Break the Silence: Reproductive & Sexual Health Stories

The 18 candid women featured in filmmaker Willow O’Feral’s documentary are cisgender and transgender, varying in age and race, who talk about their sexual histories. Although their names appear in the opening credits, O’Feral doesn’t connect them with their faces, so they remain anonymous in a sense. The subjects recount every kind of story, from the loss of virginity to transitioning from male to female while trying to conceive with a spouse. They also talk about their first orgasms, and the pluses and minuses of contraceptive options. One 39-year-old mother plainly states, "Condoms suck!" Several talk about experiences with abortion, including one woman who ended up at a crisis pregnancy center and another who took the morning after pill. One woman had three abortions, two before she had her present kids and one afterward. She didn’t experience any complications, but another older woman here remembers a classmate who died after an illegal abortion, which sent a chill among her and her friends. Another woman talks about the consequences of an open marriage. While she was pregnant, her husband had an affair and gave her syphilis (she found out because he left the test results in their car). Although she was allergic to antibiotics, she took them anyway and while she worried that her baby could have birth defects, he was fortunately born healthy. The women in O’Feral’s film are all forthright and engaging, although a little more post-production work would’ve been ideal, since traffic and voices can be heard in the background of some interviews. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)