coming of age

Fitting In is about 16 year-old Lindy (Maddie Zeigler) as she navigates the rough waters of sex, gender and body image after she is diagnosed with Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) syndrome, a surprisingly not uncommon congenital condition that means she doesn’t menstruate, has a small vaginal canal and no uterus. This fact will be an education to many but there’s nothing clinical about the film which handles its story and characters with both humor and substance.

“I’m not normal. You’re not normal.” That line is the battle cry of liberation in Fitting In. Written and directed by Molly McGlynn, this tale of teenaged awakening focuses on the upheaval that detonates when Lindy (Maddie Ziegler) realizes she’s not what society calls “normal.” Played with saucy realness by Ziegler, tentative bravado by Djouliet Amara, and gentle fortitude by Ki Griffin, Fitting In rejoices in dismantling our quests for an idea of normalcy that the government or the guardians or the school board tells us is who we are supposed to be.

Wow, what a beautiful, original narrative about navigating life with a female body in a man’s world. There’s no victimhood in writer/director Molly McGlynn’s coming of age dramedy Fitting In, just teens figuring things out and finding a way to prioritize self-acceptance over fitting into a cisgendered society’s expectations. McGlynn has created one of the most female-centric stories I’ve ever seen. The story is of Lindy, who discovers she has MRKH Syndrome, which means she’ll never have a period, has no vaginal canal or uterus, and will never bear children. McGlynn comes by the film’s perspective honestly, having the rare reproductive disorder herself.

Writer-director Molly McGlynn sensitively handles Lindy’s struggle with her life-changing news, but as serious as this subject is, the director balances the tone by injecting a little gentle humor and adding a bit of information on intersex people and other human variations in sex organs, especially through an intersex character Jax (Ki Griffin). Fitting In follows Lindy’s efforts to find a way to cope, while touching on common real-world issues for teens like feelings about their bodies, fitting in socially, identity struggles, teen-parent communication, and also bullying, gossip, and toxic social media. The result is a teen dramedy that is surprisingly likable, as well as a warm and honest film about a teen finding her own way.