When tracing the lineage of transgender identity and how it’s historically been represented in cinema, you’llinevitablystumble onto sexploitation legend,Doris Wishman’s 1977 docu-soapLet Me Die a Woman.TheChristine Jorgensonmeta biopic/satire is a direct response to the worst director in the world,Ed Wood’sGlen or Glenda. Ed Wood was a cross-dresser who didn’t live full-time as a woman but had no qualms about leading a relatively open life as a transvestite during the hostile 1950s.Glen or Glendawas a personal homage/love letter from Wood to Christine Jorgenson. Jorgenson was the first person in the United States to have gender-reassignment surgery and by writing a screenplay based on her, Wood inserted himself into a larger narrative. Themovie created a brief dialogueat the time and is one of the first records of gender expression in the U.S.Let Me Die a Womanhas also come under fire for sensationalizing trans-identity. At the time (the ’70s), though, it provided an accurate insight into the lives of transgender people and the medical process of transitioning at that time.
Why Was ‘Let Me Die a Woman’ Revolutionary at the Time of Its Release?
Let Me Die a Womanremains one of the most well-known documentaries on the topic of gender. The docu-drama was the first of its kind: a female-directed movie featuring a small queer/trans contingent. It provided insight into members of this community’s lived experiences and the film has accumulated legions of LGBTQI fans since its release. The documentary’s format and direction have been renewed multiple times and with a lot of success over the years. It remains a touchstone for other trans-centric films likeParis is Burning,Pier Kids,andMy Name is Jane. LikeNan GoldinandDiane Arbus, Doris Wishman was an auteur operating at the intersection of society and art. A prolific exploitation filmmaker and a straight-talking artist who took no prisoners. She directed films that played with tropes and mixed genres, touching on noir, horror, crime, and domestic drama in her sexploitation epics.
In Doris Wishman’s earlier efforts, female desire often came up against male machismo inBad Girls Go To Hell. The insipidly comical male wish-fulfillment fantasyNude on the Moonhas shades ofRuss Meyer. It is safe to say Wishman didn’t bother with the pretensions of feminism in earlier movies. Later titles include the horror movieA Night to Dismemberand dominatrix-thriller Satan Was a Lady. Mainly, her aim was to titillate and entertain her audiences. Wishman was often neglected in the realm of exploitation cinema in comparison to her peers: Meyer,Don Edmonds,Herschell Gordon Lewis,Michael Schultz,andJack Hill.
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What Is ‘Let Me Die a Woman’ About?
Let Me Die a Womanbegins with a young woman waking up in a stylish apartment. She begins her morning ritual. The scene is accompanied by horrid elevator music and a voiceover explaining to us how her body has changed. She applies lipstick, nail varnish, and a sexy outfit. Once her tasks are complete, she turns to the camera and declares she was a male a year earlier. The viewer is then introduced to the documentary’s protagonist:Dr. LeoWollman, a New York City doctor specializing in the care of ‘transsexuals’. The narrative emphasis is on the medical dimension of the transition process and Wollman shares his theories on trans identity, specific treatments available in an underfunded area at the time, and ‘educational’ videos of softcore pornography that supposedly reflected the lives of trans people, according to Wollman. We are also shown footage of a support group for trans men and women sharing their stories, but it only covers their lives in a superficial way before we get to the actual gender-reassignment surgery. Wishman’s docu-movie is a departure for the director, who, until this documentary, had created unapologetically sleazy crime, fantasy, and sci-fi hybrids.
Doris Wishman should be applauded for making a documentary on a marginalized subculture at a time when the acronym ‘LGBTQ+’ didn’t even exist. The film frequently veers into sensationalist or bad taste territory with its shallow support group segments and unnecessary softcore scenarios, as well as its use of loaded and outdated language. Yet it does depict a part ofhistory still largely unknown to mainstream audiences. Both the work of Nan Goldin and Diane Arbus investigated marginal subcultures in their work and are celebrated today. But the documentary is not without its flaws.Deborah Hartanspeaks intelligently and elegantly about her existence as a Trans woman and how she leads a fulfilling and normal life. This is encouraging until it is spliced with amateur porn and graphic surgery — what does this signify at a denotative level? How will it affect a viewer’s, unfamiliar with the subculture, and reading of the subject? It could go one way or another: they could choose to learn from the documentary or dismiss it as nothing but shock tactics. Let’s look at the landscape.
Despite Its Sexploitation Roots, ‘Let Me Die a Woman’ Pushed a Serious Point
Across media platforms, transgender identity has been historically the subject of ridicule and misrepresentation — sensationalized on television talk shows (Jerry Springer, I’m looking at you) and monstrously othered by the mainstream press. Now,things are shifting towards a more accurate understanding of what it means to be Transor gender variant. International activists like writerKate Bornstein(101 Alternatives to Suicide) have penned vital non-fiction books that havesavedlives. Prime’sTransparentis a family saga whose main character just happens to be Trans andRyan Murphy’sPosewas groundbreaking. In literature, you haveGretchen Felker-Martin,Torrey Peters,andHailey Pyperchanging the narrative.
There is still a lack of LGBTQ representation in studio-released movies or fully-human realizations of LGBTQ characters on screen.GLAAD reported in their annual survey that studio films covered very little representation of transgender identity. Filmmakers and publishers need to address that there is still a lack of visibility and although representational politics are changing, it is a slow process. Once upon a time in the horror genre:Psycho,Silence of the Lambs,andBrian De Palma’sDressed To Killwere guilty of reinforcing a negative stereotype: equating a transgender identity with the impotent, woman-hating sadist who cross-dresses and murders cisgender women. Now we’ve come a long way from that harmful trope and yet with theAnti-Drag Bill passed in some states in Americaand theDon’t Say Gay Bill passed in Floridaare reversals of LGBTQ+ rights. Doris Wishman’sLet Me Die a Woman, regardless of its sleazier elements, pushed a serious point in bringing trans lives to a broader audience.
