Southern Comfort (Documentary)

Released back in 2001, this documentary follows the life of Robert Eads, a fifty years old trans-man living in Toccoa, a small rural community in Northern Georgia. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1996 he seeks help from dozens of doctors, but each one of them refuses to operate on a transgender person as they are afraid it would negatively impact the reputation of their clinic, thus condemning him. The film recounts the last months of Robert’s life and shows the sometimes harsh reality of transgender people living in the rural world, and how they are fighting discrimination. It also deals with the intricacies of the social community that the main character, Robert Eads, has surrounded himself with since transitioning from female to male, details the romantic attachment that Robert has formed with his girlfriend Lola Cola near the end of his life, and examines the dynamics between Robert and his genetic family.

The film takes its name from the “Southern Comfort Conference” held every year in Atlanta, Georgia. It is one of the most important transgender events in the Eastern part of the United States of America, gathering celebrities, doctors, therapists, among others. The documentary follows Robert and people around him as he navigates trying to get treatment. The interviews with the families of the subjects of the films are especially revealing. The son of Robert Eades (from when he was a woman) can't quite keep straight whether to refer to him as a man or as his `mom.' But it is clear that he loves him deeply.  He tells the camera that his friends have often advised him to deny his father and pretend that his mother was dead rather than accepting the truth, but he has always refused that option, saying that being true to oneself is the most important thing his mother taught him. Robert's father refused to have his face shown when he was interviewed.

The stories recorded in this documentary testify that gender identity is never something that is fixed, but that it exists on a spectrum. Transition is a journey during which everyone takes a different path. Despite the film having come more than 20 years ago, this topic is probably even more relevant in today's time when trans people are fighting more than ever for their legal rights. But looking back to the documentary as is, personally, I feel bad to say, but this was not my cup of tea. As much as I agree and would say that the subject matter is extremely relevant, important and something that needs to be addressed but at a personal level, I found it hard to engage, despite a very engaging main lead. (4/10)