• Release year: 2024
• Directors: Iban Pàmies Merlo, Belén López Rodríguez and Toni Torbellino Méndez.
• Screenplay by: Belén López Méndez.
• Music by: Hugo Marlo.

Shotgun Commentary: great resource to learn about gender diversity.

Review

What was your previous name And other silly questions offers is a documentary that gives visibility to trans and gender-fluid people. Through interviews, archival videos, dictionary definitions, and recordings of some events that celebrate the diversity of gender identity, the film educates, entertains, and highlights how ridiculous it is to not tolerate and respect people just because they are different from the norm.

Fact vs construct

The feature interviews people from different backgrounds. It shares their stories as well as getting some facts and statistics. People in politics, activists, sexologists, relatives of trans people, immigrants, etc. This diversity reflects that of the society we currently live in. A society that seems to move at a glacial pace when it comes to accepting and embracing progress and difference.

Due to this situation, the addition of professionals who can speak about facts is crucial. They provide the piece a level of accuracy and seriousness enough to not be taken lightly. Still, there is one crucial mistake made in the content: the use of opinions as facts.

This phenomenon has gained popularity since the emergence of social media. When everyone was given a voice and a public space to use it, but not a how-to guideline. Lots of people have a hard time separating their beliefs from facts and treat them as one and the same. The use of both as synonyms is especially harmful when it comes from more official sources than personal posts. When it takes place in official sources of information, like this documentary, it gives off the wrong impression.

The dangers of vagueness

This is why, when an expert on the matter says things like “To me, a trans person is…”, the alarms go off. Granted, the end of that sentence is very similar to the official definition. In that sense, there is no actual harm done. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that what a trans person is, is not a matter of opinions or beliefs.

Trans people are a fact, and as such, what they are is clearly defined in dictionaries. Even though it isn’t harmful in this case, that expression is very dangerous water to navigate. Especially considering that it gives transphobes an excuse to adopt it and twist it to fit their own prehistoric ideals.

All-encompassing

The themes brought in the documentary cover pretty much all the big questions around transsexuality, gender neutrality and gender fluidity. There is some historical background thanks to an elder trans woman’s testimony. Lots of stereotypes are broken thanks to the information and accounts provided by all the interviewees, and even terms that not a lot of cis people might know, such as cis-passing, are explained. The final result is a very thorough exploration of gender identity. A type of content that shows the importance of education if we hope for a better future.

All in all, What was you previous name and other silly questions has a clear message. One that is textually presented at the end of the film: “You don’t question identity, you respect it”. Truth is, there is nothing as simple as doing nothing, and that is all it takes to let people be who they are and live how they want.

It is sad that certain communities have to depend on politicians to have the right to exist and be treated like any other person, but such is the world we live in. This piece is a huge reminder of how important it is to continue working towards equality for ALL in all fronts: social, cultural, and legal.

If you are in the UK and What was you previous name and other silly questions has piqued your interest, you can now watch it online from the 15th to the 17th of November in the Streaming Online programme of One Fluid Night International LGBTQIA+ Film Festival!

Advice to take from this movie:

• The “psychological tests” trans people need to go through in order to prove their transsexuality are a waste of time and a ridiculous attempt to hold onto patriarchal clichés about gender.
• Where someone gets the nerve to think they have any right to decide over another person’s life or identity will always be one of the greatest mysteries of humanity.
• Feminism is about equality for ALL genders. About helping each other, not about bickering over who is more screwed up by patriarchy.

What’s your take? Have you watched What was your previous name And other silly questions? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀