Turning Androgyny Into Art

By MICHAEL SCHULMAN
Published: June 20, 2012

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/fashion/justin-vivian-bond-turns-androgyny-into-high-art.html?_r=1

"I WAS having lunch with Rufus Wainwright," said Justin Vivian Bond, arriving home a few minutes behind schedule. "I'm going to be officiating at his wedding. I was just confirmed. I'm now officially a reverend!"

"Reverend" may be one of the few titles that Bond, the shape-shifting chanteuse of the downtown cabaret scene, is comfortable with. In an online announcement last year, Bond adopted the prefix "Mx." as a gender-neutral alternative to "Mr." or "Ms." And instead of "he" or "she," the apropos pronoun would be "v."

"I always thought of myself as a transgendered person," said Bond, who is 49, lounging on a sofa in black capri pants and silver sandals. "I just lived my life and I didn't really have the exact language for what I was."