Assigned Female at Birth, a queer web series about some bodies
3 Seasons
Assigned Female at Birth, originally fueled by the remote filming techniques and devised construction necessitated by the pandemic, blends mockumentary grid choruses with narrative storytelling in representing outlier identities in the queer community. The 35 characters, like their real-life counterparts, have been taught from birth that their bodies can never be good enough. Not able enough, not straight enough, not cis enough, not thin enough, not white enough, not gay enough, not femme enough, not butch enough, not young enough…the list goes on. All feel invisible; all struggle to be seen.
And whether the prejudice they fight is ableism or racism, homophobia or transphobia or misogyny, whether they seek healing from #metoo issues or disabilities they’ve had since birth, they reach for life with courage. Bold, frightened, vulnerable, ridiculously strong, they are, above all things, woke.
They are Zander, the agender trans man rejected by zir much older Latinx lover, Melanie, zir asexual sister, Makayla, a lesbian married to a trans man who so wants to use the new penis she hates, and Daire, the non-binary therapist who has kept their own diagnosis of multiple personalities a secret for decade. They and the people they love refuse to be defined by the ableist, homophobic, sexist culture that wages war on their bodies. They point the way to new vocabularies, struggling free of every box into identities they name for themselves. And they do this, almost always, with humor.
CONTENT WARNING: Profanity throughout. Content about suicide and ableism.
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E1) Acceptance and Rejections
Episode 1
Zander only wants to get pregnant, and zir mother, Phyllis, choruses about it not being so great. Zander then receives Phyllis' advice about what to do with Sofia, while Makayla runs into Daire's office without an appointment to announce that Carl's gone. Sofia has no place to go, so asks if she ...
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E2) - Any and All Parts of You
Episode 2
Daire confronts Melanie about being suicidal. Makayla, waiting in Daire's office, then tells Melanie that Zander slept with Daire back in the day. Bailey pushes Daire to decide about getting married. They decide to do it the following week.
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E3) - S-E-X and Lessons from Mom
Episode 3
The AFAB's chorus about sex. Melanie asks Phyllis for help, but doesn't get it. The AFAB's chorus about their mothers, leading to Makayla talking to her mother's ghost and getting a final answer.
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E4) - Since When Are We into Goth?
Episode 4
AFAB's chorus about coming out. Zander and Sofia miss each other so much they talk to empty spaces as if the other one was there. Dale interrupts Sofia praying to Frida Kahlo and suggests making up might be a better idea. (Sofia, as usual, isn't having it.) Meanwhile, Daire and their personaliti...
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E5) - Cut the Crap
Episode 5
Bailey goes to an AA meeting to cope with sabotaging the wedding. Zander and Phyllis sit in the hospital waiting to hear about Melanie. AFAB's chorus about injury and mortality. Melanie sees the same doctor, who isn't really any more helpful. Makayla comes to the hospital to win Carl back. Then D...
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Assigned Female at Birth (S2, E6) - Make Up, Already!
Episode 6
AFAB's chorus on aging and mortality. Sofia shows up at the hospital. Meanwhile, Daire talks to Melanie and comes out as multiple. Zander interrupts and promises to care for Melanie and raise a child as a family. AFAB's chorus on the power of hope.
