A seminal collection of journalism on art, politics, and culture, by Juliet Jacques, one of the UK’s most pioneering transgender writers.  

Juliet Jacques was one of the first trans writers in the UK to contribute broadly to both British and foreign media, writing widely about the trans experience. Spanning over a decade, Jacques’ ground-breaking journalism about selfhood, society, art, politics, freedom, and gender identity, tracks the backlash against emerging trans rights and the rise of a new and more explicit form of media transphobia. 

 Front Lines is a seminal collection of writings on trans and queer art, politics, and media, from a period in which the relationship between trans and non-binary people and the British media was exceptionally turbulent. Jacques navigates the tension between wanting to simply write about art and culture and needing to counter the dishonest, damaging rhetoric being published about trans people in virtually every national newspaper in the UK. “I never believed any journalism was objective, nor that there was any point in even trying to be,' writes Jacques in her introduction. ‘Above all, activism is needed to fight this, with journalism to support it: there is no point in pretending to be objective in our work, as the stakes remain just as high as they were back in 2010, perhaps even higher… We’re entering a new phase of collective struggle, with new fronts and new tactics needed: I hope this book can help to inform that.’ 

This crucial collection asks what we can learn from the last decade and, importantly, what we can do now. How can new writers take up the struggle for trans liberation? And what will the future of trans writing look like?  

'Juliet Jacques is one of the great pioneering trans journalists of our time, as this wonderful collection underlines: full of her humanity, courage, insight and charm. In these dark times, she's an inspiring beacon.' — Owen Jones 

 

'Sobering and provocative, Juliet Jacques is always one step ahead. I never fail to learn from her writing. At a time when trans women are the renewed target of hatred, these essays tell the story of a struggle that is far from over and in which Jacques herself has played a key role. Part indictment of prejudice, part celebration of trans women’s creativity and resilience, Front Lines will be indispensable for any reader wanting to engage with one of the most heated and urgent political disputes of the day.'  — Jacqueline Rose, author of The Haunting of Sylvia Plath and On Violence and On Violence Against Women 

Juliet Jacques is a writer and filmmaker based in London. She is the author of 'Rayner Heppenstall: A Critical Study' (Dalkey Archive, 2007), 'Trans: A Memoir' (Verso, 2015), and 'Variations' (Influx Press, 2021). Her landmark column on gender reassignment appeared in The Guardian, entitled ‘A Transgender Journey’ (2010-12) and she has written for London Review of Books, Granta, Sight & Sound, Frieze, Art Review, New York Times, and many more. Juliet was included on The Independent on Sunday Pink List of influential LGBT people in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Cipher Press, 2022, 336pages.