A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON MA VIE EN ROSE

Do our gender roles and gender expressions have to be the same as our sex?

Little Ludovic in this movie will help us to understand and comment on this. Sex is our biological identity and Ludovic has an XY chromosome namely he is biologically a male. On the other hand, gender identity or gender-role identity is our perception of the self as psychologically female or male, and Ludovic is confused about this topic. Self-expression is external manifestations like behavior, haircut, voice, clothes... The movie’s main point starts here. Ludovic behaves differently from gender identity, trying to express himself in a way that does not seem typical to others. In the first scene, we already see Ludovic as a girl, or at least many people may think she was a girl. His family at first did not care about his appearance but later they get alarmed when they realize the situation.

Freud’s Id-Ego-Superego

In the part where the students bring toys to school, Jerome brings a truck. We know the perception that boys play with toy trucks in society. But there is an earring under his truck (Ludovic’s earring). I likened that truck to Jerome's consciousness. He acts with male identity and expresses himself that way. But in his subconscious, there seems to be a situation similar to Ludovic's. I think he suppresses his feelings only because of family, moral and social rules, and here comes to my mind Freud's id, ego, and superego. The id operates under the pleasure principle. It is greedy, demanding, and has no natural self-control The ego, is the realistic component of personality. The superego contains the individual’s morals and social values (Bennett, 2011). Jerome's thoughts and behaviors are an example of a superego. For example, Jerome thinks he will go to hell if he be friend with Ludovic and he breaks up with Ludovic.

I was very surprised when a little boy questioned his gender identity. Because he lives in a society that has norms. Although Ludovic's family suffered at first, at the end of the film, they tell him that he can live as he wishes. Actually, I am not sure if Ludovic's identity confusion is due to his age or if Ludovic's motives will be with him throughout his life.

Another point I paid attention to was the subject of Ludovic’s therapist. His family at first went with the thought that Ludovic had an important illness and the psychologist would cure it. But this is not a disease. Maybe an age-related identity confusion or maybe Ludovic's nature.

Erik Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development and Ludovic

According to Erikson, there are eight stages of development. The crisis of school-age children is "inferiority vs success". The child begins to realize that his value as a student in his education process is determined not only by his desire to learn but also by his parents, the environment he comes from, and his clothes. If this approach occurs in the form of feeling worthless, it affects character development throughout life (Erikson 1963). This period, according to him, is the beginning of social life. And it reminds me of Ludovic. Ludovic is also getting acquainted with social life and therefore he is investigating his own identity and wondering about the meaning of many words and human relationships.

This sweet movie is a good example for us to understand the children on their identity seeking.

Esin ALKAN