The need to feel a sense of belonging is something that everyone experiences to some degree most of their life. But there is no time in which that need is higher than during adolescence. The dual need to carve out your own path while not becoming too much of an outsider is tricky business and one that inhabits the brain space of plenty of high school aged kids. This is explored in Molly McGlynn’s cleverly titled Fitting In (formerly titled Bloody Hell).
One of the most significant areas of stress for adolescents is sex. So when Lindy (Maddie Ziegler, West Side Story) decides that she is ready to have sex with her boyfriend Adam (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Reservation Dogs), she visits her gynecologist to get on birth control. However, during her visit, the doctor diagnosed her with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a reproductive disorder that left Lindy with no uterus and an underdeveloped vaginal canal.
Right from the start, this movie challenges what viewers may think about gender-expansive roles and queer identities. As Lindy is trying to find support for the situation that she finds herself in, she attends an LGBTQ support group. Sometimes, MRKH is considered an intersex identity, but as the film shows, that is not always a welcome label. We see Lindy’s discomfort, not with the people around her, but with her own identity in the community.
The film does an excellent job of showing the various emotions that this diagnosis can bring with it. Lindy shuts herself off from her best friend Vivian (Djouliet Amara, The Big Door Prize). She quits the track team. She picks fights with her mom. She ignores her boyfriend but uses another young man whom she doesn’t care about. She starts a relationship with Jax (Ki Griffin, Hollyoaks) but messes that up when she’s unwilling to show affection to them in public. Time and again, we see Lindy make choices that serve a perception that she has about herself rather than what her situation actually is.
This film also shines in the way that it explains the medical options available to Lindy. She is given a set of dilators, each meant to stretch her vaginal canal into something more accessible. Her doctor offers her the option of pursuing surgery which would allow surgeons to construct a vaginal canal for her. Interestingly, the film eventually introduces a character who suggests that Lindy doesn’t have to do anything. In a society where being seen as normal is the most important thing, this film acknowledges that normal is very much up for interpretation.
The other, less successful, storyline in Fitting In is the story following Lindy’s mom, Rita (Emily Hampshire, Orange is the New Black). Rita is a single mom who is on her own dating journey while dealing with the aftermath of her mastectomy following her experience with breast cancer. The story is no doubt meant to show different ways that women deal with medical issues that impact their bodies and their perceived sexuality. Unfortunately, this story only serves to muddy an already complicated story with Lindy’s condition. There is one moment where the two intersect in a powerful manner, but ultimately, it weakens that primary story.
The performances are solid across the board, but this film expects a lot from Ziegler, and she delivers. Despite her relatively young age, she offers a mature take on the role of Lindy. Her ability to blend the confusion and pain of her diagnosis with her desire to fit in with her peers is impressively nuanced. It allows the audience to connect with the character on a deep level and makes something that is a relatively rare disorder feel deeply relatable.
What impressed me the most about Fitting In was the way that it was able to examine all of the aspects surrounding an MRKH diagnosis, as well as the way that healthcare for women is treated. Lindy’s diagnosis is immediately met with options to fix it from the medical professionals she encounters, but little time is spent examining what this diagnosis means for Lindy’s mental state. Not only does Lindy struggle to figure out how to be normal, but those in the medical community and with authority around her are also trying to make sure that she is normal.
And ultimately, that is what makes Fitting In an important movie. Because yes, kids have an innate need to blend in with their peers. But sometimes, adults can add to that stress by providing solutions that can get in the way of kids figuring out their own journeys. This movie is a reminder that, indeed, all bodies are good bodies, and allowing people to find their own path for their bodies is the best way forward. Whether they fit in or not.
Fitting In is now available on digital and demand.
You can find out more the film, including how to watch, at the website for the title.
You might also like…
‘Ted Lasso’ Retrospective – One Year Later