Directed by Justin Folk
Documentary
‘If transgenderism has reduced womanhood to its superficial characteristics, allowing anyone to don it like a Sunday hat, at least part of the reason is that our culture has spent decades divorcing sex distinctions from gender roles.’ – Leor Sapir, City Journal
I had been looking to see ‘What is a Woman‘ for a long while before I finally did. I knew of the film because I am a regular listener of the podcast hosted by the documentary’s creator, Matt Walsh. Not only had there been a thrilling buildup to the documentary’s release, there had also been robust reviews both for and against the film following its release. Writers had either been labelling the film and those involved in its creation as ‘transphobic’, ‘bigoted’, and ‘genocidal’. Or hailing ‘What is a Woman‘ as a must-watch offering of truth and tenacity.
I could hardly take my eyes of the screen throughout my viewing of the documentary. Walsh takes the viewer on a journey that is both gripping and farcical. In his critique of transgender theory and activism, Walsh’s vast range of interviewees includes doctors, psychologists, women’s march protest-goers, gender and sociology professors, university students, Maasai tribesmen, and the average thinker on the street.
Among many factors, what makes the film compelling is the manner in which some of Walsh’s interlocutors are bizarrely stumped by the clearest of questions. I opt for the word ‘clear’ intentionally. Unlike Walsh, I am reluctant to describe the questions (particularly the titular question) as merely ‘simple’. The word ‘simple’ denotes that the question is easily understood or presents no difficulty. The assertion that ‘what is a woman?’ is a ‘simple’ question is brilliantly and consistently disproved by the documentary itself. In transgender discourse, the question has in fact become complicated one.
To this end, the film is an exceptional example of ‘clarifying terms’ and ‘sharpening contradictions’. Defining words and establishing meaning is the best place to draw the battle lines in a culture war. That is why ‘What is a Woman?‘ is a film worth watching for those interested in contending for truth in the age of transgender ideology.
– Lele M
Lele Muthali 