Trained in the Ways of Men
Thursday, May 8 at 7:30pm
The fourth season of Frameline at the Center continues with Shelly Prevost's powerful documentary Trained in the Ways of Men.
In 2002, transgendered Alameda County teen Gwen Araujo was severely
beaten, tied up and strangled to death in the company of four male
friends after it was revealed that Araujo — who identified and lived as
a woman and had engaged in sexual acts with at least one of the men who
killed her — was, in fact, a biological male.
Unlike the story of Brandon Teena (fictionalized in the 1999 feature film Boys Don’t Cry)
that unraveled in the conservative Midwest, Gwen Araujo’s tragic
trajectory became a hot-button issue in and around the Bay Area, where
transgender rights are protected under California state law—to a
degree.
This eye-opening documentary combines interviews with Araujo
family members and legal experts and footage from both trials (the
first resulted in a hung jury) to delve into the heart of the Araujo
case, examining the so-called “gay/trans panic strategy” employed by
the defense to procure lighter sentencing. Would Araujo’s
heterosexual-identified male aggressors have acted differently had they
not discovered her transgendered status? Was Araujo putting herself at
risk by not disclosing her biology to sexual partners? Was transphobia
at play in the courtroom when defense lawyers pursued a “manslaughter
in the heat of passion” charge so as to avoid first-degree murder
charges?
Trained in the Ways of Men poses as many questions as it
answers. Justice may have been served in the second Araujo trial, but
ambiguities remain for the prosecution as much as the defense— and for
the future of transgender rights in California.
Filmmaker Shelly Prevost and Sylvia Guerrero (Gwen Araujo's mother) will be
present and participate in a post-screening panel discussion.
Co-presented by:
Community United Against Violence
Transgender Law Center
Kindly arrive early as seating is limited. Don’t miss this FREE
screening of this powerful film and post-film panel discussion!