Believe it or not, NYC-based Juliana Huxtable was once a legal assistant. Now an artist and DJ, she’s a major player on New York’s underground club scene. Along with her collective House of Ladosha, the trans star is on a mission to break down the gender binary in art, music and fashion. Huxtable has performed at Art Basel, opened for Azealia Banks graced the catwalks of DKNY and Eckhaus Latta. 

Now, Huxtable stars in a new short film, titled Juliana Huxtable on Essence & Offence by Berlin director Matt Lambert. In it, she and the Dazed 100 filmmaker discuss how the act of reclaiming language of oppression (words like cunt, faggot and n*****) can be a means of taking back power. “I think when you take the appropriation of profanity, it’s always reflexive of how the world around you relates to that word,” says Lambert. “It’s a tool to elevate or evolve thinking within minority groups.” 

Huxtable has first-hand experience of this kind of oppressive language: “I had always been on the receiving end of derogatory terms and they had a lot of power over me,” she says. “I grew up in a town in Texas, a very super-conservative town in Texas, my whole life and so I grew up with everyday language having a really, really intense impact on me.” 

Watch Juliana Huxtable on Essence & Offence below: