'Gender is a performance - for everyone, not just transsexuals'
Juliet Jacques had always wanted to take to the stage, and now the time finally seemed right.
* Juliet Jacques
*
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 29 December 2010 09.00 GMT
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/29/gender-performance-stageAfter living in fear for so long, coming out had been hugely liberating, but I gradually forgot that as I addressed the many challenges it raised. Once I realised that I could progress through the medical pathway more easily than I'd thought, and after I'd ensured that my relationships with family, friends and colleagues would not break down, I began to consider what possibilities transitioning might open up for me.
During my teenage years in the closet, I had a complex relationship with the drag queens I saw on TV. The trashy British acts alienated me, with their clichéd caricatures of femininity: my gender issues felt serious, and the mockery these performers invited didn't seem too helpful. I liked the more self-respecting Americans, though: I never wanted to be exactly like the more 'fabulous' drag artists (such as RuPaul), but I admired their conviction that you shouldn't let your detractors stop you from being yourself, and the panache with which they expressed it.
