Transexual Menace

Dir. Rosa von Praunheim
Germany, 1996, 75 min.
Digital Format

Join us for the last in our Rosa von Praunheim retrospective series for a screening of his documentary TRANSEXUAL MENACE, which will be introduced by Northwestern University's TJ Billard.

This documentary takes its title from the name of "the most exciting political action group in the USA"—transgendered people who are defining themselves, demanding their legal rights, and fighting for medical care and against job discrimination. Considered by von Praunheim to be the “most fascinating [project] in my long life as a filmmaker,” TRANSSEXUAL MENACE is a sensitive and carefully crafted portrait that deals with issues openly and honestly. “I was able to earn the trust of many who are often reluctant to be interviewed. Courageous people talked to me, who transitioned in such problematic professions as law enforcement and firefighting.” This film gives viewers remarkable insight into the home and work lives of transsexuals from many cultures and countries, including female-to-male transsexuals and those with families and children. 

SPEAKER BIO

TJ Billard is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication and, by courtesy, the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University. Outside of Northwestern, they are the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Applied Transgender Studies in Chicago and Editor-in-Chief of the Center's flagship journal, the Bulletin of Applied Transgender Studies. Dr. Billard is the author of Voices for Transgender Equality: Making Change in the Networked Public Sphere (Oxford University Press, 2024) and co-editor (with Marquis Bey) of The Oxford Handbook of Transgender Studies (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).