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| Cover of Pageboy (5) |
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| Elliot Page (6) |
Known by most for his roles in hit films such as Hard Candy, Juno, and more recently for his role in the popular Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, Elliot Page paved his way into the literary scene with his memoir Pageboy. Page was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia as Ellen in 1987 (1). Page later came out as a transgender male and became Elliot in December of 2020 (1). First getting his start in Canadian television, Page’s acting career began to quickly advance as he performed in films such as Hardy Candy, X-Men: The Last Stand, Inception, and the critically acclaimed film Juno (1)
Outside of his acting career, Page is known for his continuous activism for the LGBTQ+ community with a focus on transgender youth (1). Regarding the constant violence committed against transgender individuals and the ongoing influx of bills targeting them, Page said it was “imperative for him to come out despite his fear of violence and harassment” (2). Upon coming out as a transgender male, Page said “I love that I am trans. I love that I am queer. And the more that I hold myself close and fully embrace who I am, the more I dream, the more my heart grows and the more I thrive” (2).
Page became one of the most well-known transmasculine people in the world and a few months later became the first trans man to appear on the cover of Time magazine (2). Although expressing joy and excitement upon coming out as trans, Page acknowledged the ongoing issue of anti-trans violence
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| Elliot Page advocating for trans rights (7) |
As stated by Gina Chua in her review from the New York Times, Pageboy is a memoir consisting of Page’s life story, a journey marked by “fear, self-doubt, U-turns, guilt and shame, before he ultimately seized control of his own narrative” (3). While attempting to discover who he was, Pageboy details the many obstacles that Page faced along the way, such as “bullying, eating disorders, stalking, sexual harassment and assault” (3). Page also gives insight into his upbringing under divorced parents; a father who was “less than loving” and a mother “hoping against hope for a more conventional child than the gender outlaw she seemed to be raising” (3).
Pageboy also describes moments of queer and trans joy such as “his first queer kiss; scenes of passionate sex; the blossoming of his relationship with his mother after he came out; the reflection of his flat chest in the mirror” (Chua, 2023). When describing Page’s memoir, Chua states that “It’s in that tortured, contradictory internal monologue – familiar to other trans people as we contemplate what seems to be an extraordinary, unimaginable truth, that Pageboy is most powerful” (3).
Brandon Tensley from The Washington Post called Pageboy an “urgent call for trans rights” (4). Pageboy is not just a memoir but also serves as an analysis and cry for action during a time in which Republican legislators were at their peak of stripping away LGBTQ+ rights one by one (4).
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| Elliot Page at the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar party (8) |
Furthermore, Pageboy also consists of descriptions of the balancing act Page held between his mother and that of his stepparents; one bouncing back and forth between “brimming affection and emotional neglect” while the other found entertainment in teasing Page and encouraging the rest of the family to also do so (4). Readers of Pageboy often comment on the memoir’s tendency to be sporadic and their want of something more cohesive, but Tensley interprets the jumps between different decades as “a queer person piecing together the fragments of his life, craving to be understood on his own terms” (4).
Overall, when reading Pageboy readers are exposed to themes such as queer and trans liberation, the discovery of and transition into one’s gender identity, the passion and intensity one feels in queer romances, dealing with strained family relationships, and more. Personally, Page is someone I’ve looked up to since I was younger, ever since I saw the movie Juno.
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| Elliot Page on the cover of Time Magazine (9) |
1.Chua, G. (2023, June 6). Elliot Page, From Shame to Self-Acceptance, in Hollywood’s Glare. The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2024, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/books/review/review-elliot-page-pageboy.html#:~:text=Elliot%20Page%2C%20From%20Shame%20to,hard%2Dwon%20happiness%20that's%20followed.
2.Delbyck, C. (2022, June 22). Elliot Page says life has “Drastically” improved since coming out as trans. HuffPost. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elliot-page-life-has- d rastically-improved-since-coming-out-as-trans_n_62b34bb2e4b0cf43c85f1296
3.Elliot Page. (2024, February 22). Biography. https://www.biography.com/actors/elliot-page
4.Elliot Page on putting joy and love “into action” for trans people. (2021, June 1). NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/elliot-page-putting-joy-love-action-trans-people- n1269123
5.Factora, J. (2021, April 19). Elliot Page urges Americans to speak out against “Cruel, exhausting” Anti-Trans bills. Them. https://www.them.us/story/elliot-page-speaks-out-against-anti-trans-bills
6.Kirkpatrick, E. (2022, February 18). Elliot Page’s new memoir Pageboy will “Delve into” his “Relationship with his body.” Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2022/02/elliot-page-memoir-pageboy-relationships-body-mental-health-hollywood-trans-experience
7.Pageboy - by Elliot Page (Hardcover). (n.d.). https://www.target.com/p/pageboy-by-elliot-page-hardcover/-/A-88023765
8.POPSUGAR. (2020, December 1). Elliot Page | POPSUGAR UK. POPSUGAR Celebrity. https://www.popsugar.co.uk/Elliot-Page
9.Tensley, B. (2023, June 7). Elliot Page’s memoir is also an urgent call for trans rights. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/06/06/pageboy-elliot-page-memoir-review/
As someone who is only familiar with Elliot Page because of his acting, I was interested to hear about the contents of his book. I think your telling of Page's life before publishing "Pageboy" was a very good segue into what to expect from the book. Reading about someone who is so outspoken on modern issues is refreshing, especially now, and it's incredible to see the voice that Page has given to others who cannot tell their story. Connecting your own experiences with his was a very good way to showcase the influence that his words have. Great blog!!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this, I had no idea Elliot Page had written a memoir. It sounds like a starkly honest novel, dealing with such difficult personal issues as eating disorders, sexual assault, and strained parental relationships. I noticed that the reviews said the memoir is a bit sporadic and they wish it was more cohesive, but I feel like memory works the same way and Page's decision to portray it as such makes it all the more real and forces the reader to experience those memories more similarly to how Page does. I appreciate that you included so much background information on Page because I've really only seen him in Juno, which I watched once almost a decade ago. I really enjoyed this blog!
ReplyDeleteI've always really enjoyed Elliot's acting work, and seeing him flourish the past few years has been amazing. I knew he'd written a memoir, but not much beyond that, and from what you've said it sounds like quite the read, raw and emotional. It's admirable that Page has been through so much and is still determined to advocate for the queer community. Hopefully I get the chance to read this book sometime soon!
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