Published in Wild Side Media on June 10, 2024, my profile on John Jarboe was one of my first projects during my fellowship with the company. On top of producing and editing the podcast episode Jarboe appeared on, I also was tasked with creating a magazine feature and social media content to accompany the multimedia content. Dahmer, Degeneres and Digestion: John Jarboe Flips the Script on Gender
The day John Jarboe came out as transgender to her aunt, she wasn’t met with words of affirmation. She also wasn’t met with angry, culture war-informed rhetoric that is sweeping the nation. She said something entirely different from what someone might expect.
“She said, ‘You know, John, you had a twin in the womb. You ate her. That’s why you are the way you are,’” Jarboe said. “I didn’t know that I had a twin in the womb, I knew that if I were assigned female at birth, I would have been called Rose. I just didn’t know that I ate Rose.”