New Film Features Trans and Masculine-of-Center Pregnant People

A new documentary film shares the stories of transgender and other masculine-identified people who have chosen to give birth.

A Womb of Their Own, by filmmaker Cyn Lubow, seeks to answer the question, “What can a diverse group of masculine-identified pregnant people teach the world about gender?” Lubow, a self-described “masculine-of-center-gendered person who gave birth to two beautiful sons,” says at the film’s website:

I want to help relieve pain for people who feel misunderstood, confused, or shamed, just because their gender doesn’t fit someone else’s rules. I want to validate people who are their own unique mix of gender elements…. The possibilities are endless, and my subjects do a beautiful job of conveying support for whatever combination of gender markers any individual feels is authentic personally.

My other hope is to challenge many common assumptions about gender so people who don’t fit the assumptions can be more visible, understood and accepted.

The film’s subjects do a great job not only of telling their stories, but also using those experiences to help the audience question language and preconceptions (!) around the topics of pregnancy and gender.

The film, now in post-production, sounds like it will be a good complement to Transgender Parents, which is more about transgender people raising kids than about pregnancy. Those seeking more information on the pregnancy aspect should also check out the article “Transgender Men and Pregnancy” in the October 2015 issue of the journal Obstetric Medicine, by Juno Obedin- Maliver and Harvey Makadon, which I wrote about here.

Several of the film’s transgender subjects are profiled today at CBS News—but it is important to note that A Womb of Their Own isn’t just about trans men, but also about masculine-identified women. One of them is A. K. Summers, whose graphic novel Pregnant Butch is a great read, and who talks in the film about being pregnant with “butch panache.”

CBS also quotes one of the men complaining about being addressed as “Mommy” in healthcare providers’ offices, even before giving birth. I have to say, I’m cisgender and female identified, and when this happened to me, too, I was annoyed as heck. I’m not the providers’ mommy and didn’t appreciate having all other aspects of my identity ignored. I can only imagine how much more awful this would feel for a trans man or masculine-identified person.

(The CBS article also raises the question of rethinking maternity wear. One fledgling company, Butchbaby & Co., may have an answer.)

Lubow’s first film, The Fifth Stage of Labor, is a short about a single lesbian mom whose son is about to leave for college and tells her he is selling marijuana to ease her financial pressure. You can see it in full at Vimeo.

Lubow completed a successful crowdfunding campaign for A Womb of Their Own in October, and hopes to bring the full documentary to film festivals when it is complete. Watch the trailer below.