MovieChat Forums > Transamerica (2006) Discussion > the poorly done penis reveal moment ...

the poorly done penis reveal moment ...

posted 13 years ago by bboinnng
4 replies | jump to latest

I love the film but am puzzled over the scene in which ... SPOILER AHEAD >>>

Bree pees behind the car and Toby sees it. She stands up in full view of any of the car's mirrors - the rear view or the side mirror, knowing Toby is sitting in the driver's seat and only need glance in either of the mirrors to have her secret revealed.

At first she couches down and is covered by her long skirt. Then a car comes down the road and she decides to stand, and holds out her clothing behind her so that car's driver won't see what she's doing but again, she and her penis are now in Toby's clear view, well lit in fact by the car's headlights, and why she would somehow not realize this, or even suspect when she then gets into the car and Toby is clearly suddenly angry with her that she made a serious error?

Of course there had to be a scene when he accidently discovered her gender, I understand that. Why not have her go out and pee against a cactus - at least try to hide herself behind one, only to then have a car's headlights show her, or something like that? This just seems an obvious glaring mistake in a film that is otherwise very smart.

[–] ceramic_leopard 13 years ago

because she was so desperate to have a proper wee and she had no idea Toby would be watching her. It was a long drive, she was probably tied and bit out of it as anyone would be.
Maybe she stood up to get out of the road more clearly? I would probably need to see it again to remember what happened with the other driver in the road.

[–] nitro334 12 years ago

I think it was just a reflex, in a way. She initially was crouching down, as a woman would, but then she heard a weird noise, an animal I think, and stood up in fright. While she was living her life as a woman and trying to pass herself off as a woman, I think she still has some manly reflexes and instincts that sometimes come out, like accidentally standing up to pee. It would be like if she got hit in the balls, she'd cry out in pain and grab her crotch. Just a natural reflex.

[–] StKitten 12 years ago

Actually, she stands up because she thinks she hears the rattle of a snake. She holds up her skirt after that when she notices the headlights of a car coming down the road. I think considering how scared she is of snakes (as illustrated in tje camping scene earlier in the film) and the other car coming down the road, she simply doesn't factor Toby seeing her into the equation.

[–] KaileyLady 11 years ago

"Of course there had to be a scene when he accidentally discovered her gender, I understand that."

I don't mean this as an insult at all so I hope you do not take offense. I think what you meant was that Bree's "sex" was discovered. Society mistakenly views and uses the words "sex" and "gender" as interchangeable, but they are not. This is especially important when discussing trans people. Sex is biological aka the physical part of a person for sexual and reproductive purposes. Gender, on the other hand, is just a social construct -- which means it's something society made up and most of us take very seriously, not realizing its harmful effects. One of the few ways "gender" is a helpful tool is it allows pre-op trans people to express their identity without needing the biological match.

A brief and hopefully easy way to remember the difference:

Sex: (genitalia) Male, Female, Hermaphrodite, etc.

Gender: Man/boy, Woman/girl, Masculine vs. Feminine, pink vs. blue as indicators, etc.

It takes a while for someone to understand just how frequently we use the terms interchangeably, but part of the reason it's blurred is to make it easier for society to believe claims by corrupt powers. For example, those who have claimed for centuries that females are lesser-beings.