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Abstract

This article examines the subjectivity of Ludovic (Georges du Fresne), the transgender protagonist in the 1997 Belgian film Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink), directed by Alain Berliner. It argues that Ludovic’s exploration of the transgender persona in him is essentially narcissistic and subversive of the general notion of gender dysphoria. Ludovic’s obsession with the Pam and Ben show on TV, his fantasies of gender transformation, and cross-dressing are suggested as pathological by other characters in the film, but he uses them for potential reversal of the heterosexual normativity. Gender norms in the society and the notion of gender dysphoria are treated by Ludovic as jokes, as evidently suggested by his father in the exposition scene, when he calls Ludovic a “joker” in the family.

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