River Gallo is a Salvadoran-American filmmaker, actor, model, and intersex rights activist. They wrote, directed, and acted in the 2019

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

''Ponyboi'', which is the first film to feature an openly

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

actor playing an intersex person.

Personal life

Gallo was born in and grew up in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. When they turned twelve they learned they had been born without

testicle A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testostero ...

s, although the doctor did not tell them they were intersex. The doctor told them they would need to start

hormone therapy Hormone therapy or hormonal therapy is the use of hormones in medical treatment. Treatment with hormone antagonists may also be referred to as hormonal therapy or antihormone therapy. The most general classes of hormone therapy are oncologic horm ...

and have surgery to insert

prosthetic testicle A prosthetic testicle is an artificial replacement for a testicle lost through surgery or injury. Consisting of a plastic ovoid manufactured from silicone rubber, and either solid, or filled with a salt solution and implanted in the scrotum, a pr ...

s when they turned sixteen so they would "look and feel like a normal man". They have since become outspoken about ending unnecessary cosmetic surgeries performed on children with atypical genitals who are not old enough to give

informed consent Informed consent is a principle in medical ethics and medical law, that a patient must have sufficient information and understanding before making decisions about their medical care. Pertinent information may include risks and benefits of treatme ...

. Gallo learned about the term "intersex", and that it applied to them, while writing their

master's thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

. Gallo is

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

. They live in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Career

Gallo left New Jersey to study acting at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where they trained in the Experimental Theatre Wing at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. After graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

, they attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts and earned their

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

. Gallo created the short film ''Ponyboi'' as their master's thesis while at USC. The film is about an intersex

Latine ''Latinx'' is a neologism in American English which is used to refer to people of Latin American cultural or ethnic identity in the United States. The gender-neutral suffix replaces the ending of ''Latino'' and ''Latina'' that are typical o ...

runaway Runaway, Runaways or Run Away may refer to: Engineering * Runaway reaction, a chemical reaction releasing more heat than what can be removed and becoming uncontrollable * Thermal runaway, self-increase of the reaction rate of an exothermic proce ...

in New Jersey who works in the day at a laundromat and at night as a

sex worker A sex worker is a person who provides sex work, either on a regular or occasional basis. The term is used in reference to those who work in all areas of the sex industry.Oxford English Dictionary, "sex worker" According to one view, sex work is d ...

. On Valentine's Day, Ponyboi meets and falls in love with a man and begins to overcome his traumatic past. While writing the film, Gallo discovered the term "intersex" and came to realize it described them. Gallo co-directed the film along with their USC classmate Sadé Clacken Joseph. The film is produced by executive producer

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

and co-producers

Emma Thompson Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she has received numerous accolades throughout her four-decade-long career, including two Academy Awards, two British A ...

and

Seven Graham Seven Graham is a British intersex activist, comedian, filmmaker and playwright, and drug addiction counsellor. He was a member of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and is a co-founder of the Amy Winehouse Foundation. In recognition o ...

. The film has been screened at festivals including the BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival and the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...

. Gallo is the founder and CEO of the Gaptoof Entertainment production company. In 2019, Gallo won the

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

Rising Star Grant, which they have said they intend to use to mentor

LGBTQIA+ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is an ...

students in Los Angeles public schools. They were also named in '' Out's'' "Most Exciting Queers to Follow on Instagram in 2019" list and '' Paper's'' "100 People Taking Over 2019" list. In 2020, Gallo performed in an episode of the

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

original

teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

series ''

Love, Victor ''Love, Victor'' is an American teen comedy drama streaming television series created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, inspired by and set in the same world as the 2018 film '' Love, Simon''. The series premiered on June 17, 2020, on Hu ...

'', which is a spinoff of the 2018 film ''

Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti, written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, and based on the novel ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The film stars Nick Robins ...

''. Gallo appears in episode 8, "Boys' Trip", as the character Kim, who is one of Simon's several LGBT roommates.

Activism

Gallo is an intersex rights activist, and has spoken out about issues including unnecessary surgery on intersex children. They have supported California Senate Bill 201, which would ban doctors from performing cosmetic surgeries on children with atypical genitals until they are old enough to give informed consent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallo, River Actors from Los Angeles Actors from New Jersey American non-binary actors American writers of Salvadoran descent Filmmakers from California Filmmakers from New Jersey Intersex models Intersex non-binary people Intersex rights activists Intersex writers LGBT film directors LGBT models LGBT people from New Jersey Living people Models from Los Angeles Models from New Jersey Non-binary models Non-binary activists Queer writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of Southern California alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Intersex actors American non-binary writers