Lucía Puenzo’s (2007b) subtle and observant coming of age film, XXY, is the starting point for a discussion of gender, families, and unspoken anxieties. This article explores the world of Alex, an intersex teenager, who is navigating a relationship with the visiting son of family friends. Alex has reached the age when she wants to make her own choices about both gender and desire, setting off a family and social chain reaction about who decides that there are only certain ways to be human. XXY is first considered as a narrative of a common developmental crisis, then as a narrative case study.