Eddie Izzard Says She 'Might' Undergo Reassignment Surgery | 22 Words

Following her announcement regarding her identity, comedian Eddie Izzard has opened up about how she may consider undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Read on to hear what she had to say...

Now, the star has been dominating headlines in the last few months...

Getty

And it's all to do with her brave announcement over how she wishes to identify.

Now, you might know Izzard as a stand-up comedian...

via: Getty

But the fifty-eight-year-old is also a political activist who likes to stand out from the crowd.

She has always embraced every little quirk that makes her unique...

via: Getty

And recently, she decided to be more open with us about her pronouns, now going by she/her, so she can be in "girl mode."

People were quick to praise her for her announcement...

The comedian has always been known for her "eccentric" style...

via: Getty

 But she has always been a firm believer in expressing one's self through fashion choices.

During a recent episode of Sky Arts' Portrait Artist Of The Year, she opened up publicly about her identity while appearing as a guest...

YouTube / Eden Project Communities

 "I try to do things that I think are interesting, and this is the first program I’ve asked if I can be she and her. A little transition period," she told Curtis Holder, the artist who was painting her.

She continued:

YouTube / Eden Project Communities

 "Well, it feels great because people just assume that they just know me from before but I’m gender fluid. I just want to be based in girl mode from now on."

She would like to be known as a trans woman from now on...

Getty

And she expressed this desire further while appearing on a recent podcast series, Life, Interrupted.

Speaking to presenter Simon Thomas, she admitted she leads a "tricky life" and people still give her "rubbish in the streets."

Getty

Eddie then explained how she knew from childhood she was gender fluid and recalled a lightbulb moment that occurred while living in Northern Ireland between 1964 and 1967.

Having been fascinated by her mother's clothes, she was intrigued when a new family moved to their area in Bangor and one of the boys wore his sister's dress: "I must have been 4 or 5, and there was laughter, mocking. I remember thinking, that sounds pretty good to me, I'd be quite happy to be a girl, what's going on there."

She went on:

YouTube / BBC

"Your biological body [can give] different signals as to how it is in the brain, but I do feel gender fluid - I have got boy genetics and girl genetics, so I call it boy mode and girl mode. These may not be great phrases but I can't think of better words."

"Man mode and woman mode doesn't sound good so I'm going with those at the moment, but language can change over the years."

Getty

"I am gender fluid, I do seem to be a mixture, but I'm now based in girl mode as a trans woman. And now that pronouns have come out [it] feels like a promotion, I'm very happy with that," she said.

Eddie then explained she knew she was gender fluid before her mom passed away when she was 6-years-old in 1968 and believes being trans is "built-in."

Getty

"​Some people say [my mother dying is] linked to being trans but it really isn't because I knew beforehand and I don't think it's right, I think it's just built-in."

And now, Eddie has decided to open up about something very personal...

And that's gender reassignment surgery.

Speaking to The Guardian to discuss her upcoming movie, Sixty Minutes to Midnight, she spoke candidly about her experiences and decisions as a trans woman.

While discussing whether being transgender will damage her acting career, she said:

"Yes, potentially, but that was there already. So yes, it is a thought, and a lot of people wouldn't come out because they felt that was going to screw up their career. But I was the right person to come out because if people were going to hurl abuse at me in the streets, as they have done, I would hurl it back."

She went on:

Getty

"Sometimes it would just be us standing in the street swapping abuse or if they fight me, I'll fight them back."

Eddie was then asked about whether she will physically transition or not.

Getty

​"I might do. I feel that boy mode has had good innings in this one life that we get. It would be great to get up in the morning and think I look like a woman so I'm going to throw on a tracksuit and have breakfast. It is getting better and better. I do feel I can express myself in a more feminine way, which may be the age thing."

She continued:

"I've had boob envy since my teens. Just when teenage girls of my age were going 'I want boobs', I was thinking yeah me too. But I couldn't say it. They talk about p*nis envy, and I believe some women suffer p*nis envy. I cannot for the life of me get my head around this. But yes, I've always had breast envy."

So, there you have it!

Getty

For more stories on the transgender community, scroll on...

Related Articles Around the Web
celebrity