Talk:Jesse Darling

Self-Identification

I don't believe that the artist does actually "identify as transmasculine". I can't find any source where the artist himself says anything like this. The i article that is referenced is actually an archived version, the actual one was updated the day after publication to completely remove the "transmasculine" reference (the current version, with the change timestamp, is here: https://inews.co.uk/culture/tories-convinced-public-culture-working-class-turner-prize-winner-2793303).

It's possible that this word was put out in a release by some press office or other on the day of the Turner Prize (Press Association is mentioned in the i article?). But it was then corrected by the i, it seems. The same correction care does not seem to have been taken by The Times, who apparently still have this (misleading) information live on their website. But I suspect the The Times are less conscientious about their arts reporting and duty-of-care to the queer community.

The only self-identification the artist does is in the NY Times article, in which he says he is bisexual. The only quote that is from the artist about his own identity comes from this article:

And although many news reports described him as the Turner Prize’s first trans winner, Darling deflected when asked about his relationship with gender. “I usually tell the papers I am openly bisexual because it gives people something to talk about,” he said, adding, “I have never met anyone who is heterosexual and cisgendered.”

~2026-40790-44 (talk) 08:01, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

Tagging in @Skywatcher68 and @Theroadislong as past editors on this article on this issue. I directed the above IP user to come here after they flagged this on my talk page. I reverted the original change because there was no real explanation for the removal of "transmasculine", but it does seem like this might be more complex. 19h00s (talk) 13:21, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

Hello. I did some looking and found some earlier sources:

" Jesse Darling (Jesse currently identifies as transmasculine). " (2020)

" ...Juliet Jacques and Jesse Darling on digital spaces and trans identities. " (2015)

" Discussing digital spaces and trans(*) identities with Jesse Darling. " (2015)

" British/Australian artist, Jesse Darling, who was born female, but now identifies as male. " (2022)

    –Skywatcher68 (talk) 14:10, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

Darling was also the subject of an article in the Journal of Visual Culture ( Vol. 19, no. 2 ):

Darling, who is transmasculine and disabled, has written and spoken about how this subject position informs their work...

Rooted in their own experience of trans and disabled embodiment...

    –Skywatcher68 (talk) 18:41, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

According to The Telegraph, " Darling goes by 'he/him' pronouns, and in past interviews has stated his identity as 'a white European assigned female at birth' ", but I can't seem to find the origin of this quote.   –Skywatcher68 (talk) 19:01, 22 July 2026 (UTC)

It seems to me that in none of these references does the artist actually identify himself as "transmasculine". Most of these identification claims (except the i news articles, which was then corrected, and The Times article, which was not, but was assumedly constructed based on the same initial press release the i news article was) are from older articles, and none of them from the words of the artist himself.

The "transmasculine" identity itself is very specific, and the artist does not seem to consistently use any particular gender identity (e.g. he also is also reported as identifying as "male" in one of these references). So I don't believe "transmasculine" is a reasonable reflection of how the artist actually currently "identifies" ("identifies" as the present tense, as used in the page currently). The most recent article is the NYT interview, in which he actively deflects the gender identification question and identifies as "bisexual". I would argue that that is a good basis for removing the gender identification statement altogether. ~2026-40790-44 (talk) 12:31, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Pinging @ToBeFree:, helpful BLP admin, to see what he thinks.   –Skywatcher68 (talk) 13:48, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

Uuuuuh.

When in doubt if something should be added, don't add it. I don't have an opinion about this specific situation here but the general advice is to keep articles free of content disputed in good faith and statements whose verifiability is under discussion. ~ ToBeFree (talk) 21:28, 23 July 2026 (UTC)

I don't really have an opinion, either, but it seems to me that the fact the notion existed as early as 2015 argues against the idea that it came from some recent press release. Of course, being able to find the interview which features his statement "a white European assigned female at birth" would be a big help.   –Skywatcher68 (talk) 12:00, 24 July 2026 (UTC)