Portrait of a Nullo

A rough childhood. Rejected. Norbert always felt out of place. When Norbert came out as gay, his parents banned him from eating at the same table. But that wasn’t all. Ever since puberty he struggled with a secret compulsion to be rid of his penis.

However, Norbert doesn’t identify as a woman. The desire to be a “nullo”, i.e. having no genitals, is not medically recognized in Europe. Since he isn’t transgender, he couldn't find a doctor willing to perform the surgery. After being ridiculed and abandoned by the medical community he took matters into his own hands.

First, he took a razor blade and removed his penis; a year after that, his testicles. Eventually doctors were forced to step in after the last operation went horribly wrong.

It was only Dr. Abel, a psychiatrist in Innsbruck, who listened to Norbert and helped him get the final plastic surgery to remove the inner penis and construct a functioning sexual organ. Today, Norbert finally feels complete.

He lives in rural Austria, where it’s still a taboo to be homosexual. However he doesn’t try to hide his story. He wants to create more awareness for so-called "nullos." Even in the LGBTAI+ community, they are a very rare fringe group.

What drives someone to cut off their penis? What role do nullos take in the debate around gender identities? And why does the medical system leave no option besides dangerous self-surgery? In this documentary, we tell Norbert’s story to find the answers to these questions.