Gender Diversity & Identity in Queertopia—VPRO Documentary

What means gender diversity and gender identity nowadays? And what does gender diversity include? What if you are born with a body that does not meet society’s typical idea of ‘man’ or ‘woman’? Gender diversity has become more and more important and discussed. That´s why we are investigating the world of gender diversity, identity and sexual diversity. You’ll no longer hear the announcement 'ladies and gentlemen' when travelling through a train station in the Netherlands. This has been replaced with 'dear passengers', to include all travelers: ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and everyone who does not feel comfortable within that traditional binary. Before we are born we are already put in boxes. From then on, we are socialized to understand the world through so-called ‘false oppositions’ that are like the sun and the moon, as if they cannot both be present at the same time: if you are a man you are not a woman, and vice versa. In this documentary, we explore the future of sex and gender with people who do not fit their assigned ‘box’ or who do not wish to be pushed into one. With the introduction of civil registration around 1800, a strict classification in 'male' and 'female' was made official in Europe. Specific rights and obligations were linked to each of these two categories, such as inheritance law or conscription. But accepted norms do change: in 2017, the Dutch chain store HEMA got rid of labels as 'boys' or 'girls' from children’s clothing. Slowly but surely we find more gender neutral bathrooms. Facebook offers users a choice of 71 gender identities and the possibility to define your own. And we also see some change in traditionally strictly regulated domains like sports: in the US Patricio Manuel is the first transgender boxer to fight professionally in the male division.