When you saw the title of the documentary, The Man With a Penis on His Arm, you thought of a mouse with an ear on its back. The answer is ineluctably yes, but a man and a penis and an arm. Just like that.
Malcolm lost his penis 12 years ago and has had a replacement growing on his arm for the past six years. He said that he was an ordinary man doing everything a normal man does. He had a job, a nice partner, and was putting food on the table. The death of his father, who had been in foster care, had grown very close to him, and the arrival of a baby disrupted things.
An attempt to lance an abscess resulted in blood poisoning. His fingers and toes were black. He says that his penis fell off when he went to the toilet. The interviewer's objectivity fell away.
The Man With a Penis on His Arm is a documentary that is going to invite some moments of humor. The narrator of Malcolm's story, Paul McGann, does a good job of neutrally delivering lines such as "No one has ever spent as long living with a penis"
Malcolm points out that it makes it hard to reach the back hob when his forearm appendage is swinging free. It makes you proud to be British.
The sadness of Malcolm's story and the six years of waiting for his arm-penis to be relocated is only one part of it. It is never made clear why Malcolm has had to wait so long for his operation, but it was added by the Pandemic. We are given enough information to believe that his relationship with alcohol and the difficulty of attending all the necessary appointments for surgery without support from friends are related.
Anik, who was born with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome, which resulted in an underdeveloped penis, and Lee, who was born without a penis, are two other subjects in the film.
Anik has also had a phalloplasty. We follow him as he undergoes another operation on his groin, this time to change the internal equipment that will allow him to have erections.
There are many fascinating questions raised by all three stories, but they are rarely examined. Lee was raised as a girl in the absence of a penis, but it is not clear how long he was there. He said he needed a penis from six or seven.
The complicating effects of abuse by his father are not explored, and what this might tell us about biological imperatives is not explored. Anik, surrounded by a supportive family and seemingly possessed of a thoroughly optimistic spirit, took an overdose at 14 as the trials of puberty seemed insurmountable.
It seemed like a missed opportunity not to ask more from people with rare perspectives on the issues at a time when people are questioning what it means to live in a male or female body.
Malcolm's story has a happyish ending. He accepted the last chance offered by his surgeon. His penis is where it should be. He shows us the results, but it is his brighter affect that tells us what we need to know. He feels better after six years with a cock on his arm.
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