Hedwig and The Angry Inch: A Genderqueer Masterpiece or a Problematic Nightmare?

((Trigger Warning for discussions of sexual assault))

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) is a comedy-drama musical, adapted from the off-Broadway musical of the same name, directed by, and starting – in the titular role – John Camron Mitchell. It follows the tale of an emigrant who flees divided Germany by marrying Sergent Luther Robinson (Maurice Dean Wint), an American soldier. However, to be legally wed, Hedwig needed to have a physical examination done, which leads to a botched sex-reassignment surgery that leaves Hedig with a mound of flesh, that they refer to as the “angry inch”. The marriage between Hedwig and Luther lasts only a year before he leaves Hedwig for another man. Following this heartbreak, Hedwig follows their love of rock music and pursues a career as a rock star. These plans are complicated by Tommy Gnosis (Micheal Pitt), a fellow musician and former lover, who steals Hedwig's songs, along with their fame and fortune. The bulk of the story follows Hedwig as they struggle with earning back their stolen stardom, and while searching for their other half.

 

Gender is arguably the biggest aspect of this tale. This film is a commentary on gender, and gender as a performance. For the entirety of the film, Hedwig is performing – dolled up in flamboyant clothing, over-the-top makeup, and glamourous wigs – as a woman. However, these performances aren’t strictly feminine. “Hedwig's gender-y performance makes her sometimes both effeminate and femme, for example, in "Wig in the Box"; femme and feminine, for example, in "Wicked Little Town"; and masculine and butch, for example, in "The Angry Inch" and "Tear Me Down." Hedwig's gender is beyond the simple description of just being androgynous, or masculine, or feminine,” Wendy Hsu writes in “Reading and Queering Plato in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” “. . . Hedwig's complicated gender-y gender performances depart from and break down the conventional one-dimensional gender dichotomy between masculinity and femininity” (106).

Image Courtesy of Fine Line Cinema

 

There is purposefully a lot of ambiguity in Hedwig's gender, and that makes this movie all the more complicated. But I think that it touts an important message that feminity and masculinity don’t always dictate one’s gender. Hedwig was putting on a performance with all the hyperfeminine wear, but underneath all that a person that existed in the vast space that exists between man and woman. The last scene involves, Hedig walking down an alley, completely nude, casting a very androgynous shadow, as a symbolic and visual representation of Hedwig stripping away that performance, and accepting themselves underneath it all. There’s an obvious metaphor used in this film about the Berlin wall and Hedwig's gender. “. . . Hedwig's botched sex-change operation renders her an individual who, defying ready classification in a world that favors simplistic binary oppositions, thereafter exists in the "divide between East and West, slavery and freedom, man and woman, top and bottom." Kylo-Patrick Hart writes in ‘The Incredibly True Adventures of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.’ “. . . Hedwig and the Angry Inch intentionally embraces the concept of fluidity in various forms, while it simultaneously opposes ready categorization of sexuality and gender . . .” (61). Hedwigs' younger self was forced to live on one side, and desired to live on the other. Older Hedig learns that they exist between those two extremes, in the fluid state that feels more authentic than either side of the binary ever could.

Image Courtesy of Fine Line Films

 

I think there is beauty in having Hedwig’s gender be so ambiguous, however, the ambiguity has led to confusion and even controversy. Hedwig’s sex reassignment surgy is likely what has prompted many people to call Mitchell, a “non-trans” actor, out for playing a transgender role. However, in 2022, in an interview with Pride, Mitchell came out as non-binary, saying “I’m not trans, I’m non-binary, but that’s a slippery slope because the character is forced into an operation and is not really trans.” The slippery slope is an apt way to describe this particular controversy. While Hedwig isn’t considered a male-to-female transgender character, they are a genderqueer individual whose labels are left up in the air by the end of the film, and it’s entirely possible that Hedwig doesn’t want any labels. Trans is a label and an umbrella term, and non-binary (which is also an umbrella term itself) exists under that. As I said, it’s complicated.

Image Source: https://untag.com/pages/the-trans-umbrella

 

What’s also complicated is this film's representation of a queer individual. While I think this film does a good job of deconstructing gender, I can’t say that it’s an all-around positive representation. That’s not to say that positive representation of queer characters equals characters who are totally morally perfect. Having queer characters only be embodiments of goodness and perfection erases their complexity and denies them the same multitudes that cis-het counterparts are given. It’s important that queer representation involves well-rounded and multi-faced characters – whether those characters end up being protagonists or antagonists. While I would agree that Hedwig is an incredibly complicated person who contains many multitudes, I fear that several aspects of this story may perpetrate some harmful stereotypes. 

 

For instance, Hedwig has a botched sex reassign surgery, and it’s implied that Hedwig regrets it. In this specific, it’s understandable that they would regret it, considering it was an operation that they were coerced into. However, many transphobic people, many examples of whom are politicians, try and claim that trans people regret having gender-affirming surgery in order to pass restrictive laws that strip away the rights of trans citizens (This, of course, falls flat as an argument when studies suggest that 1% of those who undergo gender reassignment surgery regret it). It’s also common for these kinds of people to try to spin the narrative to claim that members of the LGBTQ+ community are tricking kids into these sorts gender affirming decisions. Despite having seemingly come to accept their gender by the end of the movie, it would be all too easy for a bigoted individual to spin this specific representation to fuel their hateful fire.

 

Probably the most harmful and disturbing aspect of this film is the relationship between Tommy and Hedwig. Tommy was 17 years old when he met Hedwig, who, at the time, was in their late twenties to early thirties. This is an inherently predatory age gap. The dynamic between Tommy and Hedwig confirms that. Their very first scene together involves Hedwig touching Tommy’s genitals without explicit consent (which is sexual assault, by the way). I couldn’t watch that scene, and every other scene involving Tommy and Hedwig, without feeling sick to my stomach. The power imbalance is palpable. Hedwig was never given power in their life, and any semblance of power was stripped away by people in their lives. Hedwig grew up in an area they were unable to leave, they were molested by their father and preyed upon by an older man. The relationship between Tommy and Hedwig showcases a cycle of abuse, wherein Hedwig, desperate for the power they’ve been denied their whole life, sought out someone to exert that power over (we also saw this power imbalance, to a lesser degree, in the relationship between Hedwig and their husband Yitzhak). Despite the mirroring of trauma and what I would argue is a lack of romanization of Tommy and Hedwig, the film portrays Hedwig in a much more sympathetic light, whereas Tommy is portrayed much less so. It’s fair to say that Tommy was a victim, yet it didn’t feel like this movie painted him in that light.

Image Courtesy of Fine Line Films

 

Even if this is also a movie about cycles of abuse and trauma, there is no way in which I, and a lot of people, want to sympathize with a character who is a predator. All the other messages in the film are present and get clouded by the disgust I feel at the relationship between Tommy and Hedwig, and that’s such a disservice to a story that really does have a lot to say. To truly notice and understand everything that is going on in this, quite frankly, jam-packed movie, I’d need to watch it several more times. However, this specific imbalanced dynamic between Tommy and Hedwig makes me far too uncomfortable to ever want to watch it again. To add insult to injury, it is a very harmful stereotype that queer people are sexual predators, and despite intentions, it plays right into it.

 

I will admit, however, that queerphobic people will find a way to twist any queer representation to fit their will. I don’t think queer people should set out to tell stories in order to change the minds of homophobes, but we should be conscientious as to how queer representation can alter the way other people view the community, and more importantly, said representations make queer people think and feel about themselves. In some ways, this film could open up positive ways of thinking about one’s sexuality and gender, and in other ways references negative ways of thinking about ourselves that still very homophobic society has beaten into our heads.

 

I do think Hedwig and the Angry Inch has a great message about gender, fluidity, sexuality, self-expression, and self-love, but unfortunately, my enjoyment of those aspects of the film was muddied by my discomfort. 

 

 

Works Cited

Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Directed by John Camron Mitchell, New Line Cinema, 2001.

 

Clark, Conner. “John Cameron Mitchell comes out as non-binary after ‘getting flack’ for playing trans character.” Gay Times, 9 March 2022, https://www.gaytimes.com/life/john-cameron-mitchell-comes-out-as-non-binary-after-getting-flack-for-playing-trans-character-joe-vs-carole/. Accessed 10 Sept. 2024.

 

Hart, Kylo-Patrick R. “The Incredibly True Adventures of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Presentations of the 29th Annual SW/Texas Regional Meeting of the Popular Culture and American Culture Association: Gender, edited by Gypsey Elaine Teague, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2009, pp. 57-64.

 

Hsu, Wendy. “Reading and Queering Plato in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Reading and Queering Plato in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, edited by Thomas Peele, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp. 103-118.