"Nobody's Gonna Silence Me": Exploring Identity and Resilience

Warm-up:

Identify an aspect of your identity that is important to you. Then, answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What is special to you about this aspect of your identity?
2. Have you faced any challenges as a result of this aspect of your identity?
3. Do you feel like others around you understand this aspect of your identity well?
4. What do you wish people who don't share this identity knew?

Introducing the Resource:

1. Watch "She's Not a Boy," a documentary about Tatenda Ngwaru. Tatenda is an intersex woman from Zimbabwe seeking asylum in New York City.

2. Answer the following comprehension questions on a separate sheet of paper.

• What were some of the early feelings and behaviors that led Tatenda and her parents to recognize that she was a girl?
• When Tatenda was living in South Africa, she received a medical report confirming her as intersex. How is intersex defined in the documentary?
• How does Tatenda's father describe cultural norms around the LGBTQIA+ community in Zimbabwe?
• What does Tatenda say was the most difficult decision she ever had to make?
• What wish does Tatenda's father express?

Reflection:

Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Why did Tatenda feel the need to leave Zimbabwe? How is her life in the U.S. different, and how is it similar?
2. How would you describe Tatenda's relationship with her parents? How did that relationship develop over time?
3. What legal challenges has Tatenda faced while seeking asylum in the U.S.?
4. "I thought I was coming to a country that probably understood intersex stuff more than any country," says Tatenda. "Oh boy, did I have a rude awakening."
   • What do you think Tatenda means when she says she had "a rude awakening" upon arriving in the U.S.?
   • What are some misconceptions about intersex people that are discussed in the documentary?
   • Tatenda says that she does not feel connected to New York's Pride month celebrations. Why might that be?
5. The film ends with Tatenda saying, "Nobody's gonna silence me."
   • What do you think Tatenda achieves by telling her own story?
   • What do you think Tatenda and filmmakers Yuhong Pang and Robert Tokanel achieve by telling her story in the form of a documentary?

Extension Activities:

Option 1. "I think it's really important for [Tatenda's] voice to be amplified specifically," says organizer Jordan Reeves, "because she is a part of this community that oftentimes we ignore." How can you amplify the voices of marginalized members of the LGBTQIA+ community? Invite a public advocate whose identity is often ignored to speak with your class, or interview them individually. Do some research, prepare respectful questions, and write a profile of the speaker.

Option 2. Tatenda declares, "I am a black woman, I am an immigrant, and I am an intersex woman. That is something that is built automatically to destroy me. But from that, I rise." Return to your notes on your own identity from earlier. How does this aspect of your identity intersect with others to make you the person you are? Write a one-page reflection.

Option 3. To learn more about Tatenda's story and the making of "She's Not a Boy," watch this webinar in which Tatenda and Robert describe why and how they made the film. (Tatenda speaks 7:18-17:28. Robert speaks 17:29-26:36. Afterward, they answer participant questions in conversation.)