Juggling Gender (1992)

• 82%
• 1992
• Documentary
• Tami Gold

JUGGLING GENDER, one of the first documentaries that looks at the construction of sexual and gender identity. It is a loving portrait of Jennifer Miller, a lesbian performer who lives her life with a full beard. Jennifer Miller works as a performance artist, circus director, and clown and as the "bearded lady" in one of the only remaining sideshows in America. In public she is often mistaken for a man, an experience she handles with the wit and intelligence that characterize her stage performances.JUGGLING GENDER explores the fluidity of gender and raises important questions about the construction of sexual and gender identity. The film is a journey through the daily life of Jennifer as she navigates her experiences from performing to people's reaction to her on the streets of New York City in the early 1990's. Some scenes include her performance at a sideshow, with friends and in her loft practicing for an upcoming performance. Through a traditional documentary genre there are moments alone with Jennifer in the bathtub, a moment in the film where the genre plays with a more experiential genre.JUGGLING GENDER is considered a remarkable short video about a performance artist who just happens to have a beard. Rotating masculinity and femininity the way some folk change shoes, Miller confronts gender every time she hits the streets.Premiered at the New York Film Festival/Video Showcase in 1992 and played at 100's of festivals worldwide.The film includes STILL JUGGLING a new video with Jennifer Miller 15 years later, discussing family and religion, gender and the beard, the sideshow then and now, life as an artist, and Circus Amok. Also SIDESHOW BY THE SEASHORE: Coney Island, New York.