Venus of Mars (2003)

Genres - Culture & Society, Family & Personal Relationships  |   Sub-Genres - Biography, Gender Issues, Marriage & Commitment, Sexuality  |   Run Time - 110 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Mark Deming

Steve and Lynette Grandell in many ways seem like an all-American couple -- they met when they were in eighth grade, married at the age of 23, and have stayed together for richer or poorer as Lynette pursues her career in education and Steve follows his muse as an artist. But Steve is not exactly a typical husband -- after a few years of marriage, Steve decided to inform Lynette that he wanted to explore the transgendered side of his personality. Steve began flamboyantly cross-dressing, started taking female hormones so he would grow breasts, and developed an alter-ego, "Venus," whose outrageous manner and ambiguous sexuality is keyed not as male or female, but as something in between. "Venus" also fronts a glam rock band called All the Pretty Horses, whose percussionist is also transgendered. Venus of Mars is a documentary which explores Steve's sexuality and how it has impacted his life, as well as his relationship with Lynette and how they've kept their marriage together. Venus of Mars was screened as part of the 2004 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

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Keywords

alter-ego, artist, coping, couple, cross-dressing, gender, marriage, sexuality, singer, transgendered