Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Absorbing, empathetic documentary dives deep into gender.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Gender Revolution
What's the Story?
"It used to be so simple," says Katie Couric at the beginning of the documentary GENDER REVOLUTION. "You were a boy or a girl. Girls wore pink. Boys wore blue." But it's increasingly obvious that for many people, it's not that easy. Couric criss-crosses the United States to interview experts and people located all along the gender spectrum: children born as boys living as girls, people who were born intersex and raised as the "wrong" gender, people who are gender fluid, people who are content with their body parts not matching their outward gender, and a whole host of others with a story to tell. Ultimately what we learn is that gender isn't as black-and-white (or as pink and blue) as many used to assume.
Is It Any Good?
Incisive and moving, Couric's documentary about gender issues and identity introduces the uninitiated to new concepts and controversies. What does "cisgender" mean? What is "gender fluid?" How can young children know that their internal gender isn't the same as what people see on the outside? Is it ethical to surgically "correct" the genitals of children born intersex at birth, or should children be allowed to choose themselves? Couric, who frankly admits that she was born in a time when the controversy of the day was gender roles instead of gender identity, visits with dozens of interviewees who have answers to these and other questions.
This is the point at which sympathetic viewers may find themselves tearing up listening to an intersex man describe the life-long damage that was caused by being raised as a girl, or the isolation and agony a long-married trans woman describes before she broke down and told her wife that she was really Kate, not Bill. Couric has a way of gently asking the very questions that might occur to skeptical viewers: Why are pronouns important? How do the parents of trans teens know they're not just going through a phase? Why does it matter what bathroom someone uses? Given the chance to confront the prejudices they experience every day, the interviewees answer honestly, relieved not just to answer, but that the questions are being asked at all. They are seen. They are heard. As one college-aged trans man sighs in a way that seems to sum up Gender Revolution's POV, "Change is coming. And it's a relief."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how Katie Couric shows curiosity, empathy, and compassion when interviewing the people in Gender Revolution. How do these qualities guide the questions that she asks and the way she asks them?
What type of person do you think this documentary is aimed at? A person who already knows a lot about gender issues or someone who wants to know more? How can you tell?
How would this documentary change if it were about just one person who is transgender rather than providing an overview of many people's lives? Would it be more or less interesting to watch? Is there a person featured in this documentary who you'd like to know more about?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 6, 2017
- Cast : Katie Couric
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : National Geographic
- Genre : Documentary
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Curiosity , Empathy
- Run time : 95 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : December 5, 2025
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