Johnny Blazes

This week’s edition of Stuff Magazine ran a series of spotlights on twelve “Rising Stars”– performers on the Boston scene that they believe are “the ones to watch, the ones primed for professional lift-off.”  I am honored to be featured among their ranks– and they even placed my photo next to the table of contents in the print edition!  You can read the article here: http://stuffboston.com/photos/stuff/category9682/picture282931.aspx

The article is flattering and speaks very eloquently about my perspective on gender and performance– and I’m impressed that a magazine that does not typically delve into the queer scene chose to spotlight me and explain some of what I do.  I was also dismayed at how my choice of pronouns was handled.  It is difficult to describe the hurt that being mis-pronouned can be, and I’m sure that many of you know this pain firsthand.  I was heartened by the immediate and vehement reaction from friends, colleagues and fans– comments on my facebook page, comments on the article page itself (thank you JT, Douce and Caitlyn!), and multiple people have told me that they are sending letters to the editor.

I wrote my own letter to the editor, which is posted below.  If you also wrote a letter to the editor and would like me to post it here, please send it to me.

To The Editor of Stuff Magazine:

I am honored to be considered a representative of the “creative masses who expand the minds and satisfy the souls of this city.”  I am blessed to create work with many extremely talented artists in this lively town, and I am grateful to Stuff for highlighting what I do—especially since the art that I create often stays somewhat culturally “underground” in queer performance spaces.

I am writing to clarify something I explained in my interview: I am not a “she.”  Perhaps this is confusing when taken with the statement “I’m female.”  The words female and male describe one’s sex: the body one is biologically born with.  The words man, woman, girl and boy describe one’s gender: one’s daily presentation, how a person feels on the inside, how one expresses oneself.  Sometimes a person’s biological sex does not match with the gender society expects them to have.  A person whose sex and gender do not “match” according to society is referred to as transgendered.  Typically, trangendered people prefer to be called by the pronouns that match their gender, rather than their sex.

I am a transgendered person whose gender does not fit into the category of either “man” or “woman.”  My friends, family, colleagues and students use the pronouns “ze” and “hir” to talk about me because neither “he” nor “she” fits me.  While I readily admit to having a female body, I do not identify as a woman, nor does the word “she” describe me or feel comfortable for me.

I am certain that no disrespect was intended by referring to me as “she”; however, not only is that appellation incorrect, it is also hurtful.  The sentence “the binary-busting Blazes, resisting restrictive gender norms even in their grammatical guises, prefers to be described with neutral pronouns” is a glorious one that does full justice to my philosophy of gender and self-expression.  However, its placement in parentheses at the end of an article that calls me “she” throughout seems to suggest that my choice of pronoun is optional—or worse still, that it is a gimmick I use as a performer.  I bust binaries all day long—not just on stage!  Existing in a liminal space between masculinity and femininity is a reality that I live every day, all day, and my choice of pronoun reflects that and empowers me by giving a small amount of definition to that place where my gender resides.  Being called “she” stings because of its incorrectness and its implication that my choice to go by “ze” is invalid.

Thank you again for your flattering spotlight.  The artistic forces of Boston are lucky to have such strong indie media dedicated to recognizing our hard work and creativity.  May the performance and print worlds continue to support each other to create an even more dynamic, vibrant city.

Best,
Johnny Blazes