Front Lines

A seminal collection of journalism on art, politics, and culture, by Juliet Jacques, one of the UK’s most pioneering transgender writers.

Juliet Jacques was one of the first trans writers in the UK to contribute broadly to both British and foreign media, writing widely about the trans experience. Spanning over a decade, Jacques’ ground-breaking journalism about selfhood, society, art, politics, freedom, and gender identity, tracks the backlash against emerging trans rights and the rise of a new and more explicit form of media transphobia. 

Front Lines is a seminal collection of writings on trans and queer art, politics, and media, from a period in which the relationship between trans and non-binary people and the British media was exceptionally turbulent. Jacques navigates the tension between wanting to simply write about art and culture and needing to counter the dishonest, damaging rhetoric being published about trans people in virtually every national newspaper in the UK. “I never believed any journalism was objective, nor that there was any point in even trying to be,' writes Jacques in her introduction. ‘Above all, activism is needed to fight this, with journalism to support it: there is no point in pretending to be objective in our work, as the stakes remain just as high as they were back in 2010, perhaps even higher… We’re entering a new phase of collective struggle, with new fronts and new tactics needed: I hope this book can help to inform that.’ 

This crucial collection asks what we can learn from the last decade and, importantly, what we can do now. How can new writers take up the struggle for trans liberation? And what will the future of trans writing look like?

“Over the past fifteen years, Juliet has established a reputation for writing that is eclectic, uncompromising, full of integrity and always informed. Front Lines gathers it in one place; a gift and a breath of fresh air to its readers, as Juliet has been to British journalism.” – Amelia Abraham 

“Juliet Jacques is one of the great pioneering trans journalists of our time, as this wonderful collection underlines: full of her humanity, courage, insight and charm. In these dark times, she's an inspiring beacon.” – Owen Jones 

“The clarity, incision, and insight of Juliet's journalism never fails to impress. An invaluable guide to the last ten years of UK trans cultural and political life, and a gorgeous look at the offbeat art other writers pass by.” – CN Lester 

“Front Lines boldly goes where few trans women have gone before: to football matches for a start! Juliet Jacques’ own experiences with playing football and being a fan also inform her investigations into controversies about transgender athletes in sports. But the essays collected here do not stop there. Jacques is relentless in her confrontations with British transphobia and she is nuanced in her intellectual responses to trans theory, and rangy in her engagements with art and media. This is a must-read collection. It charts a clear path through the everyday transphobia indulged by mainstream media and delivers startling and prescient insights into the past, present and future of trans politics.” – Jack Halberstam, author of Trans*: A Quick and Quirky Account of Gender Variability, and The Queer Art of Failure. 

 “Sobering and provocative, Juliet Jacques is always one step ahead. I never fail to learn from her writing. At a time when trans women are the renewed target of hatred, these essays tell the story of a struggle that is far from over and in which Jacques herself has played a key role. Part indictment of prejudice, part celebration of trans women’s creativity and resilience, Frontlines will be indispensable for any reader wanting to engage with one of the most heated and urgent political disputes of the day.” – Jacqueline Rose, author of The Haunting of Sylvia Plath and On Violence and On Violence Against Women