Eddie Izzard says her gender is 'elastic'

Eddie Izzard says her gender is ‘elastic’ and explains she alternates between ‘girl mode or boy mode’ while discussing the use of pronouns

  • Eddie, 59, has publicly been out as a transvestite since 1985, and has latterly self-referred as trans 
  • Last year, Eddie appeared on Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year, and was referred to as ‘she’ and ‘her’ after being asked to identify her preferred pronouns 
  • The comedian has now explained of her gender: ‘It’s no big deal. It’s elastic, not hard and fast. I’m still gender-fluid’
  • Eddie continued: ‘I’m still performing male roles in dramas, in boring mode. But stand-up, activism and endurance running are all girl mode’ 
  • The TV star previously revealed that she contemplated being female at the age of five and believes she has both ‘boy and girl’ genetics

Eddie Izzard has stated her gender is ‘elastic.’

In a new interview, the comedian, 59, explained: ‘I go in girl mode or boy mode, which I see as a superhero thing.’

While discussing the use of pronouns, the TV star also insisted: ‘It’s no big deal’ as she detailed in which circumstances she would be in different ‘modes.’  

Elastic! In a new interview, Eddie Izzard, 59, has stated that her gender is ‘elastic’ explaining: ‘I go in girl mode or boy mode, which I see as a superhero thing’ (Pictured in July 2015)

Eddie has publicly been out as a transvestite since 1985, and has latterly self-referred as trans.

Appearing on Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year last year, the comedian was referred to as ‘she’ and ‘her’ and has now clarified that she is gender ‘elastic.’

Speaking to Radio Times, the comedian said: ‘I go in girl mode or boy mode, which I see as a superhero thing.

‘On that show [Sky’s Portrait Artist of the Year], they asked what pronouns I preferred, and I said: “Well, I’m here in girl mode and if you’re asking, she and her would be great.” 

No big deal! While discussing the use of pronouns, the TV star insisted: ‘It’s no big deal’ as she detailed in which circumstances she would be in different ‘modes’ (Pictured in 2016)

Envy: Eddie has revealed she spent much of her life secretly having ‘breast envy’ as she observed other women’s bosoms. (Pictured in September)

‘It’s no big deal. It’s elastic, not hard and fast. I’m still gender-fluid. I’m still performing male roles in dramas, in boring mode. But stand-up, activism and endurance running are all girl mode.’ 

Eddie’s latest revelation comes after the star revealed she spent much of her life secretly having ‘breast envy’ as she observed other women’s bosoms.

The Yemen-born comedian recently announced herself to be in ‘girl mode’ after confirming that she is a gender fluid woman.

Read all about it: Eddie Izzard’s full interview is in the latest edition of Radio Times

And while the star spoke about her dreams of developing the form of a woman with an ample chest, she also stated that she hasn’t ruled out using non-female pronouns. 

In a new interview with The Guardian, Eddie said: ‘I’ve had boob envy since my teens. Just when teenage girls of my age were going “I want boobs”, I was thinking yeah me too. But I couldn’t say it. 

‘They talk about penis envy, and I believe some women suffer penis envy. I cannot for the life of me get my head around this. But yes, I’ve always had breasts envy.’

And after her December announcement that she would be using female pronouns in the future as she lived in ‘girl mode’, the star has now said that she didn’t want her statement to be taken so literally. 

Eddie said: ‘What the world seems to have said to me is you can change your pronouns but you can’t use he and him as well.

‘You’ve just got to be she and her from now on because we’ve only got so much time on our hands, thank you very much.’   

Announcement: The Yemen-born comedian previously identified as transvestite before declaring herself to be in ‘girl mode’ after she announced that she is a gender fluid woman

Earlier this year, Eddie revealed she contemplated being female at the age of five and believes she has both ‘boy and girl’ genetics. 

Speaking to Simon Thomas on the Life, Interrupted podcast she admitted she leads a ‘tricky life’ and people still give her ‘rubbish in the streets’.

Eddie told how she knew from childhood she was gender fluid, and recalled a lightbulb moment that occurred while living in Northern Ireland between 1964 and 1967.

Having been fascinated by her mother’s clothes, she was intrigued when a new family moved to their area in Bangor and one of the boys wore his sister’s dress.

‘I must have been four or five, and there was laughter, mocking. I remember thinking, that sounds pretty good to me, I’d be quite happy to be a girl, what’s going on there.’ 

Gender: Eddie, pictured as a youngster, told how she knew from childhood she was gender fluid, and recalled a lightbulb moment that occurred while living in Northern Ireland

Eddie went on: ‘Your biological body [can give] different signals as to how it is in the brain, but I do feel gender fluid – I have got boy genetics and girl genetics, so I call it boy mode and girl mode.

‘These may not be great phrases but I can’t think of better words. Man mode and woman mode doesn’t sound good so I’m going with those at the moment, but language can change over the years.

‘I am gender fluid, I do seem to be a mixture, but I’m now based in girl mode as a trans woman. And now that pronouns have come out [it] feels like a promotion, I’m very happy with that.’ 

She said she knew she was gender fluid before her mother passed away when she was six in 1968, and believes being trans is ‘built in’.

‘Some people say [my mother dying is] linked to being trans but it really isn’t because I knew beforehand and I don’t think it’s right. I think it’s just built in.’

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