“Sky-high, matte black faux snakeskin heals”: Femininity, clothes, and humor in Jacob Tobia’s Sissy

Abstract

The article traces the interweaving of femininity, clothes, and humor in Jacob Tobia’s 2019 memoir Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story. It first discusses the societal devaluation of the femme and queer femininity Tobia textually constructs. It then argues that in Sissy, this femininity is enacted primarily through clothes, which appear as a symbol and a proxy for the protagonist’s identity, a source of embodied pleasures, and an organizing element of the narrative. Finally, the article demonstrates that Tobia employs humor to counter the devaluation targeting their kind of femininity, and to reclaim this femininity as a site of pride, resilience, and joy.