things, being referred to in a kind of diminutive manner, especially when it involves "cute", which is an adjective applied typically to puppies and/or kittens, and "ridiculoid" which is painfully twee i hope that my being slightly offended has not offended you

By: sendai sleep master

sendai sleep master — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:08:49 -0800

Her speech was absolutely wonderful. As far as Cloud Atlas goes, it is shaping up to be one of the films that makes me happy Rotten Tomatoes exists. I love when a certain type of movie get's a 50% or there abouts on RT because: 1. It proves how useless a percentage based system of art criticism is AND 2. It means that the movie very well may be one that divides people in a very sharp way that is perfect for post-film discussion. Alternatively it might just mean that the film in question is attempting to be accessible, intelligent, and optimistic. Critics hate a piece of art like that.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:27:25 -0800

Whelk: Do you have a source for Switch being planned as transgendered? I posted about it on my facebook and a bunch of people are like "whoa that's so cool where did you read about this?" and I want to give them a better response than "this dude I trust on metafilter said so"... Ugh not off the top of my head. It was something I read in a few essays and interviews that came up and stuck in the back lobe of my brain. Go go internet detective squad. (vanishes into darkness)

By: hippybear

hippybear — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:47:35 -0800

I'd read and heard a lot of the background "gossip" about Lana's transition when it was going on and they were refusing any and all public appearances. There was a lot of speculation, joking, and other really negative things going on surrounding it. I'm glad she's stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight. She's a wonderful human being, incredibly well-spoken, and I'm actually a bit stunned that she was willing to accept this award and make this speech. We are all richer for her decision.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:57:55 -0800

So what about the thing I read years ago suggesting that Larry was not actually transgendered but instead undergoing a forced-feminization by his dominatrix "Ilsa Strix"? I'd read and heard a lot of the background "gossip" about Lana's transition when it was going on and they were refusing any and all public appearances. I think the biggest coverage was the Rolling Stone article by Peter Wilkinson from 2006.

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:11:00 -0800

I don't have any more coherent response at the moment than: This speech was really fucking incredible.

By: hippybear

hippybear — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:12:23 -0800

I don't remember what all I read, but I do remember Roger Ebert's encounter with the siblings at a screening of The Godfather, and the accompanying photo feeding into a lot of it. And I remember coworkers who had encountered it making a lot of jokes. I remember that quite well, not in a good way.

By: The ____ of Justice

The ____ of Justice — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:13:47 -0800

Speed Racer was actually a minor work of genius, IMHO. I'm not a fan of the original cartoon (beyond a certain level of kitsch-appreciation, at least), but the kind of pure imaginative moviemaking going on there was absolutely insane. Seriously in agreement. It's a totally underrated movie in every way and I'm surprised about the lack of attention it received. Thanks for the reminder. I'm gonna go watch it again. I'm not a big fan of "eye candy" type movies but this movie was seriously too delicious for me not to love.

By: hippybear

hippybear — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:20:09 -0800

It's a totally underrated movie in every way and I'm surprised about the lack of attention it received. Few of the movies which seem to today be regarded as "classic new canon", especially of SF and Fantasy, were well received at the time. Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, Brazil, Blade Runner, and others of that vein -- all giant box-office flops. I think that Speed Racer has had a lot of influence on succeeding filmmakers. I suspect that Scott Pilgrim will one day be looked upon as equal genius.

By: Potomac Avenue

Potomac Avenue — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:22:53 -0800

I finally understand the speed racer love after loving Dredd 3d so much, if you know what I mean.

By: smidgen

smidgen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:34:11 -0800

Part of me wants to call out this comment as playing into the insistence that a trans person's former name always be mentioned.

Obviously, one can go too far (introducng her as "Lana once Larry" all the time :-)), and what Lana wants her historical self to be called is her choice, but you have to give people a point of reference. I think this kind of fear of being tied forever to a previous identity actually works in reverse, to be honest. The previous identity is real, it might be pathological in some ways -- but it existed. If one is so afraid to mention that Lana was once Larry, it doesn't give the impression that one has fully bought into her struggle, rather it gives the impression that the transition should not be mentioned. That one has not been able to integrate the idea that normative gender (appearance or otherwise) offers such narrow categories. The transformation from one to other is erased from history along with the ambiguity inherent in it, and all is right with the world -- she is and was always a woman.

By: Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 14:58:18 -0800

Oh, man, Speed Racer. A friend and I Netflix'ed it for Bad Movie Night and when it was about halfway through we turned to each other and said (not in these exact words), "holy crap, this is really good." The racing scenes are like mainlining fun. And it was the first movie I bought on Blu-Ray, because DAMN.

By: snsranch

snsranch — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:13:04 -0800

Big congrats to Lana! Shame on me for pouring over before and after photos of her, but not only is she really cute, she looks incredibly happy and comfortable compared to before. Wow, and awesome. As far as her being recognized because she's famous...that's great. Change, acceptance and understanding have to start somewhere and why not at the top or in the public eye where it will get some notice.

By: gorestainedrunes

gorestainedrunes — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:15:16 -0800

where is the lana fan club? can anyone join it?

By: hippybear

hippybear — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:24:24 -0800

Can I also say that I wish the Q&A link had been the main link for the video (which is included on that page, too), rather than the link used as "Video" in the FPP? Because, damn... if that isn't a really terrible way for a website to frame that speech. WTF, Hollywood Reporter?

By: jiawen

jiawen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:13:59 -0800

It's pretty cool that Lana has come out in this way. Her speech affected me strongly; pangs of identification with how she came to understand her gender, and came to terms with being trans. Some of the ideas Lana and her brother have communicated are problematic. I'm uncertain about Cloud Atlas and its use of yellowface, for example. (Yes, Lana and Larry have said that they think we should see beyond pigeonholes when it comes to race, and I appreciate that viewpoint, but they still employed white actors at the expense of Korean actors for portraying Korean characters.) Perhaps we're starting to enter the phase where being trans is part of a nuanced whole -- where trans people get to be trans and other things, rather than just being heroes or villains, freaks or pity cases. In her case, she gets to be trans and have some problematic ideas and be an amazing movie director and have some really wonderful ideas. I hope that's coming true.

By: Talez

Talez — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:14:45 -0800

And it was the first movie I bought on Blu-Ray, because DAMN. This was my first movie I ever bought on Blu-Ray as well. I know people love to shit on it but the movie is literally the closest thing to a cartoon brought to life and is deliciously over-the-top in every way that it needs to be.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:34:59 -0800

10 Reasons Why Speed Racer Is an Unsung Masterpiece

By: ChurchHatesTucker

ChurchHatesTucker — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 17:59:08 -0800

10 Reasons Why Speed Racer Is an Unsung Masterpiece Number 11: It's the first movie The GF and I saw a second time at the cinema since... The Matrix.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:03:38 -0800

hoyland: "Part of me wants to call out this comment as playing into the insistence that a trans person's former name always be mentioned." I think you're overthinking this. If Lana had become famous as Lana, but was Larry before becoming famous, and their former name was always being pointed out, I'd totally agree, but, from my experience, whenever anyone becomes famous under one name, and then changes names, every article about them will at some point mention their former name.

By: Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:09:27 -0800

While we're having our little Speed Racer lovefest, I'd just like to point out my very favorite thing in the entire movie: The moment (around the 80-minute mark) when the camera suddenly crash-zooms in on Pops Racer's hand -- revealing his high school wrestling championship ring -- right before he body-slams a ninja to the ground, all in one awesome CGI-enhanced take. A less ambitious film would've established Pops' wrassling bona fides with throwaway expository dialogue, BUT NOT THIS MOVIE. Genius.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:12:05 -0800

And now that I've had a chance to watch it: wow. I always multitask video clips. I can't just sit and do one thing. But I could not stop watching this. In my list of top ten most witty, inspirational speeches, without question.

By: Strange Interlude

Strange Interlude — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:58:53 -0800

Watched Matrix a couple days ago for the first time since I heard about this. It's pretty interesting viewing in light. Look how nearly identical Trinity and Neo are, for instance. And all the dualism takes on new meaning. Not to mention the "all the sentinels are punchy, lantern-jawed men and the Oracle is a woman baking cookies" stuff. Also, knowing the details of Lana's near-suicide (described in her speech in the OP) casts the third-act subway platform fight from The Matrix (skip to 2:50) in an entirely new light for me. I'm definitely going to need to watch those movies again...

By: The ____ of Justice

The ____ of Justice — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 18:59:13 -0800

While we're having our little Speed Racer lovefest, I'd just like to point out my very favorite thing in the entire movie: The moment (around the 80-minute mark) when the camera suddenly crash-zooms in on Pops Racer's hand -- revealing his high school wrestling championship ring -- right before he body-slams a ninja to the ground, all in one awesome CGI-enhanced take. A less ambitious film would've established Pops' wrassling bona fides with throwaway expository dialogue, BUT NOT THIS MOVIE. Genius. How many movies exceed the original source material? By like, 1000X?

By: hoyland

hoyland — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 19:01:49 -0800

If one is so afraid to mention that Lana was once Larry, it doesn't give the impression that one has fully bought into her struggle, rather it gives the impression that the transition should not be mentioned. There's a difference between talking about someone's transition and being compelled to mention their previous name in doing so, though. I mean, this post couldn't exist without talking about her transition. I'm saying we should pause long enough to ask whether someone's previous name is relevant. I tried to make it clear in my original comment that I was a bit undecided on whether it's relevant here--my gut reaction was that we were falling into this compulsion but, on reflection, thought also that there was a potential issue of not knowing who we were talking about if one didn't read all the links (which was a fair possibility, given that the speech was the main thrust of the post).

By: eugenen

eugenen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:16:01 -0800

especially since they haven't produced any work worth watching in a decade or so. As a big fan of 'Speed Racer', 'V for Vendetta', and 'Cloud Atlas', I strenuously object.

By: Podkayne of Pasadena

Podkayne of Pasadena — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 21:21:15 -0800

Forgive me but isn't all the talk about Speed racer and her other movies a bit of a derail from the actual focus of the article here?

By: obiwanwasabi

obiwanwasabi — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:55:29 -0800

Yes, Ra forgive we talk about a director's body of work, rather than just her body.

By: Dysk

Dysk — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 02:43:18 -0800

Bit fuckin' rich to call her transition something that's 'just about her body'...

By: Mezentian

Mezentian — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 03:58:19 -0800

I've often wondered, does it mention anywhere why they were billed as the Wachowski Brothers early in the piece. It always seemed a little odd to me when the Larry/Lana stuff was coming out that they wouldn't have billed themselves as the Wachowskis from the start if this was a thing that was always in the background. It sort of cemented Larry in the public mind as Larry. It's always niggled at me. (I loved Speed Racer too, and I am looking forward to Cloud Atlas.)

By: Theta States

Theta States — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:12:30 -0800

So... should I apologize for being all fangirl for Lana and calling her cute? And Roger Ebert loved Cloud Atals, which has me super excited to give it a try. I totally agreed with him about Synecdoche NY, which I loved, and totally disagreed with him about Tree of Life, so I want to know where I'll fall in regards to this one.

By: Theta States

Theta States — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:17:36 -0800

(although yes, I am generally loathe for any discussion about any woman to focus on her physical appearance, I apologize for broaching that topic...)

By: sparkletone

sparkletone — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 10:14:09 -0800

It always seemed a little odd to me when the Larry/Lana stuff was coming out that they wouldn't have billed themselves as the Wachowskis from the start if this was a thing that was always in the background. It sort of cemented Larry in the public mind as Larry. The Wachowskis got their start in the same 94-96 period that the Coen Brothers came up in. Fargo came out the same year as Bound and got a shit ton of attention/praise. I'm not surprised that another pair of siblings coming up at the time got a similar billing. The timeline as presented in the NYer piece and elsewhere suggests that Lana wasn't ready to come out even to just her family and close friends until they were in the middle of making the 2nd and 3rd Matrix movies, by which point they'd already had a nearly decade-long career in Hollywood. It's not clear that Larry-at-the-time was as self-aware, or anywhere near as comfortable expressing this stuff to anyone at all in the 94-96 period when they were first getting their start. All just my guess as to why.

By: empath

empath — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:02:00 -0800

There was also the Hughes brothers at the time.

By: changoperezoso

changoperezoso — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 12:15:01 -0800

Lana Wachowski, thank you with every cell of my being. Rarely have I seen someone express what I so often wanted to, so eloquently and so poignantly. It's official, I love you.

By: jenfullmoon

jenfullmoon — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 21:34:45 -0800

I'm fine with people switching genders. Do what you gotta do. Huzzah! However, the whole "you have to always refer to them as the new gender from now on, even when we are referring to things they did back when they were the other gender" thing is just...awkward and bizarre. At this point, Lana can't go back in time and change the credits or the name she got known under for doing works that people remember and like. We do kinda need to clarify the switch for awhile at least, and that shouldn't be considered offensive. Ditto the singer in Against Me!, whatever her/his name was, I forget exactly, and anyone else in the same situation. I can understand why trans folks want you to do it, but it is kind of strange to adjust to. It's like rewriting in graffiti on top of your memories to suddenly have to refer to things they did with the other gender, even when they were six years old. It feels incredibly weird. Especially in this case since there was publicity and well, everybody knows that Lana's previous work was under something else. Then again, I don't really think it's shameful to say that so-and-so was X gender and now is Y gender, yay. I sort of have the impression that trans folks feel differently about that, though, like maybe it kinda is? Or at least bothersome. But what do I know, I don't plan on switching myself any time soon, so I'm probably a clueless git about it.

By: jiawen

jiawen — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:20:24 -0800

"I sort of have the impression that trans folks feel differently about that, though, like maybe it kinda is? Or at least bothersome." Different trans folks feel differently about it. The constant need of cis people to reinforce that it's a "switch" and that we've "switched" and to remind everyone of who they thought we were before we "switched" is certainly bothersome to many of us, though -- it sends the message that what we feel in the core of our beings is not the 'true' us, but rather the mask that society forces us to adopt for so long is. It sends the message that cis society always has this 'gotcha' that they can use against us. It's a nasty habit that I wish cis society would break.

By: jenfullmoon

jenfullmoon — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 22:56:09 -0800

I can get that, but it feels like some sort of weird ... I don't know what...to suddenly have to rewrite it in your brain in the past, every single time, "Back when she--uh, HE was six, HE liked to eat paste at Catholic school" or whatever it was. I don't know why I have a worse problem with the retroactive gender changing than I do someone just saying, "I'm X gender with X name now and that is where things are from now on." It's relatively easy to just go with the state of things now compared to having to rewrite history. I know it's not a lie to say that they were always, always, always X gender, but it seems like it is some weird kind of lie from the evil cis standpoint, I guess. It's not so much a case of me wanting to rub it in that you'll always be the Y gender and put you down for it so much as it's...a strange adjustment because I didn't know and always think of you as an X the way that you did. I'm not arguing for not doing it, necessarily, just saying that it's awkward and I still am trying to figure out how to refer to someone I've known for years who changed gender. In the present tense it's fine, but mentioning such-and-such a thing they did a few years ago and then having to remember to do the mental change in my brain before it shoots out of my mouth... I feel like I am making a lame hash of it these days and suck at ally-dom.

By: Podkayne of Pasadena

Podkayne of Pasadena — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:26:46 -0800

even when we are referring to things they did back when they were the other gender" thing is just...awkward and bizarre. How awful it must be to be made to feel awkward about changing a pronoun once in a while. Imagine how awful it must be for someone to feel, for several decades that they are living out a lie, unfulfilled and without any hope to simply be themselves? Referring to someone in their new gender role, even with regard to their past activities the past, is not so much bizarre as it is a social courtesy extended to someone so as to not refer back to any of that pain. It's simply the decent thing to do.

By: away for regrooving

away for regrooving — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 02:21:40 -0800

I know it's not a lie to say that they were always, always, always X gender, but it seems like it is some weird kind of lie from the evil cis standpoint, I guess. It sounds like maybe you haven't detached from the feeling that there fundamentally is a Y-to-X change here. I haven't entirely either. But does it help to figure that "always X" is not rewriting history, it's revealing history? The scenario is that somebody tells you: in the past, I was X (although you and other people thought I was Y). Then they really were X. Nobody's denying the historical fact that you didn't know that before. OK, and this fact of past lack of knowledge I think is makes you feel weird to use X pronouns? Like by using Y pronouns you'd represent the true fact that you and others thought Y at the time? But two things there: 1) I don't know a pronoun system that does a "I thought Y at the time but actually X" gender. So by using Y pronouns you're saying they were Y, which is wrong. And getting the gender right is a lot more important than getting the side comment about what you thought. 2) Even if you do have that pronoun that carries what you thought too -- you wouldn't keep on referring to someone as "she (but I thought he at the time)"? Their gender identity is not about you. What you thought is naturally of some interest to you, but less to them, even if this were the first time they'd heard this story instead of the thousandth. Even with the best of intentions, yeah, it can be hard to "rewrite it in your brain". (I have one acquaintance whose gender my brain sometimes reads wrong. I try saying pronouns out loud in private, mental flashcard visualization, but it's not a fix.) But, really, this is small potatoes, right?

By: Dysk

Dysk — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 03:27:17 -0800

jenfullmoon: I don't know why I have a worse problem with the retroactive gender changing than I do someone just saying, "I'm X gender with X name now and that is where things are from now on." It's relatively easy to just go with the state of things now compared to having to rewrite history. So let's say there's someone you know who changed their name at some point. Nothing else, just their name. Let's take Lady Gaga as an example, why the hell not? She was no doubt named something else when she was born, yet very very few people would have an issue with the statement 'Lady Gaga was born in 1986' for example. Substantially MORE people would have an issue with 'Lana Wachowski directed the Matrix'. Logically, they are exactly equivalent, but people get squiffy about one and not the other. I posit that there is not reasonable explanation for this, aside from (possibly unexamined) bigotry.

By: hoyland

hoyland — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 07:16:51 -0800

Substantially MORE people would have an issue with 'Lana Wachowski directed the Matrix'. Logically, they are exactly equivalent, but people get squiffy about one and not the other. People will object to this on the grounds that there's more room for confusion with 'Lana Wachowski directed the Matrix' because people don't know Lady Gaga's legal name (I'm assuming it's not Lady Gaga), but it's not a good objection. Sure, there's room for confusion, just like there's room for confusion when someone gets married and changes their surname, but somehow we've managed to sort the latter situation out for however long we've had surnames that changed due to marriage (which is not all that long or not at all in some places). Equally, there are probably millions of people in the world who can remember that Sergio Agüero and Kun Agüero are the same person without an excruciatingly detailed explanation.

By: bjrubble

bjrubble — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:57:35 -0800

It always seemed a little odd to me when the Larry/Lana stuff was coming out that they wouldn't have billed themselves as the Wachowskis from the start if this was a thing that was always in the background. It sort of cemented Larry in the public mind as Larry. As someone who almost always watches The Matrix to the end when I come across it on TV, I always notice their (very prominent) credit as "The Wachowski Brothers" at the end. I don't recall ever seeing that sort of thing elsewhere -- someone mentioned the Coens, but I'm pretty sure they are always credited under their individual names. I always figured they did this so as to not give one sibling first billing, but it seems extra ironic that Larry gained prominence under a gendered label. (And by "ironic" of course I mean "like the awkward moment that you think of as funny later when things turn out happily, and you have hope that humanity is progressing and these things will seem quaint someday.")