UNSETTLED is a film depicting the struggles of LGBT refugees as they arrive in the United States. For many, being a part of the LGBT community is a dangerous thing in their home countries. The stories told in this film demonstrate the bravery of these people as they leave everything behind to live in a country where they are accepted for who they are. 

            This film examines the stories of four people. Subhi, a gay man from Syria, fled his country to escape Islamic extremism and his homophobic family. He arrived in San Francisco at his sponsor’s house, ready to begin a new life for himself. Subhi began speaking out about homophobia in the Middle East, and eventually presented at the United Nations. He went on to gain popularity and is a well-known activist for LGBT rights. 

Junior, a gender non-conforming person from the Congo, had escaped their community due to homophobia and violence. Junior came from a religious family of pastors that did not approve of their lifestyle. They had been seeking refuge in South Africa, and when they started to experience violence there, Junior decided to apply for asylum in the United States. Junior had a much different experience than Subhi upon arrival in the US. They were forced to move houses every month, as an affordable housing option was not presented to them. After many failed relationships and attempts to secure a home, Junior finally found a place to live. They began school at a community college, secured a job, and was on their way to beginning a new life in America. 

            The stories of Cheyenne and Mari, a lesbian couple from Angola, were also intriguing. After facing brutal violence and harassment in their home country, the couple fled to the US. They arrived on tourist visas but planned to seek asylum. Subhi and Junior had both applied in their home countries for asylum and were granted approval before arriving. Cheyenne and Mari’s story shines a light on the process of being granted asylum. After a long process, they were thankfully granted asylum. They both secured jobs and were married, something they could have never done in Angola. 

            One theme I found this film displays exceptionally was the diversity among people of the LGBT community. Each story portrayed individuals identifying within different realms of homosexuality. Each faced similar struggles in their home countries but did not have the same experiences upon integrating into American society. Subhi, an attractive gay man, seemed to have the smoothest transition into life in the US, whereas Junior, a non-conforming person had the most difficulty. Cheyenne and Mari were subjects of more discrimination within the US than Junior and Subhi. 

Subhi’s transition into American society was a result of androcentrism, a term used to describe male dominance in society. Johnathan Wynn’s ideas surrounding androcentrism accurately depicts the transition of Subhi,

 “Pierre Bourdieu writes of symbolic violence in his book Masculine Domination, describing a kind of invisible and pervasive form of power that is masked in the ‘everyday’ things that we do. Gender and sexuality are informed by our everyday institutions (e.g., the family, education, the media), and naturalize male domination.” (Wynn, Masculinity so Fragile).

 Subhi was able to establish connections within the community and find employment, because of his identity. These connections provided him with the opportunity to speak at the United Nations, gaining fame and power from doing so. His attractive looks and charm also played a role in his journey. A society dominated by male superiority worked in Subhi’s favour, even though he identified as gay. Subhi did not have an easy journey in starting his new life, however he was provided with more opportunities and resources than others displayed in this film. 

            A major factor in Junior’s struggle to find adequate housing, was the fact they are HIV positive. After bouncing around countless apartments, hosted by people looking to support individuals seeking asylum, they were forced into a homeless shelter. People looking to support Junior eventually asked him to leave, because of their disease. The experience Junior had was a result of ableism. If Junior were not HIV positive, they could have expedited the process of finding their own place to live. Instead, they were more focused on where they would go when the month ended, and their sponsors no longer allowed them to stay in their home. Junior’s disease labels them as someone non-able bodied in the eyes of the sponsor. They require no physical accommodations; however, they carry a contagious disease. Western society labels those who are considered disabled as lower in society. Rosemarie Garland-Thompson explains the nature of those labeled disabled in the eyes of society, “Rather, disability is a culturally fabricated narrative of the body, similar to what we understand as the fictions of race and gender” (Garland-Thompson 259). Living with HIV is possible, and Junior’s sponsors should take the necessary precautions in accommodating them. Requiring them to leave after a month’s stay slowed their process in successfully starting a new life. 

            Cheyenne and Mari’s challenge were their national status within the United States. The couple entered the country as tourists, as they had not been granted refugee or asylum status. According to the Collins dictionary, national status is defined as “the status of someone as regarding their citizenship of a country” (Collins Dictionary). The process of being granted asylum is long and daunting. Cheyenne and Mari eventually ran out of money while in the process of filing their request. Thankfully they had a sponsor to help them during this time. A statistic shown in the film read that “Nearly 70% of asylum claims are denied by Homeland Security”. Near the end of the film, as they arrived at the Department of Homeland Security, a large group of people were seen who were also seeking asylum. Families with young children were shown who were not granted asylum, forcing them to return to their home country. In the end, Cheyenne and Mari had reasonable grounds in the eyes of the government to be granted asylum. Now that they have acquired the proper national status, they have the freedom to successfully start their lives. 

            UNSETTLED provides an intersectional viewpoint on the various issues LGBT asylum seekers face upon arriving in the US. Each person in this film had to overcome adversity to achieve what they came to the US for. Hearing the stories about the reality of LGBT violence in foreign countries provides a new outlook on asylum seekers and the stories they carry with them.

Works Cited

Wynn, Johnathan. “Masculinity so Fragile.” Everyday Sociology Blog, 16 Mar. 2016, www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2016/03/masculinity-so-fragile.html.

Garland-Thompson, Rosemarie. “Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory.”The Disability Studies Reader, 2nd ed. Davis, Lennard. New York& London: Routledge. 2006. 259

“National Status.” Collins Dictionary.com. 2020.https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/national-status(February 11, 2020)

Changing the Game is a documentary that follows three high school student athletes who are transgender as they compete against fellow cisgender athletes. The film shows the many challenges that transgender athletes face in sports. The stories take place in three different states with each school district having its own rules about the category transgender athletes fit into. Mack lives in Texas, a discriminatory law in Texas prevents Mack from competing against males. In order to be able to wrestle at his high school he must wrestle against females although, Mack identifies as a male. The year prior to filming he won the state champion and was on track to win the female state title again. During the film Mack receives a lot of attention from the public for this and the documentary shows the struggles of dealing with transitioning and competing in a category that you no longer associate yourself with. Through lots of tough and tedious work Mack’s grandmother is eventually able to have Mack wrestle against males on the USA wrestling team at the closing of the film. Sarah is a skier and her school district allows athletes to compete in the gender category in which they assign themselves with. Sarah during the film creates a policy that would give protections to transgender people and she works to get it passed by her local government. Andraya competes in track against other female athletes but faces lots of backlash from parents as they struggle to see the fairness in Andraya competing with other females. Andraya emerges as a role model to another transgender athlete, Terry. Mack, Sarah and Andraya are able to use sports as a way to deal with the negativity around them and create a positive sense of self through their various sports. The documentary is able to shed light on an important topic of transgender athletes that is not talked about enough in mainstream media. 

The film Changing the Game very honestly shows the struggles that transgender athletes go through. The film challenges people to step outside the normative views of sports and gender categories in sports, by challenging personal opinions and what is considered normal (“Gender Identity and Normativity” slide 12). In the film it is very obviously shown that many people still have the view of you must compete in the category that your biological sex deems a person belongs in. News castings, articles, parents and policies are shown aggressively throughout the film with this way of thinking about sports and gender assignment. This normative belief of what should and should not be in terms of everyone being classified into a category for competition is strongly challenged through this film (“Gender Identity and Normativity” slide 12). 

The film also challenges a binary way of thinking, that males and females must be in opposition to each other and creates questions of why we have a need to classify these gender categories in opposition of each other and not based on skill (“Gender Identity and Normativity” slide 13). The film does a good job of expanding thinking from a binary concept to a more holistic approach of sports. Andraya’s coach as well as others in the film bring up the perspective of what are high-school sports truly about. The idea that competition in sports is everything is challenged by many in the film. Andraya’s coach shows the perspective that sports are a way to teach people life skills, for people to create positive self-image and deal with the things that are going on in their lives. For these transgender athletes in the documentary, the sports they play are able to help create a positive body image of who they are in their minds and cope with some of the stressful events they face as transgender people. In the article “Signs of Gender” by Sally Raskoff she talks about how society is changing to incorporate more than just two genders but how in society their still remains a lack of inclusivity for all (Raskoff). Those with the most power in society continue to see sport as binary and do not consider how exclusive separating sport by gender is. The athletes followed in the documentary struggle to be accepted into the gender categories that they belong in because a dominated cisgender society their remains a huge lack of inclusivity that is not adequately applied throughout policies by the schools (Raskoff). As well Sarah demonstrates the lack of inclusivity Raskoff talks about through, the policy she tries to pass about protecting transgender people (Raskoff). 

The documentary changing the game also represents two student athletes who are transgender and African American these two females face triple discrimination because of these categorizations. They therefore face more cumulative oppression based on these classifications of intersectionality. The film is able to properly represent these classifications instead of just focusing solely on one classification for Andraya and Terry it focuses on the intersectionality of these different classifications (“Racialization and Intersectional Analysis” slide 8). I thought that this was able to make the documentary even more powerful to viewers especially for those viewers that do not face multiple classifications of oppression. Changing the Game is able to accurately depict challenges that transgender athletes go through. It is able to broaden the scope on traditional binary thinking of sports and create a larger conversation on what the purpose of sport is. Changing the Game also includes conversations about intersectionality and discrimination in policies, the news and communities around the United States. The film is a proper representation of struggles that transgender athletes face and does a positive job of shedding light and continuing important conversations in society arounds transgender athletes. Overall, I think that Changing the Game is able to add to larger conversations of transgender athletes in sport and challenges both the normative and binary view that is often held while, incorporating other concepts such as intersectionality and overall inclusivity of policies and rules towards transgender people in the United States. 

Works Cited 

Baba, Habibe B. Gender Identity and Normativity. Jan. 2020, https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/377345/viewContent/2190381/View?ou=377345 PowerPoint Presentation. 

Baba, Habibe B. Racialization and Intersectional Analysis. Jan 2020, https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/377345/viewContent/2190381/View?ou=377345. PowerPoint Presentation. 

Raskoff, Sally. “Signs of Gender.” Everyday Sociology Blog, 27 Mar. 2017, http://www.everydaysociologyblog.com/2017/03/signs-of-gender.html#more.

The selected film Tales of Turtle Island: Badassery was centred around three female DJ’s and their high and lows on working in an industry that is male dominated. It gave attention to the impact their presentence in the industry was having on the Toronto hip-hop scene. As it reflected the struggles and obstacles that the women faced in building a career and an identity, it additionally looked at the gender dynamics within the hip-hop scene drawing on the impacts it had on the development of the three DJs. Looking further, the three DJs experienced similarities and difference in ways in which they presented their music, advertised themselves and stayed true to their identity. Additionally, the film highlights the obstacles and hierarchy that the hip-hop scene in Toronto has in relation to gender roles and gaining respect and praises for producing music and entertaining people. Furthermore, it examines the political, social and cultural factors that empower the achievement of these three DJs in regard to the growing exposure of social media, one’s beauty appearance and the escalation to be independent artists. It emphasises the important of being true to yourself and building an image that is not built upon stereotypes that have been embedded in society. The film is a representation of treatment of individuals in the music industry based on their gender, specifically looking at their appearance and journey in hip-hop scene in Toronto. 

The movie engages with the audience as it draws on the imbalance of representation the women receive in comparison to men in the hip-hop scene in Toronto. Specifically, looking at the ways in which the women represent themselves in the industry, particularly at the notion of expectation and reality. However, first one must understand the influence and potential that media creates and impacts one’s status and recognition in the particular industry. Media is constructed as an outlet the keeps the continuous interest of the audience as it displays what society expects and wants. Popular culture is intertwined as media broadcasts the material of the DJs and looks at the desires and category’s in which society continuous seeks out for enjoyment. Popular culture is viewed as a culture that is spread across society as favoured and well liked by majority (Storey 5). The concept of popular culture is used in many industries as the material and products that they produce is directly corelate to popular culture. In the film the use of media produces an image that fans seek out, however the film drew on the many ways that media representation fails to recognize one’s true identity in regard to oppressing one’s identity of fit the needs and popular ideas of society. Particularly drawing on DJ Killa Kels experience as a female DJ, she was pressured to constantly fit this image of a “typical female” in the hip-hop industry as hypersexualized. However, DJ Killa Kels prides herself in streaming away for stereotypes of women in the hip-hop industry, while marking towards the popular as well as staying true to her own identity and portrayed her brand in her own freedom of expression. The film reflects the oppression that the women have faced and, in some cases, have overcome based on the challenges that are produced by popular media and the gender representation in the industry. 

The film draws on the stereotypes that corelate to the music industry, especially highlight the stereotypes and norms that relate to men and women in the hip-hop industry. Normativity is a concept that generates perceptions and manifests ideas in society regarding what is accepted and what is not (Baba Slide 13). The notions that are constantly pushed into society are naturalized, furthermore making it difficult to alter the norm in society. The idea of what is normal and expected was constantly mentioned in film in relation to the comparison of female and male DJs. Additionally, what is consider acceptable in relation to their gender expression in the industry and what is not. Examples of the norms in the film project this notion that women are more hypersexualized and need to be more expressive with their body language and censor their speech. The film drew on this representation as women were expected to fit this category ad meet these expectations in the hip-hop industry. Normativity perpetuates and fuels the stereotypes in society creating a bigger gender divide within in many industries, as well as creating misinterpretations of what is proper and what is not. The film does a good job in drawing on the expectation of what is norm for each gender in the industry and fights to challenge the norms and encourage the idea of true identity and freedom of expression. 

After experiencing the film Badassery I personally have a better understanding within the hip-hop culture as well as the intense length to which women in that particular industry go to in order to prove themselves. It was evident that the film reflected the constantly uphill battle that women in the hip-hop industry endure. The film drew on the positives and negatives of being a female DJ in Toronto, as each of them reflected different images and beliefs. As someone who lives in Toronto, I was surprised on the constant divide that was made in the film between female and male DJs, as in the end they are both providing a service of enjoyment. Furthermore, I found it disheartening that women were held at different standards and expectations as there passion was the same as men, to produce music that was entertaining and respected. This particular film opened my eyes up to the divided of hip-hop culture in Toronto, as gave me an insight in what society considered “proper” and was not. It represented the imbalance in the film as it drew on personal experiences and reflected the many factors that directly correlates to becoming a DJ. The film represented the privilege based on gender in the industry and emphasized the imbalance of respect, acknowledgement and journey one must go to in order to create an image and present in the hip-hop scene in Toronto. 

Works Cited  

Baba, Habibe B. Gender Identity and Normativity. Jan. 2020, https://onq.queensu.ca/d2l/le/content/377345/viewContent/2190381/View?ou=377345 PowerPoint Presentation. 

Storey, John. “What is Popular Culture?” Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction. Essex: Person Education Ltd., 2009. 1-15.