Elliot Page has opened up on his first experience at a gay bar just a few months before starring in 2007 comedy-drama Juno.
The film follows Juno MacGuff (played by Page), a teenager who falls pregnant after having sex with friend Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).
The couple put the unborn child up for adoption, and come across couple Mark and Vanessa Loring (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner), who are desperate for a kid.
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Page would garner critical acclaim for his performance and Juno helped further launch his acting career - however, he says he experienced a life-changing moment three months prior to the film's release.
In the opening chapter of his forthcoming memoir 'Page Boy', the 36-year-old - who uses he/they pronouns after coming out as transgender in 2020 - the actor revealed the struggle he had with his identity.
"Shame had been drilled into my bones since I was my tiniest self, and I struggled to rid my body of that old toxic and erosive marrow," he wrote.
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The Umbrella Academy star and his date, Paula, went to a bar called Reflections.
Page explains how the night out at the bar 'was the first time I had been to a gay bar and would be my last for a long time'.
Everything began to change when he was on the dance floor with Paula.
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“There was a joy in the room,” Page wrote.
“It lifted me, forced a reaction in the jaw, an uncontrolled, steady smile.”
When Page kissed his date, he says that 'maybe for a second, I could allow myself pleasure'.
“Here I was on the precipice. Getting closer to my desires, my dreams, me, without the unbearable weight of the self-disgust I’d carried for so long,” he explains.
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“But a lot can change in a few months.
“And in a few months, ‘Juno’ would premiere.”
In a new social media post, the actor said he felt ‘so grateful for what gender affirming care’ has allowed him, sharing a topless photo to celebrate the ‘joy’ he now feels in his body.
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"Dysphoria used to be especially rife in the summer," Page wrote in the image caption.
"No layers, just a T-shirt - or layers and oh so sweaty - constantly looking down, readjusting my oversized tee.
“It feels so f’ing good soaking in the sun now, I never thought I could experience this, the joy I feel in my body.
“I am so grateful for what gender affirming care has allowed me and I look forward to sharing more of my journey soon.”
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'Page Boy' will be released on June 6.
Topics: Elliot Page, Celebrity, LGBTQ, Transgender
Anish Vij