Hollywood News

Actor Elliot Page Comes Out as Transgender, Non-binary

By Anindita Banerjee

Elliot Page, the Oscar-nominated star of Juno and Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, came out as a non-binary transgender on Tuesday. Formerly known as Ellen Page, he introduced himself on social media with a post saying, “I want to share with you that I am trans, my pronouns are he/they, and my name is Elliot.”

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Elliott said his personal pronouns were he/him and they/them, and said he identified as transgender and non-binary. Non-binary or gender queer is a spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively masculine or feminine‍, and are identities that are outside the gender binary.

Elliot said he was overwhelmed with gratitude for the support he has received during this journey. “I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self,” they said.

“I’ve been endlessly inspired by so many in the trans community. Thank you for your courage, your generosity and ceaselessly working to make this world a more inclusive and compassionate place. I will offer whatever support I can and continue to strive for a more loving and equal society,” he said.

The actor, who came out as gay in 2014 and married dancer Emma Portner in 2018, asked “for patience” following his announcement, saying “my joy is real, but it is also fragile.” He expressed fears of “invasiveness, the hate, the “jokes and of violence”.

So far, according to a study by the Human Resource Campaign, 40 transgender or gender non-conforming people have been killed in the US, a statistic that Elliott called “staggering”.

He said he joined in the voices protesting the attacks on the trans community, and that political leaders who had criminalised trans health care had “blood on [their] hands”. “You unleash a fury of vile and demeaning rage that lands on the shoulders of the trans community, a community in which 40% of trans adults report attempting suicide. Enough is enough. You aren’t being ‘canceled’, you are hurting people. I am one of those people and we won’t be silent in the face of your attacks,” he said.

He ended his statement with a message to the trans community, saying, “To all the trans people who deal with harassment, self-loathing, abuse, and the threat of violence every day: I see you, I love you, and I will do everything I can to change this world for the better.”

Several Hollywood celebrities and people from the transgender community came out in support of Elliot and thanked him. Netflix, too, shared the statement and announced excitement over Elliott continuing in season 3 of The Umbrella Academy as the character Vanya, who is a cis-gender woman with superpowers.

Apart from his most-known works in Inception, X-Men, and Juno, Elliott made his directorial debut alongside co-director Ian Daniel for Netflix’s There’s Something In The Water. He also created and produced the Hulu docu-series Gaycation, which earned two Emmy nominations.

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According to the Human Resource Campaign, “a transgender person, not “transgendered,” is someone whose gender assigned at birth does not match the gender they identify with.” It includes both medically-transitioned as well as “as non-binary or gender-expansive people who do not exclusively identify as male or female”.

The Human Resource Campaign also notes that the proper names and pronouns “should be used by others, regardless of their legal name or gender marker on identification documents”.

Some people choose to use the gender-neutral pronouns “ze/hir/hirs” or “ey/em/eir”, among others. Here‘s a list of the several gender-neutral pronouns.

Anindita Banerjee is a Senior Correspondent at Silverscreen India, and can be reached on Twitter at @riyabanerjee23 or by email at anindita@silverscreen.in