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Entertainment

22nd Dec 2020

Eddie Izzard to use she/her pronouns, saying she “wants to be based in girl mode”

Comedian and actor Eddie Izzard will use she/her pronouns from now on, after making the announcement on a Sky Arts programme that she is gender fluid

Reuben Pinder

The comedian described herself as gender fluid

Eddie Izzard will use she/her pronouns from now on, after coming out as gender fluid on Sky Arts programme Portrait Artist Of The Year last week.

Having previously said she has “boy mode and girl mode”, Izzard has said she wants “to be based in girl mode from now on.”

“It feels great,” Izzard said. “One life, live it well.”

LGBT charity Stonewall have praised Izzard for her bravery after she requested to be known by feminine pronouns for the first time.

“Being open about using different pronouns is often incredibly difficult, especially in the public eye – her courageous decision will mean a lot to trans and gender-fluid communities around the world,” said Robbie de Santos, associate director of communications and campaigns at Stonewall.

“We’re delighted that Eddie has been able to bravely share her truth with the world.”

Izzard has challenged gender norms around clothing for years, saying: “They’re not women’s clothes. They’re my clothes. I bought them.”

She has also alluded to her gender fluid identity in the past, without ever formally declaring use of she/her pronouns.

In 2017 she said she was “essentially transgender,” saying she felt she had “boy genetics and girl genetics.”

Before that, she had long described herself as a transvestite – “a complete boy plus half a girl” – and referred to herself as “a lesbian trapped in a man’s body.”

Comedian Shappi Khorsandi also tweeted her praise for Izzard, before switching her account to private.

“I see Eddie Izzard is trending. I can’t tell you what she means to me as a comic,” she wrote

“Rocked my comedy world when I was a teen and beyond. Changed everything, made room. I love her and this morning I’m very happy for her.”