Drylongso: The Truth about Gender Presentation for Black Bodies
Drylongso is a film released in 1999 by director Cauleen Smith. The story follows a college student, Pica, studying photography while working on a project to preserve and account for the Black men in her neighborhood. Pica befriends Tobi one night after witnessing Tobi’s attack by her abusive boyfriend. The story leads into a coming of age, mystery, drama, thriller as the two friends attempt to support each other in the midst of a hunt for a serial killer stalking her Oakland neighborhood.
One of the reasons I adore Drylongso is for the many subplots that deserve a movie of their own to be touched on. Tobi’s plan to dress masculinely in order to avoid harassment by men was successful, but only because of her new ability to take up space and not be bothered due to racist intimidation that white people in their city felt. Unfortunately, this does not protect her from the man she was dating who is a recurring threat in the film.
I think this part of the film could be branched out to discuss the varying ways of presentation as a Black woman and what that means for sexuality and gender. Another point that I enjoyed in the movie was how Pica’s living situation with her mother affected her social life and her creativity. How does having your own space, safe and away from potential harm, benefit Black women in their creativity? In my ideal world Drylongso would be 3 hours long. Luckily, the film gives us so much room to fill in the gaps with our own experiences.
