Made for Dr. Jo Davis-McElligatt's course, LGBTQ Literature, at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette for the Spring 2018 semester

1. “I’ll never tell”
Unmasking Jason Holliday’s persona
in his titular film
By Kailey Broussard
7 April 2018

2. Dynamics in “Portrait of Jason”
➔ “Portrait of Jason” depicts a Jason Holliday, né Aaron
Payne, who recounts his time as a prostitute and around
the LGBTQ+ crowd in New York as he tries to obtain
currency to do what he wants—perform.
➔ His stage in Shirley Clarke’s movie is smaller than the
clubs in which he aspires to perform, and his
performance, much like his public persona, is based on
exploitation, whether for his sexual orientation, race or
status as a poor “hustler.”

3. Dynamics in “Portrait of Jason” cont.
➔ Holliday’s exploitation as a gay black man is due in part
to the film’s existence as the first major piece to
prominently feature an out gay man. Therefore, his
treatment from people off-screen can be considered an
exploitation of his character.
➔ Throughout the film, the viewer can witness Holliday’s
visage crack and examine the methods he uses to cover up
pain: laughter and witty banter. We can observe
Holliday’s masks through the institutions that exploit
him: his communities, parents, society, filmmakers, and
even himself.

4. Who is Jason Holliday?
● Black, gay man based in
New York at time of film
● “Hustler” - Prostitute,
helped around house of
clientele, odd jobs
● Refers to himself in
occasionally female
remarks — “queen,”
“bitch,” “whore,” etc.
● Came from a father
(nicknamed “Brother
Tough”) who beat him.
Holliday talks of
disappointing his mother Source:
http://maxskansascity.com/maxs
-icon-jason-holliday/

5. Cont.
● Jason has aspirations of performing and shows examples of
his repertoire by channeling actress Mae West and scenes
from “Funny Girl.”
● Jason said he has “been balling from Maine to Mexico” and
“ain’t got a dollar to show for it,” suggesting he is
poor.
● He also works for a lot of rich white women and fields
many racist comments, being called a “spook” and the N-
word.

6. Factors affecting Jason
Big Cities
In cities such as New York where he operates and
San Francisco where he was “made,” Holliday can
express himself while slipping under the radar
Racial Stereotyping
As a houseboy, Holliday is treated like a
servant and called a “spook,” as well as the N-
word
Society
Facing arrest and hospitalization for being
gay, Holliday is subject to institutional
homophobia that would spur the Stonewall riots
three years after the film was shot. “Portrait
of Jason” was released two years before the
Stonewall Riots took place.
Source: https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/west-village-gay-bars/

7. Jason & Parents
● Jason doesn’t speak much
on his family — just of
disappointing his mother
and his father beating
him
● Says in the movie he has
not had a place to
really call home since
he moved away from
parents

8. Jason and society
● Racism
○ Jason smiles in the face of racism from his clients
who call him names and assume he and other “servants”
are stealing.
○ He describes having “white boy fever” — which NPR’s
Hugh Ryan describes as suggesting “self-hatred and
internalized racism.”
○ “We still live in a world of social inequality,
unequal power, in which there are lots of people
having to put on a mask and perform in front of people
who have power over them.” - George Chauncey, Yale
University History Department

9. Homophobia
● Jason is arrested
because on charges
related to his sexual
orientation and had his
cabaret license
rescinded
● Was forced into
psychiatric sessions
for being gay
● Must juggle masculinity
although being
comfortable calling
himself a “queen,”
“bitch,” etc.

10. Jason vs. Himself
“You only got so much energy. I just spent so much time being a nervous wreck. I
guess I never really had any fun at all. Do you know how much that hurts? It only
hurts when you think of it. And if you’re real, you’re think of it a long, long time.
Those are the dues.”
● Jason’s greatest exploiter is himself through the mask he chooses and is
forced to wear in his various roles
● He is racked by regret, as demonstrated in the above quote, and as the movie
comes to an end, he breaks down under the pressure of both the masks he’s
had to make and berating remarks from accusers.

11. Jason and his
interviewers
● Jason’s mask is removed
— or rather pried off —
by filmers Shirley
Clarke and her
boyfriend, who arguably
exploit him during the
movie.
Carl Lee and Shirley Clarke. Source: SFMOMA’s Open
Space

12. Was it exploitative?
● Jason gave up some of
his power by appearing
in front of the camera
manned by two off-screen
producers — Shirley
Clarke and Carl Lee
● This excerpt from
AFTERIMAGE Magazine
suggests Clarke
exploited the star.

13. Jason’s take
● Jason’s interview with
the Village Voice
indicates that he thinks
he used the filmmakers
as Clarke allegedly used
him.
● Although caught in an
emotional breakdown that
some say was fabricated,
Jason eventually regains
his composure and says
his exposure was a
positive one.

14. Conclusion
● How much of Jason’s true self is
revealed in the film is forever
shrouded in mystery
● His presence in the film is
unlike anything previously
brought to life in media. His
performance would lead the way
for pieces such as “Next Stop,
Greenwich Village,” “Paris Is
Burning” and “Tongues Untied”

15. Conclusion, Cont.
● Jason’s constant objective of trying to keep his mask
from slipping off fades away through the night and
especially when people he knows try to wear at him
● Even though Jason bore his soul under harsh circumstances
and in a compromising way, he saw it as a means of
exposure — of telling his story that society at the time
did not want people to do.