Eddie Izzard: 'If you're miffed about my pronouns - relax, sit down, and have a cup of tea'
Eddie Izzard has told ITV News her gender fluidity gives her a "superhero feeling," but said her use of she/her pronouns is nothing new.
Izzard - a comedian, writer, actor, activist, and marathon runner - made headlines in December after requesting she be referred to as she and her.
"Now I've used she and her before, but that was the day when everyone kind of went crazy on it," she told ITV News.
"A lot of people were supportive and some people were very miffed - but I think those people should just relax, sit down, and have a cup of tea."
Speaking to ITV News while completing the final stretch of her 31 marathons in 31 days, Izzard said the use of she/her pronouns was not a change but a "request," when asked by producers on a TV show which she would prefer.
"I've been out for 35 years, I came out in 1985. I have boy mode and girl mode and I see it as a superhero kind of thing," Izzard said.
"I'm gender fluid but I was in girl mode and I sat down and they said 'what pronouns would you like?' And I said 'well, she and her would be great'.
"They used them, the show was seen, a lot of people saw the show, and it went viral around the world."
On the discrimination often directed at the transgender community, Izzard said: "If it's not affecting someone, then why do you need to lean in and stop other people just trying to create a little space for themselves to be positive.
"This is not an attacking thing, this is just existing."
But she said attitudes have changed for the better in the time she's been out.
"I do think things are better, I was attacked more in the early days. The abuse was much more at the beginning. I'm a bit more known now. Things could get better.
"When I came out, being trans was essentially toxic. It was seen as a very, very, very negative thing and people fought me in the street - they hurled abuse at me.
"Things have got better, slowly but surely, two steps forward - one step back."
Izzard, a political activist and vocal anti-Brexit campaigner, welcomed the reversal of Donald Trump's transgender military ban.
President Joe Biden made it a priority in his first week in office to reverse the policy which forced thousands out of the military on the basis of their gender identity.
"Transgender people will fight bravely, even more bravely maybe, because they know that they're trans and that people are watching them.
"So they will be out there, on the line, doing what they can - and trying as hard as anyone".
ITV News is showcasing the lives, legacies and stories of individuals throughout LGBT+ History Month, read more in the series here.