Ever since “Broad City” debuted a decade ago, Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson have epitomized what it means to be a young Jewish woman. But now, it seems that one half of the broads from “Broad City” now also represents what it means to be a Jewex.
In a recent interview with The Independent, Ilana spoke about being a non-binary woman. The news came out during the course of a conversation about Ilana’s buddy comedy “Babes,” which came out in May. In the movie, Ilana plays Eden, a Jewish woman who accidentally becomes pregnant. With the help of her friend Dawn (Michelle Buteau), Eden readies herself to take on birth and single motherhood. Ilana co-wrote the movie with writer Josh Rabinowitz and it was largely based on Ilana’s own experience of pregnancy (Ilana gave birth to a daughter in July 2021). One part of Ilana’s pregnancy that isn’t reflected in the movie though, is the fact that they realized they are nonbinary because of it.
“Being pregnant on paper was the most female thing I could ever do, but it actually highlighted both the masculine and feminine inside of me,” she told the Independent.
“For so long, my masculinity felt like something I had to hide or make a joke of, and my femininity was something that felt like drag. There was always this element of comedy to it that was limiting my genuine personal experience,” they explained. “Then this gift of being pregnant made space for me to be real with myself.”
Ilana concluded, “I’m moving through the world in a way that’s truer.”
This isn’t quite a coming out, however. Ilana seemingly first spoke about being nonbinary in an interview with USA Today from May and has listed they/she pronouns in their Instagram bio since at least March. As the publication them notes, it seems like the Jewish comic is soft-launching their updated gender identity as opposed to making an official announcement.
In the conversation, Ilana also spoke a bit about their Jewishness. When the interviewer asked if their vocal criticism of Israel ever puts them in conflict with other comedians, the conversation turned to “Seinfeld.” Despite holding completely different views on Israel-Palestine than Jerry Seinfeld, the Jewy ’90s sitcom is still a cultural touchstone for her.
“Every single episode of that show is encoded in my spine. The images, the rhythm… the Jewishness. The Jewishness was so important to me,” Ilana said, while explaining that she can still love the show while disagreeing with Jerry Seinfeld’s politics. “I so appreciate ‘Seinfeld’ the TV show and Jerry Seinfeld for the parts that I’ve been influenced by.”
“Ilana Wexler is so Cosmo Kramer,” they added.
You know what else is so Cosmo Kramer? Being nonbinary! (No, I will not explain further.) So mazel tov, Ilana! Yas, gender-expansive Jewish kween!
