“I would have been considered a ‘tomboy'”: expressing gender in ’90s Northern Ireland

Eilish McCormick‘s photo essay Oh Keith My Boy explores the photographer’s experiences of growing up as a gay woman in 90s’ Northern Ireland. This was a time and a place where there was little to no discussion about sexuality or gender identity and expression. “I would have been considered a ‘tomboy’ growing up,” says McCormick. “As a child and young teenager, I identified more with boys and the traits associated with that gender back then.” Oh Keith My Boy invariably captures the innocence, curiosity and confusion that comes with the youthful exploration of one’s gender and sexuality. Here and there, moments of relief and happiness occur, when one is free to experiment in the privacy of their own bedroom. 

Below McCormick discusses the background and motivations behind the project in greater detail.

“Growing up in Northern Ireland in the ‘90s/2000s was in many ways very similar to growing up in Republic of Ireland where homosexuality was only decriminalised in the early ‘90s. The culture was not open and as a result, pushed underground. This lack of social freedom was further exacerbated by the well documented ‘Troubles’.  The culture of this time was highly sectarian, which led to people not mixing freely, divided communities and a pervasive sense of secrecy which led to a very closed society. There was little or no discussion on sexuality, let alone gender issues and so, there was no comfortable platform for gay and queer people. As a result, there was nothing visibly queer. It was just something that you hid and didn’t really talk about—you privately felt different to everyone else. 

I do think Northern Ireland has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of the LGBTQ+ community nowadays. We celebrate Pride openly and same sex marriage was recently approved, after a well fought battle which solidifies further visibility and freedoms for all.”

“When I started this project, I wanted to find someone who would sit for the portraits.  I discovered Sarah through Instagram, when I had asked for some willing volunteers. I chose her for her non-stereotypical look and ambiguity regarding gender. She is my interpretation of the boy I wanted to be in my childhood: Keith.

This project casts a light back on a time when saying nothing was the norm and a girl behaving like a boy was just about acceptable, but certainly didn’t fit in with the stereotypical view of being a girl at that time. The expectation was that you should wear dresses, have long hair, play with dolls and wear makeup, and not to be the girl who played football, have short hair and wear clothes like boys. It also deals with puberty, awkward early teenage years and the resistance to physical changes that would happen to the female body.

The spectrum we have today regarding gender expression and identity etc. was not apparent in my youth. If it had, I would have felt much more represented. So, I created my own representation of gender. And ‘Keith’ was a manifestation of my own projections—where girls could have short hair and favour physical activities—girls who didn’t want to conform to the stereotype of that time.”

All images courtesy of Eilish McCormick.

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