Troye Sivan, GQAustralia‘s Man of the Year, Feels More In Touch With His Femininity Than Ever.
“It’s not lost on me the irony of me winning ‘man’ of the year when I did drag for the first time this year.”
Troye Sivan received GQ Australia’sMan of the Year Award on Wednesday, December 6, and used his acceptance speech to reflect on his relationship to gender and the role it has played in his life and career.
“It’s not lost on me, the irony of me winning man of the year when I did drag for the first time this year,” Sivan said. “I feel more in touch with my femininity than ever, and I think it speaks to a point I’d like to make, which is that my relationship with masculinity has been very strange my entire life.”
He explained that he felt like he existed in a “grey area” growing up, not quite fitting in with the girls or the boys in his peer group.
“Unlearning and de-programming all of that has taken so many years and lots of people,” Sivan continued. “I’m so lucky to have incredible women in my life. I pull so much from them, and their strength and power is something I’m in awe of. I also have incredible men in my life.”
Troye Sivan “One of Your Girls”
Sivan’s nuanced perspective on freedom in gender expression is on full display in “One of Your Girls.” It is a song he’s said was inspired by sleeping with ostensibly straight men who were questioning their sexuality. In the video, the pop star transforms into a Britney Spears-esque 2000s pop diva.
As Them staff writer James Factora noted in October, “it’s not even really accurate” to call Sivan’s performance in the video drag.“That implies a campiness or element of parody that isn’t present in the video,” Factora wrote at the time. “Indeed, aside from the inherent camp of pop star femininity, Sivan’s performance in the video reads as a totally earnest desire to be, yes, one of your girls.”
During his GQ acceptance speech, the “Rush” singer also talked about his connection to the queer community, saying, “The biggest thing for me has been the queer people in my life that I’ve met along the way.”
“These are people I look to for self-love first and foremost, and for love of each other and love of community,” he continued.
Sivan’s love of queer community is on full display in his 2023 music videos, which explore and play with gender and sexuality in unique ways. In July, there was his viral music video for “Rush,” in which the sweaty star ground through a joyful, summery sea of bare butts, make-outs, and voguing. Meanwhile, his “Got Me Started” video took a page out of arthouse cinema, seemingly paying homage to the films of legendary filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai — especially his 1997 queer romantic drama Happy Together. Wherever Sivan’s career goes in 2024, it seems safe to assume that his exploratory queer art will follow.
