Masculinities to Trans-femininities: Evidence through the “Girl” Film

This study aims to explore the life journey of a man who wants to become a transfeminist woman through the perspective of masculinity studies. This study uses a qualitative method. The results of this study are as follows. First, Lara as a transfeminist made psychological changes by making herself a graceful figure, changing her love desires by loving men, and having aspirations of becoming a ballerina so that she is like a natural woman. Second, Lara as a transfeminist made physical changes to become a normal woman by wearing earrings and women's clothes, cooking, doing feminizing hormone therapy to grow breasts

he study of masculinity is getting more popular in global society nowadays.This is due to men's increasing awareness of themselves about the context of self, family, and society (see, Short et al., 2023).Not only that, masculinity supports men's awareness in correcting the mistakes or trauma they have experienced/committed (Cesaroniet al., 2023).Through the study of masculinity, men can be more transformative and open in facing problems in everyday life.One form of openness related to masculinity is through the medium of film, which narrates masculinity in a multi-context, multivocal, multi-carnival, epiphanic, and queer manner.Masculinity studies were originally a repositioning of men in the context of gender, sociocultural (Connell, 1995;Connell, & Messerschmidt, 2005), the study of men's selfawareness about manhood, and the 'counter-studies' to femininities studies (Ahmadi, 2021;Kachel, 2016;Laszlo, 2020;Davin, 1997).In its current development, masculinities studies lead to interdisciplinary studies which are expected to have more scientific contributions in the current context.One of the contexts is masculinities studies related to global society (Connel, 2003;Connel, 1998;Connel & Wood, 2005;Louie, 2014) and the masculinities studies associated with the LGBT context (Patrón & Rodriguez, 2022;Tsfati & Ben-Ari, 2022;Erez & Shenkman, 2016;Linneman, 2008;Slevin & Linneman, 2010;Battle, & Harris, 2013;Poynter, and Washington, 2005;Kelley & Gruenewald, 2015;Passarelli, & Vidotto, 2016;Ceatha, 2016;Ammaturo, 2019;De Vries et al, 2019); and masculinity in a political context (Caravantes, 2019;Myrttinen, 2019).Research on masculinity is very 'open', making it easier for researchers from various scientific disciplines to research it.
Historically, the forerunner of masculinity studies began in the 1970s, preceded by Pleck & Sawyer's (1974) study of male development in the context of family and society.The early development of masculinity studies began in the 1980s, namely, masculinity studies which tended to refer to philosophical topics, family, work, sex, and social society (for example, Vetterling-Braggin, 1982;Cockburn, 1983Cockburn, , 1985;;Shapiro, 1984).In the 1990s, masculinity studies experienced rapid development, for example, the study written by Connell (1995) on the history of masculinity, the theory of masculinity, and the current development of masculinity; Tosh (1999) who conducted research on male families in England in [1988][1989][1990]; also, the studies of Reeser (2011) and Anderson & Magrath (2019) which are the reference materials in masculinity studies.
Unfortunately, masculinity studies in films still focus on male aspects, superiority, strength, and male heroism.Studies discussing the other side of masculinity or the weaknesses of masculinity are still rarely found.At least, two factors are causing the lack of masculinity studies in films which are related to the other side of masculinity, queer masculinity, and topics related to the transformation of men into women.First, there is a lack of films related to the transformation of men into women.Second, there is still minimal discussion regarding the transformation of men into women in films.
Therefore, this study aims to explore the transformation of a man who becomes a woman within the framework of masculinity contained in the film "Girl".A film that describes the life journey phases of a man becoming a woman.This study is intriguing with the following rationalizations (1) masculinity studies in films have tended to highlight the masculine side of men (see, Harriger, 2022;Coyne, 2022); (2) this study refers to the psychological context concerning the transformation of men into women.It is hoped that this study can provide an alternative contribution to masculinity psychology regarding the transformation of men (masculinity) to women (femininity), which goes through several phases; (3) this study provides an alternative solution that films can also be used as a data source to examine masculinity considering film as the miniature of reality.
Masculinity studies in films can be carried out using three models.First, masculinity studies in films that are associated with the director.In this context, the researcher examines the director's creative process in producing a film.Second, masculinity studies in films concerning the theory of masculinity (through characters, settings, or director's narration) (e.g., Baker, 2008;Mora, 2006;Panayiotou, 2010;Tracy, 2023).Third, masculinity studies in films are associated with readers' responses (e.g., Cruea, 2018;Dunn, 2012).In this context, the researcher examines readers' responses through their points of view to the films they watch.In this study, the researcher uses the concept of masculinity which refers to the views of Connel (1995), Horlacher (2015), Kac-Vergne (2019), Anderson & Magrath (2019), and synthesizes it with masculinity in the context of the film.The researcher used the second model, namely masculinity studies in films.
Specifically, the study of masculinity in films is related to the psychology of characters (ideas/thoughts and/or behavior) in their relationship with themselves, with other people, and with society.Psychological theories are widely used in the study of masculinity, one of which is psychoanalysis.This is due to two things.First, psychoanalytic figures such as Freud and Jung sometimes used literary and film data (Jung, 2010).Second, psychoanalysis is psychology that addresses the human unconscious.
This study used an interpretive qualitative method to expose data based on interpretation (Levant, 2011;Saldana, 2011;Riley et al., 2012;Smith, 2015;Ahmadi, 2023Ahmadi, , 2022Ahmadi, , 2021Ahmadi, , 2020aAhmadi, , 2020b;;Ahmadi et al., 2023, Ahmadi et al., 2019) which is outlined in narrative form.The researcher used the "Girl" film (2018) which was directed by L. Dhont as the data source.This film is 1.45 hours long.This film won the Caméra d'Or Award for best first feature film, Queer Palm, and Polster won the Un Certain Regard Jury Award for Best Performance with nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards and won four, including Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Polster (Romano, 2018).This film is controversial because it is considered to raise many sadistic elements that are too vulgar.Data collection techniques were carried out using a documentary model.
The data used is in the form of narrative (dialogue and/or monologue) contained in the film.The data analysis technique was carried out using the following stages.First, identifying data related to the transformation of the figure Lara from man to woman.In this context, the researcher explored the changing phases of Lara.Second, classifies data related to the transformation of Lara from a man to a woman and the phases of Lara's transformation.Third, reduces data and determines the main data to be used as data research.Fourth, interpreting the data based on masculinity studies.Fifth, explaining and validating the data.To minimize subjectivity in this study, the researcher conducted an intersubjectivity study which refers to the views of Buirski et al. (2020), Chiu et al. (2010), and Stolorow, et al. (2014).In addition, intersubjectivity was carried out to construct perception equations related to theories and methodologies relevant to masculinity studies in films.Concretely, about intersubjectivity, researchers discuss the theory, methods, and results of this research with people who have authority in their field.

Transfeminist: Psychological Transformation of a Man to a Woman
Transfeminist in this paper means the transformation of men to women, both psychologically and physically.Etymologically, transfeminist is related to personal and individual.Meanwhile, transfeminism is associated with the women's movement.Historically, the term transfeminism was first introduced by Koyama (2000Koyama ( , 2003Koyama ( , 2006)), which refers to the movement of women, by women, and for women from different backgrounds.In further developments, Enke (2012), Bettcher (2017), and Bey (2021) underlined that transfeminism contributes more to transgender people, both men to women and women to men.Related to transfeminism, the "Girl" film (2018) narrates a transfeminist figure, namely Lara, who was a man but wanted to transform into a woman.In the transformation process, Lara made psychological and physical changes to be a perfect woman.In the first phase, Lara, who had aspirations to become a skilled ballerina, inevitably had to change herself from a masculine to a feminine one.Her mind and soul must be gentle to be a good ballerina.In school, as a person who transformed into a woman, Lara must be able to adjust to female friends.In the locker room, Lara is no longer in the men's locker room, but in the women's locker room.This is certainly not an easy thing for Lara because she is a man.However, to become a woman, she has to become a woman who is truly a woman, namely changing clothes in the women's locker room.
In matters of love, Lara as a man who would become a woman tried to make a psychological transformation.She also tried to love men, even though she was still a man at that time.She prefers men over women.She has a fascination for men.In the context of psychoanalysis, this is what is called the "dark continent of femininity" (Chasseguet-Smirgel, 2018, 1) which has never been uncovered and has always been a mystery to this day.Referring to Jungian psychology, a man has a feminine part called anima and a woman has a masculine part called animus (Jung, 1981(Jung, , 1969(Jung, , 2010(Jung, , 2014)).In this context, the figure of Lara strengthened her femininity part so that she transformed into a woman.
Referring to research conducted by McKenzie (2006), in the early stages of a man transforming into a woman, he will feel strange about himself.He was tormented with himself.He felt that he would not be accepted in society.Apart from that, sometimes society still cannot accept transgender, namely the transformation from male to female.
In terms of sexual desire, Lara shifted her sexual desire to men.She tried to love a man and positioned herself as a woman who must love men.Lara's desire for sex is a sexual desire for the opposite sex although she was still a man physically at this point.Concerning sex, the definition is never finished because there is always debate about sex definition.Referring to Foucault's (1990) view, sex was taboo in the past and embarrassing to talk about.If referring to the psychoanalytic view, sex is indeed interpreted as a great energy that drives human life.Therefore, Freud called it 'libido' (Freud, 1920(Freud, , 1949(Freud, , 1965;;Quindeau, 2013;Jones, 2014) which is likened to a train steam boiler.Currently, sex is more complex and multidimensional so the boundaries of sex are more blurred, but if it is narrowed down then "sex is categorized into three, namely biological sex, gender, and sexuality" (Meyerowitz, 2004, 4).Biological sex refers to sex biologically; gender refers to masculine and feminine in the socio-cultural context of society; and sexuality refers to things that represent or are related to sex, namely imagination, desire, and sexual activity that affect a person's psychosocial state in life.
In the film sequence, the figure of Lara loved the man she crushed on.Likewise, the man also loved Lara.However, the film does not explicitly explain whether the man knew that Lara was a man who transformed into a woman.When Lara and the man were about to have sexual intercourse, it suddenly stopped.Lara remembered that she was not yet a 'whole' woman.She has not changed her gender to female.Henceforth, she felt ashamed and suffered, so she left her boyfriend.She did not want to hurt her boyfriend when he found out that Lara was a man.In this context, Lara experienced what is called an "internalizing expression of depression; sadness, hopelessness, and feeling helpless" (Nadeau et al., 2016;McDermott et al., 2022, p. 362) because on the one hand, she wanted to be a woman, but on the one hand she has not become a normal woman.In the context of psychology, Lara is categorized as LGBT.
Historically, before the 1970s, LGBT, including transgender and homosexuals, were included in the study of abnormal psychology.However, from the 1970s onwards, the American Psychological Association recommended that LGBT not fall into the category of abnormal psychology or be considered pathological (Glassgold, 2009).Therefore, in several recent references, abnormal psychology has excluded transgender and homosexuals from its discussion.Transgender and homosexual are not pathological (see, Durand et al., 2018Durand et al., , 2019;;Oltmanns & Emery, 2013;Bennett, 2011;Davison & Neale, 2004;Kring & Davison, 2010).In subsequent developments, along with advances in education and global public awareness, homophobia is decreasing (Loftus, 2001).This is evidenced by the United Kingdom (Hooghe & Meeusen, 2013) and the United States of America legalizing homosexual marriage (Hogg, 2006;Smith, 2005;Matthews, 2005) as a concretization of accepting and supporting homosexuality.

The Physical Transformation of a Male into a Female
The figure of Lara who was physically a male made physical changes.By doing this, she expected to become a real woman.In the early stages, as a male transforming into a female, she did the following.First, Lara pierced her ears and put on earrings to prove that she was a woman.This picture is shown in the following sequence.00:02:54,883 --> 00:02:57,250 Pretty, don't you think?-What is wrong with you? 00:02:57,386 --> 00:03:00,220 I just wanted my ears pierced, so I did it.(Dhont, 2018) The dialogue shows that Lara has decided to make physical changes so that she, as a man who transformed into a woman, experienced physical changes.She identified herself as a woman.Therefore, she used earrings.Second, Lara grew her hair like most women with long hair.Third, Lara wore women's clothes so that she became a real woman.Fourth, as someone who wanted to be a woman, Lara also wanted to have breasts.In achieving that, she consulted a doctor, so she could have breasts like a woman.This can be seen in the following sequences.00:06:29,723 --> 00:06:34,809 My looks.That I'll have breasts and all that.00:06:34,936 --> 00:06:37,644 Do you look forward to having breasts?00:06:40,191 --> 00:06:44,561 You're a woman, so you have a woman's body.Already.(Dhont, 2018) In the dialogue between Lara and the doctor, the doctor assured her that Lara would indeed become a normal woman.Therefore, Lara would have breasts like a normal woman.In terms of sex reassignment surgery, from a penis to a vagina, this process could not take place quickly because it took time for Lara to go through puberty.She has a very strong determination to become a woman as soon as possible.She wanted to immediately change her sex to become a real woman, namely a woman who has a vagina.
Fifth, Lara consulted a doctor several times regarding her plans for genital surgery.She would indeed become a real woman through a sex reassignment surgery.However, doctors were still unable to perform a sex reassignment surgery because her hormones were imbalanced.At that time, Lara was training hard to take part in a ballerina competition.This turned out to cause her health condition to be less than optimal for sex reassignment surgery.Therefore, this surgery could not be performed because of her hormonal condition.As a man who highly desired to be a woman, Lara took a very brutal action.She cut her genitals with scissors.She did this because she had long been tormented by her assigned genitals.She wanted to change her biological sex as soon as possible.

The Society's View on Lara's Transformation
Lara's transformation from male to female cannot be separated from the study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT).Until now, society's view of LGBT as a sexual minority is still controversial (Hill, 2006;Harrison, & Michelson, 2017;Farr et al., 2020;DeNardis & Hackl, 2016;Notaro, 2019) although several countries have recognized and legalized LGBT.Robinson justifies (2023), that LGBT is increasingly open to society.They are no longer ashamed of their identity as LBGT.They also want themselves to be recognized by society.The controversy tends to lead to two aspects, namely religiosity, and homophobia.In religious contexts, for example, Islam and Christianity, LGBT is indeed a matter of polemic and controversy.In Islam, LGBT practices are strongly condemned.The condemnation/banning of LGBT is due to the emergence of criminalization carried out by people who adhere to LBGT.However, from the perspective of secularism, they carry out decriminalization of LGBT (Schmidtke, 1999).However, this does not mean that Muslims and Christians are 'clean of LGBT' because according to Peumans (2014), there are 'queer Muslims' and there are LBGT in Christianity (Boppana & Gross, 2019).Although, these people are very few and even hide themselves in society.This is because Islam is a religion that is homophobic towards LGBT.In "Girl" film, Lara's transformation raised two views of society.First, society supported Lara's transformation into a woman.In "Girl" film, there are people around Lara who support her in becoming a woman, one of the most supportive was her father.Lara's father supported her transformation into a woman if that was the best for his child.As a parent, the father gave his daughter the freedom to choose for herself.What the father did was also in the framework of supporting liberalism in child-rearing.Apart from Lara's parents, the doctor who handled her sex reassignment surgery also supported her transformation into a woman.The teacher in this film also supported and recognized Lara as a student who did the transformation.Therefore, the teacher explained that Lara is transgender.This narration can be seen in the following film sequence.00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:40,101 This may be a direct question, but, Lara, I'll ask you to close your eyes... 90 00:13:40,236 --> 00:13:44,651 while I ask the other girls to raise their hands... 91 00:13:44,782 --> 00:13:50,278 if they have a problem with Lara changing in the girl's changing room.92 00:13:52,457 --> 00:13:54,699 OK, you can close your eyes.(Dhont, 2018) Based on the film's sequence, the teacher explained that if Lara enters the women's locker room, she must close her eyes.Hence, her female friends would not feel embarrassed when Lara also changed clothes.The teacher has carried out liberation in education and did not differentiate and exclude Lara as someone who falls into a sexual minority or queer.It can be seen that Lara is still accepted in school, and has equal rights and obligations in obtaining knowledge.
Second, society was against Lara's transformation into a woman.This picture can be seen in the bullying that Lara's friends did to her when she was changing her clothes.Her friends wanted her to take off her clothes like the other friends when they were in the locker room.Lara was very embarrassed and suffered.She understands that she is a person who belongs to a sexual minority.In this context, she was a man transforming into a woman.Lara's face and clothes indeed represent a woman, but she has not had a sex reassignment surgery, so she is not completely a woman yet.Moreover, the hormones given by the doctor to accelerate the growth of Lara's breasts also were not optimal because they needed to go through a medication and therapy process.The picture of an unsupportive and bullying attitude towards Lara can be seen in the following sequence.(Dhont, 2018) Lara's female friends want to see Lara's penis.Therefore, they asked Lara to show her penis because she has never been naked when she was in the locker room.Lara always said that she did not bring a change of clothes or a towel, so she was not naked in the locker room.Hence, her friends felt uncomfortable and against her.Her female friends had already shown themselves; that was, they were naked and unbothered to change clothes when Lara was there.They were not ashamed because they considered Lara a woman.However, they had never seen her naked, so they wanted to see her penis to ensure that she does still have a penis.Her friends' desire was indeed very painful for her because she was very embarrassed when she showed her penis in front of her female friends.She suffered a lot because she physically was not yet a normal woman, namely having a vagina and breasts like her female friends.
At last, Lara did show her penis to her female friends.In this context, what Lara's friends did was bullying and included in the category of sexual harassment.Lara felt uncomfortable and embarrassed when her friends asked her to show her penis in front of them.What Lara's friends did was sexual harassment because they asked Lara to show them her genitalia.Lara felt uncomfortable and embarrassed.Lara was used as an object by her friends.This is what is called "hostile environment harassment" by McDonald et al. (2008, p.173).The environment around Lara does not support her being a transfeminist.Lara, who wanted to be a normal woman, experienced harassment in the process of becoming a woman.In the view of Thomas & Kitzinger (1997), sexual harassment can be related to glancing, whistling, catcalling, peeking, touching, and hugging.In this context, sexual harassment mostly occurs to women (Lazard, 2020), whether perpetrated by men against women or women against women (Smith, 2020).In "Girl" film, Lara is a woman who experiences sexual harassment by her female friend.In this position, Lara as a transfeminist needs protection from various parties.Otherwise, Lara becomes a person who will be excluded by the environment around her.

Discussion
LGBT in modern society gives rise to extraordinary controversy.On the one hand, LGBT is a right for individuals to choose their path in life.On the other hand, LBGT is considered something wrong and violates religious teachings.Both have their justification.Research on masculinity in this article shows that men who transform into women experience a long phase.In this case, men try to become women according to their self-awareness.He must be prepared for all the risks he accepts.Starting from bullying from school friends and playmates.Not only that, she also has to restrain herself/endure shame when she loves a man.This is what is called the risk that arises when someone chooses their path in life.
The film "Girl" shows concrete facts about the life journey of a man who transforms into a woman.As a man who has a woman's soul, Lara's character tries with all her might to transform into a woman, both physically and psychologically.The transformation from male to female is not easy because Lara must be able to fight to show that her choice is right.He is a man who transforms into a woman, it is up to whether 'mainstream' society accepts him or not.
This research supports previous research related to masculinity which is related to the transformation of men into 'transgender' women.Several researchers, for example, research conducted by Ajith et al. (2019) who conducted research on the film Navara, showed that transgender people experience a lot of mental pressure, bullying, and marginalization.Transgenders receive inappropriate treatment from the general public who do not accept/even dislike transgender people.Likewise, studies conducted by Seymour (2019), Johnson (2016, He (2014), and Rigney (2003) show the life journey of transgender people as a 'small stream' in 'mainstream' society.They, transgender people, experience tremendous pressure from society.For this reason, transgender people must be prepared for all the risks that exist because they choose to be transgender.
Another study regarding transgender was conducted by Walters & Rehma (2013), which showed that film is an effective medium for learning/information about transgender.In their writing, Walters & Rehma did not mention anything related to the process of men becoming transgender.However, it shows that film is an alternative in informing transgender educational contexts.
In this context, masculinity studies show that 'mainstream' society still raises resistance against the 'small', namely trans-feminist circles (men who become women and fight for women's rights).The film "Girl" tries to show that the struggle to become someone who is oneself is not an easy thing.Not everyone supports this desire.Fortunately, in the film "Girl", the family supports what Lara wants, namely to become a real woman.At the breaking point, Lara cuts off his penis.She showed the world that she wanted to be a real woman.Starting from that, the results of this research universally show that 'small mainstream groups' must indeed be strong in their existence in the vortex of 'mainstream groups'.

Conclusion
Based on the explanation in this study, it can be concluded as follows.The "Girl" film is controversial because it offers discourse related to the narration of a man who transforms into a normal woman.The meaning of a normal woman in this article refers to the key term that psychologically, her voice and language are gentle, and physically she is a woman, namely having breasts and a vagina.From the psychological transformation, the figure of Lara narrates that she was self-transformed from male to female, which can also be called transfeminist because the male-to-female transformation is not easy.She had to undergo various painful processes to reach the stage of being a normal woman.This can be seen from when she was bullied by her female friends, dating men, and the process of having sex reassignment surgery which involved so many stages.The transformation process made her psychological condition unstable because she was considered a sexual minority.However, as a transfeminist, she tried to convince herself that she could be a normal woman.
From the physical aspect, the figure of Lara is narrated to carry out physical transformation as follows.First, Lara uses earrings to signify that she is a girl.Second, to make her look more feminine, Lara grew her hair long.Third, Lara wore women's clothes.Fourth, Lara trained herself physically to become a ballerina to further strengthen herself as a woman.Fifth, Lara did women's physical activities, such as cooking.Sixth, Lara performed a sex reassignment surgery.In the process of sex transformation to becoming a female, Lara felt that the process was taking too long.Therefore, she took extreme action by cutting off her penis.This shows that she extremely wanted to be a normal woman and she proved it.From a societal aspect, in the "Girl" film, it is narrated that society was divided into two categories, namely those who were supporting Lara and those who were against Lara.In the film, the family was very supportive of Lara becoming a woman, as well as the doctor.However, some people did not support Lara, for example, her friends bullied Lara as who fell into a sexual minority.