Janet Mock | |
|---|---|
 Mock in 2012 | |
| Born | (1983-03-10)March 10, 1983 (age 42) |
| Education | University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, trans rights activist, television producer |
| Known for | Redefining Realness, trans activism[1][2] |
| Spouse | |
Janet Mock (born March 10, 1983)[3] is an American writer, television producer, andtransgender rights activist. Her debut book, the memoirRedefining Realness, became aNew York Times bestseller. She is a contributing editor forMarie Claire and a former staff editor ofPeople magazine's website.[4][5][6][7]
Mock was born inHonolulu, Hawaii, the second child in the family.[8][9][10] Her father, Charlie Mock III, isAfrican-American, and her mother, Elizabeth (née Barrett), is of halfPortuguese descent, part Asian descent and partNative Hawaiian (kānaka maoli) descent.[11] Mock lived for most of her youth in her native Hawaii, with some time spent inOakland, California andDallas.[12]
Mock began hertransition in her first year of high school, and funded her medical transition by earning money as a sex worker in her teens.[13] At the age of fifteen, Mock was introduced to the world of sex work. Mock says, "I went dressed up with my friends; we hung out with older girls, and when I say older girls I was 15 and some of them were 18 to 25, but they were light-years ahead of us in terms of their identities and their own transitions, of their confidence in their bodies, of proclaiming themselves to themselves and to one another. It was deeply a space of sisterhood and socializing for me." The sex worker experience, although it brings "deep sadness", was her means of survival as a trans person of color.[14] She played volleyball in high school, a sport she had bonded over with her childhood friend Wendi, who helped Mock express her femininity.[15] Mock explains that when she first met Wendi, she asked if Mock was amāhū. Mock describes māhū as "a label for those who live outside of the gender binary." She also added that her hula instructor at the time was a māhū, or trans woman.[16] She chose her nameJanet afterJanet Jackson.[13][17]
She was the first person in her family to go to college. She underwentgender confirming surgery inThailand at the age of 18 in the middle of her first year in college.[12] Mock earned a Bachelor of Arts inFashion Merchandising from theUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2004 and a Master of Arts in journalism fromNew York University in 2006.[18][19]
After graduating fromNew York University, Mock started working atPeople magazine, where she was astaff editor for more than five years.[19] Her career in journalism shifted from editor to media advocate when shecame out publicly as atrans woman in a 2011Marie Claire article, written byKierna Mayo in Mock's voice. Mock took issue with how the magazine represented her by stating that she was born and raised as a boy; she says she was always a girl.[20][21] Mock said, "I was born in what doctors proclaim is a boy's body. I had no choice in the assignment of my sex at birth.... My genital reconstructive surgery did not make me a girl. I was always a girl."[22]
In 2014, while promoting her bookRedefining Realness, she reiterated that she did not choose theMarie Claire article title, and found it problematic.[15][23] The editor of that piece, Lea Goldman, would later tweet in support of Mock: "To be fair, I do recall @janetmock & @kiernamayo taking issue with our @marieclaire hed, "I Was Born a Boy." I went with it anyway. #regrets"[24] Mock became a contributing editor atMarie Claire, where she has written articles about racial representation in film and television[25] as well as trans women's presence in the global beauty industry.[26][27]
Mock submitted a video about her experiences as a transgender woman to the "It Gets Better" project in 2011, and has written on a variety of topics forMarie Claire,Elle,The Advocate,Huffington Post andXoJane.[28][29][30]
In 2012, Atria Books, a division ofSimon & Schuster, signed Mock to her first book deal for a memoir about her teenage years,[31] which was released asRedefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More in February 2014. It is the first book written by a trans person who transitioned as a young person.Redefining Realness madeThe New York Times bestseller list for hardcover nonfiction, and contains her personal memories often alongside statistics or social theory.[15][8] Mock writes her book is about her personal experience as a trans woman of color.[32] In the author's note, she writes she is aware of her privilege in writing this book and telling her story. She states in the author's note, "There is no universal women's experience".[32] Feminist criticbell hooks referred to Mock's memoir as, "Courageous! This book is a life map for transformation" whileMelissa Harris-Perry said, "Janet does what only great writers of autobiography accomplish — she tells a story of the self, which turns out to be a reflection of all humanity."[33]
In 2017,Surpassing Certainty, Mock's second memoir, was published.[34] The book's title is an allusion toAudre Lorde, who wrote, "And at last you'll know with surpassing certainty that only one thing is more frightening than speaking your truth. And that is not speaking."[35]
Shortly after signing her book deal, Mock left her position as an editor atPeople.com.[36] Mock went on to hostTakePart Live and her own culture show,So POPular!, onShift.[37] Mock has stated, in a Q&A withTribune Business News, that her heroes and influences have been women writers such asZora Neale Hurston,Maya Angelou,Alice Walker, andToni Morrison.[38] While taping So POPular!, she continued to work withMSNBC as a guest host for theMelissa Harris-Perry show, host of theGlobal Citizen Festival, and covered the White House Correspondence Dinner's red carpet for Shift. She is also a special correspondent forEntertainment Tonight.[39]
On December 5, 2016, "The Trans List" aired on HBO.[40] The film was produced by Mock along with directorTimothy Greenfield-Sanders. Mock also interviewed the cast, which features eleven prominent transgender figures:Laverne Cox,Miss Major Griffin-Gracy,Buck Angel, Kylar Broadus,Caroline Cossey,Shane Ortega,Alok Vaid-Menon,Nicole Maines,Bamby Salcedo,Amos Mac andCaitlyn Jenner.
The television showPose premiered on June 3, 2018, onFX. Mock is a writer, director, and producer on the show, and is the first trans woman of color hired as a writer for a TV series in history.[41] It follows the lives of five trans women in the New York ballroom scene in 1987.Pose "looks at the juxtaposition of several segments of life and society inNew York: the rise of the luxury Trump-era universe, thedowntown social and literary scene, and theball culture world."[42] The series has been congratulated for casting actual trans women in trans roles and for accurately depicting a unique queer subculture. In 2018 Mock directed the episode ofPose titled "Love Is the Message", thus making her the first transgender woman of color to write and direct any television episode.[43] However, following the final season's premiere Mock spoke up against the show's treatment of its creatives behind the scenes - taking issue with her pay and the writing.[44]
In 2019, Mock signed a three-year deal withNetflix giving them exclusive rights to her TV series and a first-look option on feature film projects; this made her the first openly transgender woman of color to secure a deal with a major content company.[45][46]
In November 2021, Mock was set to directThe International Sweethearts of Rhythm forSony Pictures.[47]
Mock is featured in a 2011 documentary calledDressed.[48] She is also featured in an LGBT documentary,The OUT List, which screened onHBO on June 27, 2013.[49]
In February 2014, Mock joinedPiers Morgan Live onCNN, for a face-to-face interview.[50] After the show aired, the interview resulted in a Twitter feud between thePiers Morgan Live team and Mock. She accused them of "sensationalizing her life"[51] by focusing on her personal and physical life instead of her new book,Redefining Realness. Mock toldBuzzFeed that Morgan did not "really want to talk abouttrans issues, he wants to sensationalize my life and not really talk about the work that I do and what the purpose of me writing this book was about."[51] Morgan received criticism from theLGBTQ community, resulting in Mock's second invitation onto the show.[52] Morgan attempted to understand the root of the criticism as Mock explained the problem with the way trans people and their lives are represented in mainstream media.[53]
To address the controversy, Mock appeared onThe Colbert Report on February 18, 2014, where the host skewered Morgan and gave Mock space to speak about her book, advocacy and the need to listen to trans people when they declare who they are.[54] In an interview with Fusion'sAlicia Menendez, Mock and Menendez "flipped the script" and used the Morgan interview as a teaching lesson by putting Mock on the questioning end of the interview to flip the conversation aroundgender.[55] Mock as the interviewer asked Menendez to prove her gender with questions like "do you have a vagina" to prove that she iscisgender, interrogating the ways in which trans people are questioned by the media.[56]
In December 2014, Mock was featured on the fifth anniversary cover ofC☆NDY magazine along with 13 other transgender women –Laverne Cox,Carmen Carrera,Geena Rocero,Isis King, Gisele Alicea,Leyna Ramous, Dina Marie, Nina Poon,Juliana Huxtable, Niki M'nray, Pêche Di, Carmen Xtravaganza andYasmine Petty.[57]
In April 2015,Oprah Winfrey invited Mock to be a guest onSuper Soul Sunday for a segment titled, "Becoming Your Most Authentic Self" where she discussed "proudly and unapologetically" claiming her identities. In September 2015, Mock was invited back to join Winfrey's Super Soul Sessions where Mock discussed, "Embracing The Otherness." In 2016, Mock was named to Oprah'sSuperSoul 100 list of visionaries and influential leaders.[58]
Mock has been featured on the covers ofBritish VOGUE, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter, Who What Wear, Paper, andOUT magazines. Mock has also been interviewed onELLEN, Wendy Williams, The Daily Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Desus & Mero, andReal Time with Bill Maher.[59] She has also appeared onReal Time with Bill Maher,Melissa Harris-Perry,The Colbert Report, andThe Nightly Show.[60][61][2][54][62]
In March 2016, theHillel atBrown University invited Mock to speak, but she canceled after Brown Students for Justice in Palestine protested the invitation.[63][64]
In 2012, Mock started a Twitterhashtag to empower transgender women, called #GirlsLikeUs, which received attention from several queer-media sites.[65][66][67][68] Also in 2012, she gave the Lavender Commencement keynote speech honoring LGBT students at theUniversity of Southern California and delivered the commencement address forPitzer College in 2015. She also served as co-chair, nominee and presenter at the 2012GLAAD Media Awards.[18]
In June 2013, Mock joined the board of directors of theArcus Foundation, a charitable foundation focused on great ape conservation and LGBT rights.[69]
In 2014, following the conviction of activist (and transgender woman of color)Monica Jones,[70] Mock joined a campaign against a Phoenix law that allows police to arrest anyone suspected of "prostitution", which targets transgender women of color. Mock tweeted, "Speak against the profiling of #TWOC [trans woman of color], likeMonica Jones. Tweet #StandWithMonica + follow @SWOPPhx [Sex Workers Outreach Project – Phoenix Chapter] now!"[70]
In November 2012, theSylvia Rivera Law Project gave Mock their Sylvia Rivera Activist Award.[71]
Mock was included in theTrans 100, the first annual list recognizing 100 transgender advocates in the United States, and gave the keynote speech at the launch event on March 29, 2013, inChicago.[72][73][74]
On November 14, 2013, Mock was honored as a member of the OUT100,Out's 100 "most compelling people of the year" and introducedLaverne Cox as the recipient of the Reader's Choice Award at the event. She was also named one ofGood's GOOD 100 for "Building An Online Army to Defend #GirlsLikeUs."[75]
Mock was included in the video accompanying theGoogle Doodle forInternational Women's Day 2014.[76]
In April 2014,GLSEN presented Mock with the Inspiration Award at the GLSEN Respect Awards[77] and in October, theFeminist Press honored her activism at the Women & Power Gala.[78]
In 2014, Mock also was included as part ofThe Advocate's annual "40 Under 40" list, as well as their list of 50 Most Influential LGBT People in Media.[79][80] That year, she was also included in the annual Root 100, which honors "standout black leaders, innovators and culture shapers" aged 45 and younger,[81] andPlanned Parenthood presented the Maggie Award for Media Excellence in "Social Media Campaign" to Mock for her work in creating a powerful and safe space for trans voices online and beyond through her #RedefiningRealnessTumblr page.[82]
In 2015,Time named her one of "the 30 Most Influential People on the Internet" and one of "12 New Faces of Black Leadership"[83][84] andFast Company included Mock as one of 2015's "Most Creative People in Business."
In February 2015, theAmerican Library Association honoredRedefining Realness with the Stonewall Book Award.[85] Later that year, Mock's book was nominated as aLambda Literary Award finalist in the category of transgender non-fiction[86] and The Women's Way awarded Mock with their Book Prize.
In June 2015, Mock received the inauguralJosé Esteban Muñoz award fromCLAGS: The Center for LGBTQ Studies – an award that is given to an individual who promotes Queer Studies in their work or activism.[87]
Along withTiq Milan andCandis Cayne, Mock accepted an award in honor ofMarsha P. Johnson andSylvia Rivera's lives and work at the 2016 LOGO Trailblazer Honors. She referred to Johnson and Rivera as her "fairy godmothers because they created the blueprint for our liberation."[88]
Mock was included inTime magazine's100 Most Influential People of 2018.[89]
In 2019, Mock received aPrimetime Emmy Award nomination forOutstanding Drama Series at the71st Primetime Emmy Awards for her work as a producer on season 1 ofPose.[90] She was nominated for this award again in 2021 at the73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as being nominated forOutstanding Writing for a Drama Series, both nominations are for her work on season 3 ofPose.[90]
Mock lives in New York City. She married photographer Aaron Tredwell in 2015. The couple filed for divorce in February 2019.[91]
Mock began datingPose actorAngel Bismark Curiel in 2018 amid her failing marriage.[92]
The numbers in directing and writing credits refer to the number of episodes.
| Title | Year | Credited as | Network | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Director | Writer | Executive Producer | ||||
| Pose | 2018–2021 | No | Yes (6) | Yes (13[94]) | only producer | FX | |
| The Politician | 2019 | No | Yes (1) | No | No | Netflix | |
| Hollywood | 2020 | No | Yes (2) | Yes (2) | Yes | Netflix | Miniseries |
| Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story | 2022 | No | No | Yes (2) | Yes | Netflix | Miniseries |
I am a trans woman. My sisters are trans women. We are not secrets. We are not shameful. We are worthy of respect, desire, and love. As there are many kinds of women, there are many kinds of men, and many men desire many kinds of women, trans women are among these women. And let's be clear: Trans women are women.
I was born in what doctor's proclaim is a boy's body. I had no choice in the assignment of my sex at birth. I take issue with the two instances in the piece: The first instance proclaims, "Until she was 18, Janet was a boy," and then it goes on to say, "I even found other boys like me there…" My genital reconstructive surgery did not make me a girl. I was always a girl.
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