Pink Boy

The titular figure in filmmaker Eric Rockey's award-winning short film is a 6-year-old boy in rural Florida named Jeffrey. The adopted son of a lesbian couple, Jeffrey prefers to dress in girls' clothing and makeup at home—an ironic twist, given that neither of his mothers were interested in accentuating a feminine appearance and they specifically adopted Jeffrey because they wanted to raise a son. Jeffrey constantly agitates to dress like a girl when he is outside the home, and his parents indulge his demands to a certain extent, buying him a hair extension at a country fair and allowing him to be a Disney princess for Halloween. But his parents also have him enrolled in karate lessons for self-defense preparedness in the event that bullying by peers should take a violent turn. Meanwhile, Jeffrey's insistence that he be publicly identified as a girl named Jessie is a percolating issue that shows no sign of being resolved soon. Pink Boy offers a fly-on-the-wall observation of Jeffrey's domestic life, along with a glimpse into his school activities, but too often it feels that the child is acutely self-conscious of the camera's presence and therefore tries to ham it up. Extras include outtakes and extended interviews that run twice as long as the main program. A strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)