To say that Brian Belovitch‘s life has been highly unusual, colorful and fascinating would be a huge understatement. His memoir, and his play, Boys Don’t Wear Lipstick—which is having its 20th anniversary reading on Monday, November 9— tell of his fascinating journey. He first arrived in NYC as a teenager in 1974 to start a new life, which turned out to be several new lives, from queer boy, a married trans woman and nightlife trans icon, back to being an openly gay man. As a long-term survivor of HIV, he advocates on behalf of all LGBTQ generations. As an actor he’s most recently appeared as “Alice, First Lady of the Earth” in Conquest of the Universe, or When Queens Collide by Charles Ludlam, marking the 50th anniversary of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company where was was a member. On film, Belovitch has appeared opposite Nick Nolte and Robert DeNiro to name a few. Recently he was featured on The Moth Storytelling hour on NPR relating a story from his memoir. In 2019, he was a recipient of the Acker award for writing, given annually to East Village avant-garde artists.
NiteLife Exchange (NLE) asks Brian Belovitch (BB) Six Questions:
NLE: How did the 20th anniversary reading of Boys Don’t Wear Lipstick come about?
BB: Back in 2015 I decided to do the 15th anniversary at Dixon Place as a benefit for their company. I had the idea to cast multiple actors of different cultural and gender diversity to play my character at different stages. We were sold out and raised a good amount of money for the theatre. In hearing the other actors read the play it dawned on me that the central theme of searching for self-acceptance was magnified by their collective voices and spirits. In July, I was having a BBQ in our backyard and was telling the story to Adam Weinstock, who thought it would be a great idea to do it again and donate proceeds to Callen Lorde and Emerging Artists Theatre. We reached out to some of our contacts and folks were more than happy to participate. I think people will really enjoy what our cast has done and the brilliant direction of Everett Quinton. It has far exceeded my expectations. I’m so grateful for everyone’s generous donation of time and talent.
NLE: What’s the key “message” of the play? What do you wish audiences to most come away with?
BB: There are lots of messages in the play but the most obvious and universal theme is the search for self-acceptance and comfort in one’s own skin. While my journey has been hardly conventional it is something that everyone can relate to. It’s my wish that audiences will feel inspired by my struggle for self acceptance and to gain some hope for any difficulties they may be experiencing along the way. I’d like folks to consider that up until the time this play was produced there were if any fully realized transgender characters represented on stage in such an authentic way. I think it will give people a beautiful glimpse into the life of trans women’s struggles and also remind us just how incredibly difficult it was for them back then. It would be another decade before Time Magazine featured a transgender actor, Laverne Cox on their cover.
NLE: You’ve certainly had an unusual life, which you wrote extensively about in your memoir, Trans Figured: My Journey from Boy to Girl to Woman to Man. You spent 15 years living as a woman; what is your most important take-away from that time?
BB: I’ve spoken a lot about this recently; so much has changed since then in our collective consciousness about the transgender experience. But for me I think the most important takeaway is that one never knows how their experience will benefit others unless they put themselves out there. It was so difficult to make myself vulnerable back then, and even with my memoir, but the letters and responses I’ve received have been overwhelming in a good way to say the least. Especially from younger folks and their families. When I see some of the performers of today, like Hannah Gadsby I’m encouraged that it’s become easier for artists to use their challenges to touch others in a positive way and in the way I hoped I have done.
NLE: Your multi-faceted life includes a life upon the stage, going back to Charles Ludlum and The Ridiculous Theatrical Company. What kind of impact has theater had for you in terms of defining who you are?
BB: I was so lucky to go from acting as a trans woman in cis gender roles to becoming a part of the legendary Ridiculous Theatrical Company. I was always a huge Ludlam fan. It was very freeing to be able to still play women’s roles but not have to worry about being found out that I was not cis gender. Even as a trans woman in the early 1980s I attended college and made my theatrical debut as a cis woman character. As a kid I joined the drama club in high school and it has always been a safe sanctuary for me to express myself. God I miss live theatre so much right now.
NLE: Gender fluidity is a topic more out in the open than it’s ever been before. What’s your advice for those experiencing gender confusion or who find themselves embroiled in any manner of difficulty in living a true life?
BB: In today’s world we have so much more acceptance, but there is still a long way to go. I would encourage those who are experiencing challenges with their gender expression to stay true to themselves and surround themselves with as much support as possible—whether it comes in the form of good friends, families, support groups or pro trans organizations or even a really good therapist. This was key for me. I had the best therapist when I was weighing my options about re-transitioning back in 1987. I was so lucky to have the amazing support of the community I created.
NLE: We’ve come a long way in openly dealing with matters of gender and sexuality. What are the key items that still remain to be addressed and accomplished?
BB: I feel that we are still getting hung up on the politics of gender identity and that hopefully one day we can move past that and just learn to accept people’s choices or gender expressions as they are. The sooner we accept what others are presenting themselves as the better we will be for it. And for families, I always encourage them to accept their children or siblings just as they are. So much of my success has come from the unconditional love and support of others that I never received in my youth. In the end, all that ever really matters to me is love and acceptance and I can safely say that most would agree.
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