Today on the podcast: John Jarboe, of Bearded Ladies Cabaret, drops by to talk about her “gender journey”, The Rose Garden, on exhibition at Fabric Workshop and Museum through September 29th. Here is my interview with John Jarboe.

In The Rose Garden, Jarboe seeks new ways of empowering museum visitors with agency that allows for a sense of narrative surprise, vulnerability, and catharsis.

The inspiration for the work came in 2018 when Jarboe, at age 33, came out as trans to her family back home in Michigan, saying she uses she/her pronouns. What happened next would trigger a new gender journey for the artist: John’s aunt revealed that John not only had a twin sister in the womb, but that John consumed her: “You ate her. That’s why you are the way you are.” She began constructing a musical shrine to the consumed twin, named Rose, in both a stage performance and museum exhibition that welcomes audiences into a “feast of gender” through song, storytelling, and a full plate of wordplay.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Reunion

02:12 The Relevance of Passing By, by Martin Sherman

08:49 The Rose Garden Art Installation

13:03 Creating the Film Rose a True Story

23:40 Exploring Gender and Identity through Cabaret

29:47 The Fluidity and Intimacy of Cabaret

31:37 The Empowering Effect of Live Performance

33:36 Creating Space for Marginalized Voices

37:29 Advice for Aspiring Artists