James Rose (they/she) is a genderfluid actor, educator, & content artist based in New York City. James holds degrees from NYU in Music Theatre and Child & Adolescent Mental Health Studies, and their work on stage and screen ranges from “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to leading roles in regional theaters across the country.

They are currently starring as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Cardinal Stage - one of the first openly non-binary performers in history to take on this role. They co-starred in the indie film “Adelphe”, which premiered at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year.

In response to the pervasive diet culture and body shaming of the entertainment industry, they also became a fat liberation-aligned personal trainer and trauma-informed Yoga teacher, specializing in accessible fitness that allows for all people make peace with movement and their bodies. They have taught in prisons, harm reduction shelters, domestic violence shelters, senior centers, gyms, and studios across the country.

James also serves as a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion consultant for regional theaters, corporations, and the National Eating Disorder Association. They write about gender, queerness, trauma survivorship, mental health, their feelings, and their exes on Instagram & TikTok, where they reach an audience of over 350,000 people.

James values transparency, authenticity, and hopes their corner of the internet can be a place where we learn to love ourselves as fiercely as possible.

Hey everyone! Welcome to today’s episode of the Wright Conversations Podcast! For today’s episode, I am joined by James Rose, genderfluid actor, educator, and content artist. We talk about gender, sexuality, sex, and identity. James also talks about their lived experience with oppression, their coming out story, and using pronouns, and James gives three action steps for how you could support and get involved with trans communities.

Let’s delve in!

In this Episode You’ll Learn:

• [03:33] Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
• [06:55] Differentiating between sexuality and gender.
• [07:42] The difference between gender and sex.
• [09:21] Non-binary in gender.
• [11:35] Is non-binary considered trans?
• [13:31] James’s experience with oppression.
• [26:50] Legislation against bodily autonomy.
• [29:47] James’s coming out story.
• [39:22] Let’s talk about pronouns.
• [47:26] James’s three action steps.

Quotes: 

• “Gender is based off of social factors, sex is based of of biological factors, both of them are human constructs that exist on non-binary spectrums.” [08:51]
• “Regardless of where you are in the world, you absolutely interact with trans people. You just may not know it.” [16:07]
• “When you do not have bodily autonomy, your mental health tanks.” [23:13]
• “Gender discovery feels like being a welder and not having an instruction manual.” [36:52]
• “Your pronouns are simply the way that you are to be referred to, respectfully, in space.” [40:03]

Connect with James

Website:            www.jamesissmiling.com

Instagram:          @jamesissmiling

TikTok:              @jamesissmiling

Twitter:              @jamesissmiling

Connect with Rachel Wright

Website:            https://rachelwrightnyc.com

Instagram:          @thewright_rachel

Twitter:              @thewrightrachel

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