Performing ambiguity: The passing of Ellen DeGeneres

This essay examines a contemporary case of a lesbian "passing" as a heterosexual woman in order to gain greater insight into the strategic rhetorical performances employed to that end. Specifically, the essay assesses Ellen DeGeneres' performance as a heterosexual woman via her television show, stand-up comedy routines, and interviews prior to her coming out as a lesbian. The author argues that DeGeneres' complex performance of passing constitutes an example of managing ambiguity in a context of constraint-the mainstream media-such that her performance simultaneously constructs a lesbian identity even as it cultivates a guise of heterosexuality; interestingly, this is true of her performance both during and subsequent to her public revelation of her lesbianism. This case study of ambiguous performance suggests further that such performances feature theoretical relevance regarding the hegemonic implications of dominant and oppositional readings.