The subject of this article is Neil Jordan's film The Crying Game. Rel
eased in 1992, it was widely received as a film that challenged stereo
types in relation to both the IRA and questions of race, sexuality and
desire. This article calls into question such a radical reading by an
alysing the way in which Jude the IRA woman is represented. Through a
feminist deconstruction, the article proposes that the character of Ju
de can be seen to represent both national and international anxieties
concerning contemporary masculine and feminine subject positions. The
article plots this by investigating how the film deals with the specif
ics of gender and Irish nationalism. It then moves on to consider how
these specifics can be seen to articulate international postmodern con
cerns about contemporary gender identities.