The documentary “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied” by Debra Chasnoff explores the lives of teens through the lens of gender roles. The author gives students from California high schools an opportunity to openly speak their minds about gender diversity and speak about the sexual orientation pressures they experience in society. The movie shows gender issues through masculinity, clothing, sporting activities, music, and daily activities (Chansoff). This study will provide a reaction to how the film portrays and explains the notions of sex and gender.
The film shows how generation Z schools and social places have changed regarding gender. Social and gender issues have become more complex and socially dangerous than they were before. The problems and anxiety that the students in the film face have serious consequences on their daily lives and decisions (Kubrak 7). From the sports they participate in, the type of music they listen to, and the colors they wear. For instance, one of the students states that he is afraid of wearing a purple shirt because the other students will think he is gay.
This shows that gender issues dictate how students express themselves and their choices in their daily lives. Girls confront the social media messages about beautiful girls having slim bodies, and having a big body is considered unsexy in the current social culture. The boys in the film stated that they engage in sexual activities to prove that they are not gay (Chansoff). This shows how much impact societal pressure has affected the lives of teenagers. With the increasing power of diversity, children from different cultures, races, and classes have to do things that they would not have done of their free will to bow down to societal pressures.
The movie explores the intersection of sexuality and gender whereby the teens speak about their sexuality and, more specifically, homophobia. Most students identify as male or female, while others feel that their gender identity is not explicitly male or female (Chansoff). According to most youths-students who do not fit in the box of either gender are likely to be harassed and sexually questioned. This feeling of wanting to belong significantly controls them into doing things that they don’t want to do to prove their gender identities. One of the students, Briseida, stated that she had difficulty seeking a sense of self after she emerged as a lesbian (Chansoff). Another young teen who did not seem to identify as gay but not male was having his sexuality highly questioned. The other students kept on provoking and harassing him to come out clearly about his identity (Chansoff). This shows that the students are not given enough time to determine their gender identities.
Being forced to choose a gender may affect a student’s mental, physical, and sexual behaviors. This type of unnecessary pressure and harassment makes life difficult for students who have not declared their gender (Way). For instance, a black girl teen with a deep voice who had not identified as female found it challenging to interact with other students because they used to say that she was lesbian. Therefore, this pressure pushed her to prove that she was not lesbian, causing her to avoid certain activities and sports identified with lesbianism (Chansoff). Instead of being given a chance to figure out her identity, the pressure forced her to prove that she was straight, which may be against her will. It shows that homophobia is a severe issue in the current school system, especially in the USA.
However, although the documentary articulates the issue of gender identity in such an explicit manner allowing students to express themselves freely, it is not without its flaws. It is a bit wandering and loose in defining the main themes that the author wants to express (Way). Watching the movie takes a while before knowing what the specific focus of the author is, and eventually, it becomes clear that the author is discussing high school homophobia and gender expectations. Towards the end, the documentary discusses the general gender-specific problems from a broad perspective. The issues about gender covered in this film are shown in more profound views in other films, making it seem like a summary.
The film “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied” has captured gender issues through sexuality, clothes, dance, sports, emotion, consumerism, safety, femininity, and masculinity. It has highlighted and given the students a chance to express how they feel about gender-related issues. One evident problem is that societal and school pressure has significantly impacted many teens’ decisions and gender identity. They are forced to adhere to various gender identities as they seek confirmation and acceptance, which makes them not have enough time to realize their genders. That is why some identify themselves as women or men but feel as if they fully fit in the box description of females. The film discusses the issue of gender from a broad perspective, providing comprehensive information about the gender issues faced by teens, making it a masterpiece or starting point in analyzing problems concerning gender identity.
Works Cited
Kubrak, Tina. “Impact of Films: Changes in Young People’s Attitudes after Watching a Movie.” Behavioral Sciences, vol. 10, no. 5, Web.
Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up. Directed by Chasnoff Debra, GroundSpark, 2009.
Way, Fed. “Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied up | Meaningful Movies Project.” Meaningfulmovies.org, 2019, Web.