On November
14 I listened to an interview on CBC Radio with Tom Power on Q. He was talking to Heloise Letissier, aka Christine and the Queens
aka Chris. Letissier is a French performer who, similarly to other
entertainers, has created personas for the stage, and choose a stage moniker.
I really
liked what she said about exploring classic masculine theatrics, and about the
constructs of masculinity that we create, as well as about choosing her
narrative. This made me think about identity and the stories we tell about
ourselves.
I’ve had a
number of different identities in my life so far. I was a young German girl,
then an immigrant – a ‘stranger in a strange land.’ Later I became a university
student who found friends and groups to belong with. Then I became a young wife
and a teacher. Eventually a mother. Divorce happened and I was a single parent
and continued to be a working person. Somewhere in there I took up my dream to
be a writer and I began to think and speak of myself as a writer. I changed jobs
a few times and each job opened up new ways of being, taught me new things
about myself and the world. Now I am single and older, mainly retired, but
still writing, learning to cope with the aging process.
Letissier
describes herself as pan-sexual. I have thought for a long time that we spend
too much time categorizing people as male or female, as actions, feelings, and
ways of being as one or the other. Someone said to me some time ago that he
admired my femininity. Which puzzled me because I don’t spend every day thinking
that I am feminine. To some people I would probably not be seen as feminine because
for a long time I have lived alone, been independent, cut my own grass,
shovelled snow, fixed things around my house, and so on. I choose to do the things I want to do, feel
the way I want to feel, without thinking about whether these are masculine or
feminine. Why can’t we accept each person as they present themselves without
having to put labels on, without thinking that any of these are better than
others?
I do understand that some people put
labels on themselves, and that is a choice. Perhaps to identify with a group or
to set themselves apart, or to clarify who they are. I’m glad that there is a
lot more dialogue than there used to be about gender, politics, culture, racialization,
and identity.
It disturbs me to see an increasing
lack of tolerance in various societies. I hope for a future where this changes
so that we are more accepting, open and kind to each other.
