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It’s a Girl!

Name: It’s a Girl!
Director: Evan Grae Davis
Released: 2012
Duration: 64 min

Representation Score

4.9/10

Fair

2012

Director

Evan Grae Davis

Runtime

64 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Evan Grae Davis presents a critical examination of global gender hierarchies. The documentary dismantles traditional social structures, presenting them as sites of systemic injustice. By focusing on the ability to act of women fighting 'gendercide,' the film challenges conventional expectations of cultural stability. The work employs an identity-based framework of oppressor and oppressed, using global case studies to advocate for a radical restructuring of social values. This makes it a significant piece of progressive filmmaking. However, the lack of explicit LGBTQ+ or disability-specific content reduces its overall inclusivity.

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Category Breakdown

Does It’s a Girl! have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on violence based on gender and survival. It does not provide explicit evidence regarding the depiction of non-binary or LGBTQ+ specific narratives.

How does It’s a Girl! portray gender?

Excellent

The narrative centers the lived experiences of women and girls, providing them significant roles in driving the story. It highlights the ability to act of women and girls who resist systemic violence and traditional valuation of male offspring.

How racially and ethnically diverse is It’s a Girl!?

Excellent

The documentary uses a global lens, featuring perspectives from India, China, and other non-Western regions. It prioritizes the voices of those within the affected demographics over a Western-centric viewpoint.

How does It’s a Girl! represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The film portrays traditional patriarchal structures and customs, such as dowry-related violence, as inherently oppressive. It emphasizes a global, human rights-based morality over singular religious or nationalist doctrines.

Does It’s a Girl! include disability representation?

Minimal

While the film addresses physical trauma and systemic violence, there is no specific evidence regarding the representation of neurodivergence or intentional character arcs centered on disability.

Present on Screen

Centers the ability to act of women and girls fighting systemic 'gendercide'.
Uses a global perspective that avoids Western-centric viewpoints by highlighting India and China.
Subverts patriarchal hierarchies and traditionalist social structures effectively.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit representation for LGBTQ+ identities or non-binary narratives.
Does not include specific character arcs centered on neurodivergence or disability.

Official Synopsis

In India, China and many other parts of the world today, girls are killed, aborted and abandoned simply because they are girls. The United Nations estimates as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of this so-called “gendercide”. The film tells the stories of abandoned and trafficked girls, of women who suffer extreme dowry-related violence, of brave mothers fighting to save their daughters’ lives, and of other mothers who would kill for a son. Global experts and grassroots activists put the stories in context and advocate different paths towards change, while collectively lamenting the lack of any truly effective action against this injustice.

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