Molly McGlynn’s Fitting In is both a coming-of-age drama and a teen sex comedy. 16-year-old Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) has just moved to a new city with her therapist mother, Rita (Emily Hampshire), but things are going well for her: she already has a best friend called Vivian (Djouliet Amara), a crush on schoolmate Adam (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), and is a stand-out on her school’s track team. The film opens on Lindy masturbating, but no one walks in on her, which is a big change from the likes of male-centred sex comedies like American Pie—but Lindy is about to have much bigger problems than Jim Levenstein.
Finally ready to have sex, Lindy makes an appointment to be put on birth control, but her doctor is concerned that she hasn’t gotten her period yet. After undergoing a series of uncomfortable tests, Lindy is diagnosed with MRKH, a rare congenital disorder that causes the vagina and uterus to be underdeveloped or absent. This means that Lindy will never have a period and cannot have kids. With her vaginal canal having only an inch of depth, she also won’t be able to have penetrative sex unless she begins and maintains dilation therapy to “create” a vagina—which could take three to 18 months.
Lindy understandably dissociates while hearing the news, though muffled in the background, her mother asks if this is somehow her fault. Everyone wants Lindy to feel like a “normal” teenager, including Lindy herself. She lies about being on her period and having had sex in order to fit in. Her worst fear is someone finding out about her condition. She longs to experience the feeling of a period, of handing someone a tampon under a bathroom stall, and of having kids one day. It’s a hell of a lot to adjust to, for anyone, never mind a teenage girl. But Lindy also wants everyone to stop trying to fix her. She attends a LGBTQ+ peer support group and listens to nonbinary Jax (Ki Griffin) talk about being intersex and how their parents and doctors pushed them into having a vaginoplasty at age 11 to make them “normal.” Jax sees being nonbinary as a superpower. They are proud of their difference, which gives Lindy much to think about.
Fitting In is based on McGlynn’s own experiences as she was diagnosed with MRKH at 16. I had never heard of the condition prior to watching this film and it completely shocked me. It’s certainly worthy of raising awareness for. McGlynn’s screenplay explores the many different ways girls and women may feel abnormal as she dares to ask, “What is a woman?” The answer involves female biology, which typically includes the reproductive system, but when this is missing, does that mean you’re not a woman? Rita can relate to Lindy’s feelings of having something to hide and not feeling like a “real” woman because she has undergone a mastectomy. Lindy discovers that the absence of typical female anatomy doesn’t make you any less of a woman. She is different, yes, but that doesn’t mean she needs to be fixed. It’s a good message.
For the most part, McGlynn’s second feature is well-written and well-directed. It allows teenage girls to be forthcoming about sex, porn, and periods, while also highlighting the difficulty of dealing with insensitive male doctors, the frustration of dilation sessions, and trying to fit in with your peers and our preconceived notions of womanhood. Ziegler is an incredible young actress who is able to portray complex emotional depth with skill and believability. Lindy’s journey of self-discovery can feel disjointed and underwhelming at times, but there are some great moments along the way, including a brief romance with Jax.
The worst thing the film does, however, is do a poor job in wrapping up its narrative threads. For example, McGlynn cannot resist a cheesy scene where Lindy stands up for herself in front of what seems like the entire school, with a bizarre speech that feels out of place from the rest of the film. Does this really happen in American high schools, or is it just a lazy way for screenwriters to showcase character development? Nevertheless, Fitting In preaches that “bodies have a way of being just the way they’re meant to be.” A hopeful sentiment.
Fitting In is available on Digital Download in the UK from 9th September.
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