Elliot Page calls out Hollywood’s homophobia in new memoir Pageboy

Pageboy, the highly-anticipated memoir by actor Elliot Page, is finally out. In the book, the Oscar-nominated star and activist shares details about his life, uncovering homophobia in Hollywood and discussing trans representation.

Out on June 6, the memoir recounts the 36-year-old actor’s life from starting his career as a child to his coming out as trans in 2020. “I never thought I’d have the strength to write my story,” Page shared on Instagram speaking of the release of the book. “I hope that by sharing my journey it can help demonstrate that we all — queer, trans, and anyone who supports the basic human dignity to live authentically — will not be silenced.”

Pageboy explores a variety of topics, including gender, love, mental health and others. In the book, Page shares with readers details about his past relationships with other stars, talks about being estranged from his father for five years and also recalls his first time in a queer bar.

The memoir also offers stark insights into Hollywood hypocrisy and what it was like to be a queer person in the industry. Page recounts how, when he rose to fame thanks to the indie film Juno, he was told to remain closeted while promoting it. “The success of Juno coincided with people in the industry telling me no one could know I was queer,” the actor wrote.

His appearance at the 2008 Academy Awards, when he was nominated for an Oscar, was equally uncomfortable, as he was urged to hide his relationship with a woman by his manager. Things changed six years later when Page first came out to the public as queer in a speech at a Human Rights Campaign event.

However, in a chapter titled ‘Famous A-hole at Party’, the actor described an episode in which, shortly after his coming out in 2014, “one of the most famous actors in the world” made homophobic comments and sexually harassed him. “You aren’t gay. That doesn’t exist,” the A-list actor told him. “You are just afraid of men. I’m going to f**k you to make you realize you aren’t gay.”

Speaking about his coming out as trans in 2020, Page shares a very different experience. He recalls coming out to Steve Blackman, the showrunner of Netflix’s TV show The Umbrella Academy, who said that he wanted to support the actor by making his character in the show trans as well.

Now, Elliot Page is one of the most famous trans activists in the world and this memoir arrives at a time when the trans community is facing increased discrimination and hate in many parts of the globe, especially the US. Republican legislatures all over the nation are introducing bills aimed at restricting trans rights and 19 states have already enacted laws banning gender-affirming healthcare for minors.

In Pageboy, Page spoke about the importance of seeing a trans person on TV or on the cover of famous magazines, but he also acknowledged that the vast majority of trans folks face a very different reality.

“I’m such a rare example of what it means to be trans,” Page says. “I’m just in this strange position where it’s like, yeah, my journey has really not been easy. At moments, I thought: ‘I don’t know what my future is. I don’t know if I see it.’ But I also just have this amount of privilege that so many trans people do not get.”

Speaking about the future of his career, Elliot Page said, “I want to play queer characters. Like, why would I not? I’ve been playing all the other ones”. He added, “That’s what I want to do. That’s who I am, and we need those stories.”

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