NYC Trans Oral History Project: Recent Episodes
NYC Trans Oral History Project
Image Object was raised in an inclusive and accepting environment. Object underwent many queer expressions, each expanding his identity politics and teaching him more about who Object is. The nightlife scene in NYC gave Object room to grow and play and push through the boundaries of gender. Object discusses NYC nightlife centers, parties and bars, including Merrie Cherry's, Sugarland, DAGnet, and Starr Bar.
Macy Rodman was born in Juneau, Alaska. During her early life she describes visits to the local sex shop where she learned about gay life, including NYC’s glam scene which featured images of modified and expansive versions of femininity including Amanda Lepore. She explored making music with her sister which grew into her own project with her move to NYC. She also helps produce the podcast Nymphowars which was first imagined as a place to speak about dating as a trans woman, but morphed into fully developed radio plays of absurdist comedy. Since living in Brooklyn for the last 11 years, Macy gravitated towards groups invested in working for their communities, admiring projects like Discwoman, Decolonize this Place, and Boiling Point NYC. Since quarantine she’s returned to the sounds of Basement Jaxx, Fatboy Slim and Chemical Brothers reminding her of a time before the club scene where dance music was listened to at home.
(Entrevista en español/Interview in Spanish) En esta entrevista, ChiChi describe su niñez como joven gay en Lima, Perú y su inmigración a Nueva York sola a los veinte años mientras experimentaba la homofobia y ocultaba quién era. Habla de la comunidad de mujeres trans que encontraba en Nueva York y sus experiencias con la transición, las inyecciones, el trabajo sexual y la policía. Además, habla de su lucha larga por obtener sus papeles y cómo ha cambiado la relación con su familia. Termina con el trabajo comunitario y activista de la organización Make the Road. In this interview, ChiChi describes growing up gay in Lima, Perú, before immigrating to New York alone at twenty years old while experiencing homophobia and hiding who she was. She talks about the community of trans women she found in New York and their experiences with transition, injections, sex work, and the police, as well as her relationship with her family and her years-long struggle to get her papers. She ends with the community and activist work of the organization Make the Road. (Summary by Steven Saada.)
Josephine Perez is a trans advocate who emphasizes a need for better law enforcement protections for transgender women. Josephine experienced sexual violence on multiple occasions and became a sex worker at an early age. She hopes that her work advocating for the trans community will help to prevent others from similar experiences in the future.
Angal Field shares his experience of being a writer, filmmaker and photographer in today’s media landscape and discusses the trappings of trans visibility. Using the medium of film to “speak back” he personally explores queer family stories and complex subject hoods. Angal speaks of the highs and lows of medically transitioning and the experience of dating in a new body and new gender. Born in Portland Oregon, he describes the limitations of his liberal upbringing and what it means to understand systemic issues that affect marginalized communities in which trans-potential will always be linked to abolition.
Ric explores the complexity of language in the trans community, and her experiences interviewing trans elders for the NYC Trans Oral History Project. Ric also reflects on drug use and how it is not necessarily a form of escapism, but a way to view things differently.
Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker is a co-founder of the New York Trans-gender Advocacy Group (NYTAG). Here, she shares her history of LGB and trans activism in New York City. Born on Staten Island, Miss Tanya describes her childhood confronting racism, homophobia, and transphobia along the east coast of the United States before joining the military and relocating to Germany. Upon her return, she moved to New York City, attending college on Staten Island, where she notably led a protest against Staten Island borough president, Guy Molinari, for which she was run off of campus. She also recounts the development of a distinct trans identity, surviving in New York City during the AIDS crisis, the community among homeless, queer and trans people of color in New York City in the 1980s and 90s, and her work as a social service provider and activist. (Summary by Micah Katz.)
Dean Spade relates his journey and politicization first through the support of his mother in conservative Virginia, his first tastes of feminism and increasingly his work to provide support and resources through the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, advocating for transgender, intersex and gender non-conforming low income communites and people of color. Spade's story spans from Virginia and back and forth between New York and California. Working at a LGBTQ bookstore by day, promoting queer nightlife and involving himself in New York's community activism, Dean pursued law while developing a sharp sense of the limitations of institutional change. He shares both his personal experiences as well as grounding insights regarding the nature of social change, ending with a reflection on the current political climate. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
Cecilia Gentili is the Director of Policy at Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC). In this wide-ranging interview, she reflects on the relationships and experiences that inform her story of struggle, resilience, and joy. Cecilia recounts her childhood and adolescence in Gálvez, Argentina, describing complex family dynamics and early experiences with gender nonconformity and transphobia. She also shares her memories of the military dictatorship, and the effects of this legacy of violence, trauma and fear on her own family and Argentine society. She chronicles later life in the city of Rosario, where she discovered a trans community as a student, sex worker and performer. Cecilia’s journey also includes years in Miami and New York City facing addiction, homelessness, incarceration, and life under threat of deportation as an undocumented immigrant. Finally, she considers her professional success today as an organizer and advocate for the trans community and beyond. Summary by Justine Ambrose. Photo by Leah James.
Bianey Garcia is a community organizer at Make the Road New York, a non-profit organization providing services and advocacy for Latinx and working class communities. Born in Veracruz, Mexico and raised in Veracruz and Chiapas, Bianey describes the transphobic violence that forced her to relocate to Tijuana at 14 and subsequently New York City. Bianey recounts her initial experiences as an undocumented, trans woman of color in New York including finding trans community and the transphobic and racist policing that resulted in her incarceration at Rikers Island. Later, she describes her involvement with the Trans Immigrant Project and the first Trans Latina March, obtaining a green card, and her plans to revisit her family in Mexico for the first time in 12 years. (Summary by Micah Katz.)
After purchasing a house in Park Slope in the 1980's to be closer to her kids, Dr. Rusty Mae Moore and Chelsea Goodwin opened their home to homeless trans folk. Transy House, as it was called, aimed to be a place where trans people could feel safe from the objectification and harassment. To this day, the continue to live with other trans folks on Long Island, where they've discovered and forged new community affinities. In this interview Chelsea Goodwin speaks passionately of Goth and Pagan culture's relationship to Trans Community as being like "peanut butter and jelly". A seasoned activist, having worked with Act Up, Queer Nation and Dyke Action Machine, her piss-and-vinegar vibrancy emphasizes social change from the ground up, rather than legislative reform. Dr. Rusty Mae Moore came out in her 50's and through parenting, her career and travel to Brazil navigated the particularities of her own transition. Together they share their intimate understanding of Trans Liberation.
Julian Talamantez Brolaski uses language and xirs' own pronoun paradigm to come closer to words that best express xir identity; at one time utilizing "it" as xir pronoun and appreciating the leveling impact of recognizing a unity with all things. Seeking what would feel closer to "home" both conceptually and geographically, xe sought community in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, New Mexico and New York; pursuing poetry, Indigenous two-spirit communities, and country music along the way. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
Born in NYC, Reneé Imperato, is a proud anti racist, pro union trans woman who has lived her life fighting for the rights of others. In this interview she shares her memories of growing up in New York including her childhood spent in Times Square, her friendship with Leslie Feinberg, and her memories of the legendary 220 club in New York City’s West Village. Throughout the interview Reneé weaves in the struggle for trans rights with the Black Lives Matter movement and union organizing. (Summary by Ted Kerr.)
Paris shares her experience of growing up in Atlanta and starting to “live her truth” at a young age. She recalls finding reassurance in a community of other Black trans women for the first time and getting involved with parts of the Atlanta Black Queer and Trans scene. Professionally, Paris has spoken on panels about LGBT issues, worked as a music librarian at Morehouse College, and engaged in sex work. She currently works as a case manager at Housing Works in New York City. Paris weaves connections and highlights differences between her experiences and communities in Atlanta and in New York City. Throughout her accounts of journey and place, Paris shares about her own values regarding work ethics, relationships, gender roles, and activism. (Summary by EJ Coolidge.)
Phoenix Danger was active in the successful unionization campaign at Babeland, a NYC sex toy shop. In this interview, they recount their early life in suburban New York as the child of Filipino immigrants, facing social rejection in school and discovering an affirming online queer community. They relate their struggles in an abusive relationship during college, and their journey from estrangement to re-connection with their parents. Phoenix also chronicles the evolution of their non-binary trans identity, influenced by their relationships with various queer and trans communities as well as their own political engagement. They trace the steps of this political development, from their initial exposure to organizing as a college student through their participation in the campaign to establish a union at Babeland in New York City. They describe the worker grievances at Babeland, the process of building support for a union, the personal and community relationships.
Genevieve Tatum, a transgender woman, retells her experiences as an adolescent in The Village in New York City. She describes the aftermath of the Stonewall riot, the Civil Rights movement, and the Women's movement. Genevieve also reveals her journey in accepting her trans-identity; first as a cross-dresser, and eventually coming out as a non-operative transgender woman. She describes the pain, confusion, and denial she felt, but also the relief upon accepting her truth and sharing it with her loved ones. After coming out, Genevieve lent her experiences to the SAGE Transgenerational Theater Project, where is hoping to solidify the transgender community's place in LGBT history. (Summary by Ariana Blondo.)
Octavia Leona Kohner was active in the successful unionization campaign at Babeland, a NYC sex toy shop. Here, she recounts her upbringing in a working-class family in Staten Island, and describes social isolation, friendships, and sexual encounters during adolescence. She relates her experience coming out as a trans woman while attending Hunter College, and her struggle with depression. She also discusses her own political journey, participating in advocacy and activism during high school and college, listening and learning at Occupy Wall Street, and her affiliation with anarchism. She shares stories of organizing at Babeland, recounting workplace grievances, anti-union efforts by management, the bargaining process, and details of their first contract. She places the victory by Babeland workers in the context of the broader labor movement. (Summary by Justine Ambrose.)
Jamie Bauer recounts their childhood and adolescence growing up in New York City’s Stuyvesant Town, resisting family pressure to conform to normative gender expressions and discovering butch femme culture in the Village. They discuss finding political and social community as a college student in Boston engaged in gay rights organizing, and, later, as part of Women’s Pentagon Action in New York City. They chronicle their involvement in ACT UP, describing the group’s culture and interpersonal dynamics, memorable direct actions, and shifts in its strategies and goals, as well as the broader political climate of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Jamie also details the evolution of their own non-binary transmasculine identity alongside the increased visibility of the transgender movement, and the complexities of negotiating their relationship with their longtime partner, choices related to their transition, and their queer identity. (Summary by Justine Ambrose.)
J. Soto recounts his evolving understanding of gender and identity along his eastward migration across the United States. Born and raised in the Bay Area, J. attended graduate school in Chicago, IL before moving to Brooklyn where he currently works as an artist who produces both written and performed works. J. describes the nuanced relationship he shares with his family, informed by their experience as working class, Catholic, Mormon and of Mexican descent. He also discusses the production of art work, the nature of community and family, and the role of language in understanding and describing identity. (Summary by Micah Katz.)
JD Davids, a writer, health activist, and communication strategist, recounts his experiences as a member of the Philadelphia HIV/AIDS activist movement and subsequent move to New York City. A Philadelphia resident until 2002, JD talks about how his time spent in anarchist collective housing led him to ACT UP Philadelphia and other direct action organizing for HIV/AIDS services. JD expands on the evolution of his gender identity and the scope of his activism as he organized and networked to found Project TEACH and Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP). He concludes by discussing his move to New York City and how his gender expression developed through illness, pregnancy, and parenthood and which communities he is active in today. (Summary by Micah Katz.)
Ei Meeker came to New York in the mid 1980's and got involved with ACT Up at the height of the AIDS crisis. He got involved with resource access for homeless LGBTQ and HIV+ people. He talks about his early brushes with feminism, activism in New York and San Francisco, the family support around gender he received growing up and his decision to become an educator. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
El Roy Red is a poet who has lived in New York City for three years. Red begins the interview by discussing her self-expression through a unique sense of style and how she found her voice as a writer. They recount their global upbringing, including their earliest moments of trans awareness and their experiences living in Europe and small towns in the United States as a trans person of color. She also discusses the importance of healing, how she has learned to find the “microjoys” in life, and finding community in New York City. Red shares their creativity, their attention to nuance and human complexity, and their visions for brown, black, trans, and queer liberation. (Summary by Izzy Levy.)
Shannon Harrington is a wig master, hair chaser, and make-up artist who has been living in New York City for over 30 years. In this interview Miss Shannon provides meaningful and nuanced insight into the 1980s and 1990s world of drag in New York City, gained from years of being involved in nightlife, theater and moving image communities as performer and behind the scenes talent. Miss Shannon speaks about experiences with performer International Chrysis, working at Edelweiss and having a friendship and working relationship with Lee Brewster of Lee’s Mardi Gras. (Summary by Ted Kerr.)
Fainan Lakha is a student at Columbia majoring in Comparative Literature and Society. She grew up in a Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim community in Seattle and became involved in the Oneness University associated with Tony Robbins before coming to New York and discovering philosophical materialism and Marxism. She is heavily active in current social movements and, in this interview, describes her vision of a trans politics that reaches beyond visibility. (summary by Boyda Johnstone.)
In this interview, Suneela Mubayi discusses their experiences as a genderqueer person who has traveled extensively throughout the Middle East while studying for their PhD in Arabic through Columbia University. They recount being raised by their grandmother in New Delhi, India, discovering their interest in languages and in Arabic, navigating airport travel while trans, and the interplay of language with gender and sexuality. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Photo credit: Meredith Zinner Photography. // Topher Gross is a hairstylist and former nightlife personality, performer, and poet. A lifelong New Yorker, he describes his quiet upbringing in Canarsie and early feelings of masculinity. Beginning with his time at the College of Staten Island, he discovered lesbian and trans communities through the internet and, later, through Manhattan's lesbian nightlife scene in the late 90's and early 2000's. He describes his shifting relationships to (and the unstable nature of) these communities and spaces, as well as his experiences coming out and undergoing top surgery during a time of scarce medical and financial resources for trans people. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
In this short conversation, Lenni discusses their long, ongoing journey in exploring non-binary and "genderfucker" identity. They recount coming out as non-binary after many years in a "straight-passing" marriage, the importance of individuality and self-expression, and their experiences as co-founder of the TransGenerational Theatre Project. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Zavé Martohardjono recounts growing up as a mixed race queer New Yorker. Having seen New York change over the past couple of decades, Zavé tells us about living in globally diverse neighborhoods, navigating New York City's competitive education system, finding solace and community in queer POC party scenes, working through racial and gender identity, the benefits of a queer workplace, and seeking out hormone treatment. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
Yanyi, a poet and software engineer, reflects on his experiences being part of and building many forms of community, including Asian American community, queer/trans community, and neighborhood communities. Born in China, he immigrated with his family to Canada (and then to the US) as a small child, and has lived in New York City for six years. Here, he talks through the many ways that, throughout his life, he has valued finding and creating communities and systems of support while developing his own sense of identity and dealing with the legacy of intergenerational trauma. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Story sharers include: Katie Liederman, Diana Cage, Maxe Crandall, Chris Parker, Naomi Clark, Buffalo Trace, AJ Lewis, Zachary Scholl, Rebecca Novack, Joss Barton, Sarah Schulman / / Friends of prolific writer and performer Bryn Kelly come together to reflect on the legacy and lineage she left behind. Hear her editors and professors explain what it was like to work with somebody so insecure despite being more intelligent than themselves; her friends share memories over her love and talent for cooking, reading tarot, doing hair, and going out to Hey Queen! and other spots in Brooklyn; her loved ones recall supporting her through a particularly challenging hospitalization at Interfaith; and her peers at the Lambda Literary Retreat explore how the work she produced as The Hussy and Party Bottom will live on as some of the most important and validating literature surrounding life as an HIV-affected person. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
erformer, and activist Spree shares her experiences as a Radical Faerie; a member of ACT UP, The Emma Goldman Gypsy Players and The Eggplant Players; and a resident of numerous places around the world including IDA (Idyll Dandy Arts) and her current home of Sassafras. She recounts various AIDS actions she took part of in NYC with her friend activist Ortez Alderman; and touring Europe and the US with fellow performer and friend Maxine. The interview begins with her recalling her family, including her gay brother and unaccepting parents, and living in Georgia. (Summary by Theodore (ted) Kerr.)
In this interview, Sabelo Narasimhan--a South Asian youth activist, organizer, photographer, and immigrant of color--discusses his penchant for collecting and sharing stories. Hear him talk about what it was like moving from India to California and then New York, experiences with the NYPD, his childhood, travel, and supportive and loving family. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
Stella Dance is an educator, tarot-card reader, and professional dungeon monitor who currently works at the recently unionized Babeland sex toy boutique in New York City. In this interview they describe their experience dealing with bullying, physical disability, and mental illness while growing up in a working-class family around Park Slope in Brooklyn, and later attending college in the south. Their experience spans such topics as physical disability, schizophrenia, hospitalization, the play party scene in New York, relationships, economic and class struggles, and finding a community of support while grappling with a continually fluctuating gender identity. (Summary by Boyda Johnstone.)
Christian Appel grew up in New Rochelle, escaping to find community in New York's party scene (particularly the Motherfucker parties) and at IDA, a queer gardening farmstead in Tennessee. She draws strength and liberation from her partners and seeks healing for herself and her community through secular spiritualism, her job at SAGE and her recent work creating the TransGenerational Theatre Project. Appel's anarchism and community work informs her sense of both community empowerment and the particular ways she experiences her gender identity. Through her whimsy and critical perspectives, Christian and her interviewer Dinnick conclude that "Trans is magic!" (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
Eve Elle describes the development of her identity and experiences as a trans woman over time, from realizing her identity at a very young age, to dating before and after transitioning, to her thoughts about her future and the possibility of parenthood. Throughout, she touches on her family, her relationship with the arts community, and shifting attitudes towards trans people and trans representation. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Anna Keyes discusses the textured and representational aspects of her films, her process of self realization and the embodiment of her womanhood through online community, her family and being out in the world; owning her process as well as recognizing the tension of "passing" as an ideal. Identifying puberty as a "process of coming into one's own humanity", Anna examines the experience of her second puberty as girlhood into womanhood. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
In this brief interview, Brycen Gaines touches on a variety of topics, beginning with his first moment of awareness of his gender identity. He discusses discrimination, healthcare, family, and trans friends. He shares his frustration with the lack of LGBT community and resources in New Jersey outside of college campuses. Finally, Brycen talks about the importance of therapy to LGBT people and about his plans to become a therapist working primarily with the LGBT community. (Summary by Izzy Levy.)
Gykyira Shoy is the Program Director of New York Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG). Here, she describes her experience as a trans person of color and her work as an activist, engaged in justice struggles for all people. Beginning with her life in the South, she shares her experiences in the foster care and shelter system, her struggles with sickness, and the journey that brought her to New York City. This interview addresses many topics: female entertainers, the house scene, economic justice issues in the trans community, HIV prevention, youth work, advocacy, empowerment, and others. Gykyira gives a detailed look in to the work of NYTAG. Using her personal journey with activism as a lens, we learn about the many organizations and people working for trans justice today. (Summary by Rachel Parsons.)
In this interview, Sylver describes a childhood growing up in the Bronx and a period of awakening that began after they were kicked-out of their mother’s home at 15. Sylver, having at times struggled with depression and alcohol dependence, describes the impact of finding their trans family and discovering activism through organizations such as Sylvia’s Place, WRRQ, an artist collective, and an inter-generational theatre group. The arts and self-expression have also been central for Sylver, who connected with the New York ballroom and drag scenes early on and who now works with youth at a camp called Arts In the Woods. (Summary by Wendy Knight.)
Abigail Thomas, who identifies as non-binary trans-feminine, reflects upon their experiences of as growing up as a disabled child in New York City. Xie explores the circumstances that shaped their journal to transition, including sexual abuse. Now playing “catch up,” and finding a source of confidence and pride in their non-binary trans-feminine disabled identity, Abigail discusses the road to transition, disability pride and how to enjoy little successes such as figuring out how to apply makeup and laying in the sauna of the women’s locker-room of LA Fitness.
Marty Hernandez Avedon discusses growing up in the foster care system only to be adopted by a family who rejected him at the age of 10, reconnecting with his biological parents, and what the name Hernandez Avedon means to him. A gender non-conforming tech worker, Marty explains the lack of diversity in programming and the steps he is taking—such as working with Access Code—to change that. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
In this interview Kyle Katz speaks about their childhood, growing up in Boston, coming to New York, and the role that timing, books and community have played in how they identify, and understand themselves. (Summary by Ted Kerr.)
Aiden Simon, a Brooklyn-based visual artist, details a life spent moving among different spaces both geographically and in terms of community. He discusses his experiences living in various cities in the US, seeing changes in queer and trans narratives over time, and the evolution of his artistic practice. Throughout, he expresses appreciation for the varied systems of support in his life, and for the increasing acceptance of gender variance in queer spaces, while also criticizing the rapid gentrification of New York City. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Santos, a bassist and sex educator, shares the story of his life in New York City, from his strict upbringing in East New York in the 80's, to his introduction to the punk and hardcore scene in the 90's, and his experiences with manhood and trans community in the 2000's and beyond. He emphasizes the importance of pleasure, vulnerability, and respect in his relationships with others. In particular, he discusses navigating and discovering gay sexuality, his long-term romantic relationships, and seeking supportive community and acceptance. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Slim discusses his experience of coming out to his family and navigating his parents' feelings about his identity while finding acceptance and support from his siblings, girlfriend and friends. Having grown up in an Egyptian Muslim community in Queens, he draws strength and resources from his varying identities. (Summary Kirsten Adorian.)
Tiffany Miles describes growing up in conservative, religious small-town Alabama, where she lived for the first thirty-two years of her life. She discusses her complicated relationships with family, the slow process of coming out to herself, and her deep love of science fiction, particularly Star Trek. After coming out as trans, she moved to New York City, where she has continued her transition, navigated unemployment and the shelter system as a trans woman, and begun to meet other trans people. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Yana Calou spent much of their youth traveling around the world and eventually found a community in Utah, where they began advocating for LGBTQ rights. Later, Calou moved to NYC, where they worked on campaigns for the labor rights of retail workers, where many queer and trans people are employed. They talk much about hormones, gender reconstructive surgery, and the health insurance disparities. Calou discusses their work with Retail Action Project, and the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union. (Summary by Courtney Arban.)
Allison Charde shares her experience "under the trans umbrella" while growing up on Long Island attending Purchase University and presently in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Allison speaks about her relationship to the internet, queerness, whiteness and how they interact with her idea of community and identity. (Summary by Christine Buckley.)
Kai Pelton is a co-facilitator of the Trans-Generational Theatre Project, a community initiative in NYC for trans-folk. Here, the 21 y.o. New York City native describes their journey as a trans person of color from the perspective of a lifelong fine and performing artist who emphasizes natural expression. This interview takes you through Kai’s coming-of-age transformation from an "awkward caterpillar" who is unsure of who they were to a "beautiful butterfly" who realizes their authentic self through emotional and energetic expression and gender fluidity. (Summary by Sydnee Novack.)
Nico Fuentes is a member leader in a current unionization campaign at the Pleasure Chest, a sex toy shop. Beginning with an account of growing up in a Mexican family in West Texas and Oklahoma, she goes on to describe her move to New York City to become involved with fashion. Eventually she found work in sex toy retail, where she came out as trans, politicized informed by Black Feminism, and eventually helped start the union drive at the Pleasure Chest in collaboration with the Retail, Warehouse, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). Nico reflects on how racist mistreatment spurred the campaign, and the role of queer and trans identities in retail.
Rye Young is the executive director of Third Wave Fund, a grantor engaging in “radical philanthropy” focused on funding organizing initiatives by young women and trans people of color. In this interview, Rye goes into depth on non-profit organizing, the contradictions of philanthropy as an industry, the evolution and difficulties faced by Third Wave. Rye also details their own personal history radicalizing and coming out as trans while a recovering Republican during the Bush administration. (Summary by Sydnee Novack.)
Dylan Kapit reflects on their experiences going to an all women high school, Barnard at Columbia University, in New York City, and coming out as a trans masculine person. They also discuss their life post-college as a special education teacher, and being trans among other straight teachers. Dylan discusses their work with All Sex and Ni Queer. (Summary by Kiah Brem-Frame.)
Ceyenne Doroshow shares her experience developing a supportive relationship with her family, enduring ignorance and discrimination, first meeting another transwoman, learning about hormones, and discovering Miss Major and others who she now calls her moms. Having grown up in a time there were so few out and proud transwomen in her life, Doroshow explains how she has seen the trans movement progress without neglecting the fact that her community is pushed out of housing, portrayed inaccurately in the media, and offered short term solutions if anything rather than sustainable employment opportunities and a chance to age with dignity. A longtime transadvocate and New Yorker, Doroshow offers a crucial account of her history in New York City. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
Amaree Jael recounts their life growing up in New York City as a transmasculine person of color. Beginning on 125th Street between 5th and Lennox, Amaree describes their early life in a changing neighborhood and an emotionally withholding biological family. They discuss school as a time of social discomfort and intellectual growth, learning the nuances of moving through the world as Black, queer, and trans. They spend time describing their needs from and contributions to community, whether it be in physical space or on social media, and how the various communities they have been involved in have fulfilled those needs or left them wanting. Touching on issues of representation, visibility, community, activism, and education, Amaree provides a young, Black, queer, trans voice born and raised in New York City. (Summary by Micah Katz.)
Lauren Simkin Berke describes their work as an illustrator, animator, artist, and zine creator based in Brooklyn, NY. They walk us through growing up in an unconventional primary school setting, finding community in an anti-oppression college drama troupe at Cornell University and the Art Students' League of New York, as well as their artistic inspirations and hobbies, reflecting on changes in trans and nonbinary identity and terminology over the last ten years. (Summary by Boyda Johnstone.)
Ky Platt is a mixed-race, transgender comedian and author. Originally from Hamilton, Ohio, Ky has been active in the NYC LGBTQ+ community since the 1990s. In this interview, Ky recounts his experiences of being raised in Southwestern Ohio as a mixed-race person who had identified as being queer since childhood, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community in the 1990s, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, his popular and acclaimed blog in the mid-2000s called “AskThisBlackWoman,” and being an active co-parent in a queer family. (Summary by Sydnee Novack.)
Grace Detrevarah was born in Detroit, Michigan to an automobile industry family and moved to New York City as a teenager. In this interview, she discusses running away and the drag queens and trans women who protected her, religion and spirituality, incarceration, attending NYU Tisch School of the Arts, "revolutionary girls" like herself, and transgender healthcare. She has written a book Grace: Transitions and Other Views, a Memoir. (Summery by Evie Zavidow.)
Elsie grew up middle class in the Midwest where the church was a big presence in her life. Though she encountered a progressiveness in various ways within the religious communities she was part of her in childhood, the fact that she was gender-questioning ultimately alienated her from the church. An important part of her socialization took place online, in the Myspace, DeviantArt, Twitch websites where she felt she had more control over interactions than IRL, especially if they became abusive due to her being a trans woman. Elsie speaks frankly about struggles that she has had both in school and her romantic history, as a sexual assault took its toll on both of those spheres in her life. She also talks briefly about her medical transition as a process that lead to her feeling more herself on estrogen than testosterone. Toward the end of the interview, Elsie connects her own empowerment and political development both to instances of police brutality that Black Lives Matter.
Eli Oberman—one of, if not the first, trans-identified students at Eugene Lang— talks about coming out as one of two very different trans children to a family of feminists, misogyny in transmasculine communities, the power of music and its ability to influence social change, and his spiritual connection to nature. As a breast cancer survivor living with depression, Eli explains the need for increased access to gender-affirming healthcare, not just in terms of trans-specific treatment, but overall. (Summary by Evan Zavidow.)
Hannah E. Simpson is an activist who draws on her education and harassment during medical school to inspire her advocacy work. She was one of the first trans individuals to speak in front of officials from the U.S. Army and was instrumental in promoting trans affirming Board of Education policies at her former high school in an affluent section of New Jersey. Hannah reflects upon how multiple identities, particularly being a secular Jewish woman and Star Trek lover, provided her with a framework to embrace her gender identity and teach others about the human experience of being a trans person. (Summary by Kaity Lloyd-Styles.)
Naz is a gender non-conforming queer artist who works around in between spaces. They were born in Iran into a middle class muslim family, and followed their parents to the United States as a child in 1977. Naz recounts their experience of being an outsider in this country. They describe growing up as an immigrant and attending white Italian Irish catholic school in a polarized, racially divided city where they experienced hatred from their classmates and teachers, as well as working as a camera assistant in a misogynistic anti-muslim film industry in New York during the years leading up to 9/11. Naz questions the definition of community, and wants to bring an honest collaboration into this world. (Summary by Eunjong Choi.)
Brenda Holder relives her glorious younger days in the “ball room scene.” Ms. Holder was born in Georgetown, Guyana before moving to the US, serving in the US military. She describes her first hormone shot, and later her medical transition. She discusses people who have inspired her in drag queen scenes, and her appearance in films, television and FX’s Pose.
(Entrevista en Español/Interview in Spanish.) Amanda Hurtado habla con Tamara Oyola Santiago sobre su vida en Ecuador y el cambio que ella vivió al venir a los Estados Unidos. En esta linda conversación, Amanda comparte su historia, hablándonos de las barreras personales, familiares y culturales que encontró y superó en su camino de aceptarse y cómo lo logró con la ayuda de varias comunidades y organizaciones en Queens, Nueva York. La entrevista termina con Amanda contándonos sobre las personas que la inspiran, sus metas personales y su dedicación a ayudar a la comunidad LGBT. (Resumo por Julie Olson y Daniel Villena.) Amanda Hurtado speaks with Tamara Oyola Santiago about her life in Ecuador and the change she experienced upon coming to the United States. In this intimate conversation, Amanda shares her history, telling us about the personal, family, and cultural barriers that she faced and overcame in her journey of acceptance and how she succeeded with the help of various comm... Read more
(Entrevista en Español/Interview in Spanish.) Amanda Hurtado habla con Tamara Oyola Santiago sobre su vida en Ecuador y el cambio que ella vivió al venir a los Estados Unidos. En esta linda conversación, Amanda comparte su historia, hablándonos de las barreras personales, familiares y culturales que encontró y superó en su camino de aceptarse y cómo lo logró con la ayuda de varias comunidades y organizaciones en Queens, Nueva York. La entrevista termina con Amanda contándonos sobre las personas que la inspiran, sus metas personales y su dedicación a ayudar a la comunidad LGBT. (Resumo por Julie Olson y Daniel Villena.) Amanda Hurtado speaks with Tamara Oyola Santiago about her life in Ecuador and the change she experienced upon coming to the United States. In this intimate conversation, Amanda shares her history, telling us about the personal, family, and cultural barriers that she faced and overcame in her journey of acceptance and how she succeeded with the help of various communities and organizations in Queens, New York. The interview concludes with Amanda telling us about the people who inspire her, her personal goals, and her dedication to helping the LGBT community. (Summary by Julie Olson and Daniel Villena.)
Izzy's family-life intertwines heavily with his oral history and coming out process. The middle child of a Muslim-Palestinian man and Christian-American woman, he talks about the particular ways each parent's family shaped his upbringing and eventually his coming out process. Traveling to Palestine annually, he shares touching moments with his family members there as well as discussing his experiences traveling back for work. Drawn to New York by an appreciation of break dancing culture, he finds encouragement in New York's hustle. Finally, Izzy talks about his concerns regarding passing as a straight dude and a feeling of being outside from Queer community. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
Mike Altamar is a community health educator, referral specialist and parent engagement specialist who's work has drawn on his own experience accessing resources and navigating hirs coming out and family relationships. Mike's life growing up in New York City colors the background of hirs story as ze develops a role mentoring and supporting other trans folks. Ze talks about homelessness, distance from hirs brother and finding community through feminist bookstores, college groups and community spaces. (Summary by Kirsten Adorian.)
Robin discusses growing up in the Upper East Side of New York, how her neighborhood has evolved over time, and her favorite areas in the city. She recalls mental issues preventing her from attending classes in high school and college troubles which led her to go into art. She reflects on the significance of her tarot deck as well as her journey as an artist. Elaborating on her understanding of gender and feeling of being seen she discusses gender euphoria, being an exhibitionist, and her thoughts on and involvement in the trans community. (Summary by Perry Flores.)
Carla Roldos was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City. After being placed into a psych ward as a young child, she became the first nurse and transwoman to work at Callen Lorde. She shares the ways in which NYC has changed as transwomen have lost many of the spaces they used to frequent—GG Barnum Room, Sally's, Gilded Grape—meanwhile young trans people have increased access to resources, the importance of trans visibility, recovery from substance abuse, hormones and healthcare, and the people and organizations—like her mentor Jackie and Compass House—that have supported her. (Summary by Evie Zavidow.)
Gus is a native New Yorker, punk rock drummer, and dog trainer. In this interview, Gus talks about the ways in which New York City, and its punk community, have changed over the years. Gus discusses growing up on a tour bus, transitioning, youth, and religion. (Summary by Evie Zavidow.)
Dan Rosensweet was born and raised in Brooklyn. In this interview, Dan discusses their high school experience, performing drag for the first time, struggling with an eating disorder, and seeking out television depictions of trans youth. Dan goes on to talk about the media and pop culture influences—Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, RuPaul's Drag Race—that have played a key role in their life. Dan further discusses the queer-friendly atmosphere at SUNY Purchase, their academic work, and the importance of community support and visibility. (Summary by Evie Zavidow.)
Sonia Martinez moved from Puerto Rico to Brooklyn at the age of 9, and has been living in New York City for the past 60+ years. In this interview, she talks about her romantic relationships, introduction to hormones, family ties, and her experience with depression. She shares vivid memories of nights out at the Gilded Grape, La Escuelita, Sally's and more; interactions with the Black Panther Party; and working with her grandmother in the factory. (Summary by Evie Zavidow.)
Ilan N. talks about a variety of struggles and challenges in his transition, despite being very privileged by having access to insurance and a good support network from his family. He speaks about stigma and animosity against phalloplasty within the transman community as well as the side effects of therapies that are often not talked about. He reflects on the recovery post-surgery and the burden on his caregivers and how humor helps to get through difficult conversations and decisions making scary topics easier by making jokes. Concluding that one should not be impacted by the fear of never being good enough or the general perception of a “real” man or woman.
Saje Liese was born on Long Island and moved to NYC after 10 years of living in the country. She is a “true blue New Yorker” and tech engineer. In this interview, Saje discusses Dungeons & Dragons, the many “worlds" of New York City (burners, gamers, queer people, etc.), dating, coming out, healthcare, and the workplace. (Summary by Evie Zavidow.)
Zephyr D Merkur Herrera describes their early years in the greater NYC area, Argentina and California. Zephyr recounts their involvement in the Brooklyn queer punk scene and working with Taking Back Queens, and dives into tattoos, injuries, chosen family and the foibles of being polyamorous while queer. (Summary by Robert Schofield.)
Julian Honkasalo describes growing up in Finland, living in Sweden and New York City and his gradual discovery of and engagement with queerness and masculinity. He describes his research work concerning such topics as gender studies, political science, philosophy, and trans history. Julian also describes the LGBTQ party scene in New York City in the 2010’s. (Summary by Garrett Wood.)
Dezi reflects on experiences at festivals such as Burning Man that helped to bring them out of their shell, coming to their non-binary identity. While struggling with little support from their conservative family, finding a companion has helped Dezi coming to her current experience of liberating self-acceptance.
Mountain is a self described non-binary, gender queer, gender agnostic. They discuss learning of their hypospadias in their adulthood and the ensuing difficulties of deciding if they could claim an intersex identity. While in Philadelphia Mountain was a member of the Radical Faeries and attended traditional art school though now they engage with less rigid social groups, and their art has become more personal and experimental. Mountain shares struggles with integration into the world and sense of self, they talk about tattooing as a form of intimacy and a way to feel more at home in their body.
From Long Island, New York, Quito Ziegler was shaped by their childhood experiences in a Jewish family and community, becoming interested in non-violence. They went to college in Minnesota to pursue a career in photography, but ended up working for the Open Society Foundation as a Community Organizer. Quito discusses their work in sex-worker organizing, trans rights, and immigrant workers movements. They continued an art practice, including photography and gallery shows. Quito is still a hands-on activist who wants to see our communities build together. (Summary by Megan Aschenbrenner.)
Son Kit is a Brooklyn-based artist and curator who currently holds degrees in both Visual Art and Literary Arts from Brown University. They reflect on their experience growing up in Koreatown, Los Angeles, as well as their experiences as a queer trans person of color. Kit expands on the ways in which they have dealt with gender policing, self-identification, and their art. (Summary by Vanessa Belford)
Gia Love reflects on her life in the kiki ball scene, an underground queer and trans dance community in New York City. In kiki, particularly the House of Juicy, Gia found deep friendships and a supportive family that she was not able to find in her family of origin. Gia excelled as a kiki performer, winning many balls in the category of Realness. Gia also describes how becoming involved with competitive debate helped her get out of special education classes, and her violent rebelliousness as a child developed as a defense against bullying.
Ash recounts growing up in a southern Bible Belt community. He details his journey from Georgia to Chicago where he completed his higher-level education and met his “chosen family.” Ash is currently the Manager of Bail Operations at Brooklyn Bail Fund in New York, an organization that fights for people of color against the criminal justice system. He shares of his plans to acquire a PhD in Criminology and hopes to specialize in public surveillance of queer and trans people in society. (Summary by David U. Ibeneme)
Capri recounts their childhood in a military family and the resulting relocations that their family underwent. They address family dynamics that continue to affect their inner monologue and relationships. Capri discusses reluctance to come out as non-binary at both school and work due to feelings of insecurity stemming from being the only person addressing pronouns. They are pursuing a career in public health, currently working towards their masters, and becoming more involved in an array of art forms and creative expressions including poetry, video production, music and modeling.
Amanda Armstrong recounts her organizing as a graduate student militant in the 2009-2012 protest wave in Berkley and Oakland. She joined occupations and building take-overs organized by students and campus workers fighting budget cuts, joined Occupy and Black Lives Matter protests, and helped found a left caucus that came to power in the graduate workers local of the University of California system. Through that caucus and union, Armstrong came to lead a campaign that successfully won access to all-gender bathrooms for UC students and workers. Armstrong also discusses her growing up in Pennsylvania, her intellectual development as a historian, and her inducing lactation as a trans woman and parent.
B. Hawk Snipes discusses their growing in the Bronx, their time at the La Guardia High School of the Performing Arts and the Fashion Institute of Technology, and eventually becoming an entertainer in television. They share on being a black non-binary person with both male and female energies, and their draw throughout their life to being free and expressive. B. Hawk appeared in the hit television program 'Pose' on FX, and discusses the experience of being on a set with many black people of transgender experience.
Hazel Katz is video artist. She works with the Parole Preparation Project, an organization that supports people who are incarcerated.
Tashan Lovemore shares his path to his "limitless" gender, pushing against narrow expectations of masculinity and manhood while finding contentment and confidence in his own gender. He grew up in the suburbs of New York City on Long Island to a Jamaican and American family. Later Lovemore met Sir Knight, and they founded BlackTransTV and BLK RYL PRODUCTIONS, through which they release regular videos. Lovemore shares about important trans-inclusive spaces that shaped his community: the Lab, Bklyn Boihood, and the Door. He shares on working for trans-acceptance in black communities, finding confidence in navigating potentially hostile institutions, and the importance of not unnecessarily disclosing other people's trans experience.
Rose Wood has worked with the ONE foundation, the Health Education Aids Liaison (HEAL), a violence project, the Maple Thorp Residence, and the Bailey House which were all associated with helping individuals living with AIDS. In addition, she was a performance artist who worked in venues such as Esquelita, The Box, Cutting Room, Slip Room, Flamingo East, Silver Swan, and Piano’s. In her interview, Rose shares her passion for religion and spirituality, and her struggles to receive adequate healthcare services.
Geleni Fontaine is an acupuncturist, RN and healer based on Brooklyn. In this interview, they share on their growing up in a working class Cuban family in Park Slope, Brooklyn, prior to the neighborhood's gentrification. Geleni politicized as a feminist through Brooklyn Women's Martial Arts, which later became the Center for Anti-violence Education. Through organizing there, Geleni became involved in the early NYC trans group the Metropolitan Gender Network, where they were inspired by Les Feinberg, Sylvia Rivera and Imani Henry. The interview emphasizes the spiritual dimension of their upbringing, healing work, and trans community.
(Entrevista en Español/Interview in Spanish) Esta entrevista de Alejandra Rodriguez por Tamar Oyola Santiago, trata sobre las dificultades de Alejandra, no solo en su transición, pero también como immigrant de Mexico a Estados Unidos. Alejandra habla de la falta de aceptación a su verdadera identidad como mujer por parte de su familia, no solo en Mexico pero también en Los Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, ademas de lo malo, Alejandra habla de todo lo bueno que ha surgido en su vida y como no solo ha encontrando un compañero que la apoya, pero también una comunidad que la respalda. Alejandra Rodriguez discusses her struggles of not only transitioning, but as well as being an immigrant from Mexico in the Unites States. Alejandra speaks about the lack of acceptance of her true identity as a woman, from her family in Mexico and the U.S. In addition to the bad, however, she speaks about the good that has come into her life, and how she has found a supporting companion and a supporting community. (Summary by Claudia Tagliavia.)
Sage discusses their growing up in a conservative evangelical Christian family in the Appalachia Mountains of Virginia, breaking from their family's religion through encountering children's and young adult fantasy novels, and becoming a non-binary librarian today. Sage reflects extensively on their religious trajectory, leading to their polytheistic and goddess-centered paganism today. Sage also discusses their politicization through early 2000s Tumblr social justice communities.
(Entrevista en Español) Lorena Borjas habla con Lorenzo Van Ness sobre su vida como activista de los derechos de las mujeres trans inmigrantes indocumentadas y trabajadoras sexuales en Jackson Heights, Queens, Nueva York. En esta amena conversación, Borjas comparte de su vida antes de venir a Estados Unidos, su llegada a Nueva York, el inicio de su trabajo comunitario y lo que tal trabajo conlleva. También narra la importancia de recibir reconocimientos por su trabajo y como está aprendiendo a cuidar su salud un poco mejor. (Resumen por Cynthia Citlallin Delgado.) / (Interview in Spanish) Lorena Borjas speaks to Lorenzo Van Ness about her life as an activist for the rights of undocumented migrant trans women sex workers in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. In this convivial conversation, Borjas shares stories about her life prior to coming to the United States, her arrival in New York City, the beginning of her community work and what such work entails.
Imara Jones reflects on the challenges and rewards of producing independent media for diverse millennial audiences, including her talk show The Last Sip and her docuseries Translash. She addresses the high level of visibility for trans people that marks our current moment, pointing out the limits of this visibility, including tokenization and the pressure to monetize trans identity. Reflecting on early experiences in New York in clubs, on the piers, and at balls, Imara charts how social spaces and networks lay a groundwork for political mobilization.
Che Gossett shares on the left political history of their parents, their time spent in multiple abolitionist, black and queer organizing groups, and their becoming a critical scholar of trans studies, art criticism and race. Specifically, Che discusses their time in Critical Resistance, Hearts on a Wire (a Philly-based trans prisoner zine), and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. Study plays a reoccurring and central role in Che's narrative, serving as an abolitionist political practice, and means of building transformative community. Che reflects on the dynamics of trans feminine people in black communities and institutions and the interrelationship of racism and transmisogyny.
Barms is a construction worker apprentice and a communist. In this interview, they discuss the role of philosophy and abstract thinking for themselves and many trans people as a strategy of managing powerlessness and dysphoria. Barms discusses their political organization Red Bloom, where many members are queer and trans, and the dynamics of sexual assault and gender abuse that have torn apart other socialist groups. Barms reflect on the homophobic and transphobic psychology driving their cishet male coworkers in construction, the factors leading many trans people towards radical politics and critical theory, and the meaning of communism.
(Entrevista en español) Lorenzo Van Ness entrevista a Brigitte Jamilet Hernández Martínez sobre su vida, quien comparte detalles de su niñez y adolescencia que recalcan la importancia que tiene su familia, sobre todo sus padres, en su vida, a pesar de que viven en México. En esta conversación, Hernández Martínez habla de algunas dificultades que ha enfrentado a lo largo de su vida, los cambios que experimentó cuando emigró a Estados Unidos, mencionando su relación con Lorena Borjas. También comparte sus experiencias como estilista y sus planes de obtener su certificación de cosmetología, para así poder ayudar desde sus posibilidades. Ella vive entre Dover, NJ y la ciudad de Nueva York, y en esta linda plática enfatiza su propia filosofía de vida: que nadie es diferente, y todxs valemos igual. / / (Interview in Spanish) Lorenzo Van Ness interviews Brigitte Jamilet Hernández Martínez about her life, who shares details about her childhood and adolescence that highlight the importance that... Read more
(Entrevista en español) Lorenzo Van Ness entrevista a Brigitte Jamilet Hernández Martínez sobre su vida, quien comparte detalles de su niñez y adolescencia que recalcan la importancia que tiene su familia, sobre todo sus padres, en su vida, a pesar de que viven en México. En esta conversación, Hernández Martínez habla de algunas dificultades que ha enfrentado a lo largo de su vida, los cambios que experimentó cuando emigró a Estados Unidos, mencionando su relación con Lorena Borjas. También comparte sus experiencias como estilista y sus planes de obtener su certificación de cosmetología, para así poder ayudar desde sus posibilidades. Ella vive entre Dover, NJ y la ciudad de Nueva York, y en esta linda plática enfatiza su propia filosofía de vida: que nadie es diferente, y todxs valemos igual. / / (Interview in Spanish) Lorenzo Van Ness interviews Brigitte Jamilet Hernández Martínez about her life, who shares details about her childhood and adolescence that highlight the importance that her family has on her life, particularly her parents, in spite of the fact that they live in Mexico. In this conversation, Hernández Martínez sepals about some of the difficulties she has encountered throughout her life, the changes that she experiences when she emigrated to the United States, mentioning her relationship to Lorena Borjas. She also speaks of her experience as a stylist and her plans for obtaining her cosmetology certification. Living between Dover, NJ and New York City, in this nice conversation she emphasizes her life philosophy: that nobody is different, and everyone is valuable.
Farah Khimji discusses living at the intersection of being non-binary, Ismaili Muslim and an atheist. They are the co-founder of LIES, a materialist feminist journal exploring theories and experiences of class, race and gender. Farah opens up about homophobia and transphobia experienced while working as a labor union researcher, as well as their love for living in NYC. They conclude their interview by saying, “NYC is a really queer city, whether people like it or not...We are staking our ground, we live here and we’re going to walk on the street and be gay. It gives me hope in this shitty time that they can't make us disappear. Queer and trans people are fighting everyday and we won’t stop fighting. I’m ready for the fight!”
Jeaux narrates their coming into black trans boihood, from their childhood in Atlanta to their life in New York City today. As the creator of Black Boi Complex, a virtual community for masculine-of-center black LGBTQI+ people, they have worked to foster interpersonal networks of support and care within black queer communities. They also discuss self-care, finding moments for joy and self-love, and navigating mental health and the healthcare system. (Summary by Jamie Magyar.)
Shelby Chestnut describes their childhood and adolescence between Montana and Minnesota, discussing friendships and family, bullying and acceptance, mixed-race (Native American and white) identity, queer identity, and learning disabilities. After two sudden deaths of loved ones, Shelby left for college in Ohio, spent a year in Seattle, moved back to live with her family in Montana, checked into rehab, and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico before eventually moving to Crown Heights in New York City and beginning anti-violence organizing with the LGBT community. Their narrative includes discussions of small towns and big cities, addiction and recovery, race and intergenerational trauma, arts, and finding and building community. (Summary by Jourdan Sayers.)
Simone Kolysh describes their non-binary gender identity, growing up in a Russian immigrant family, becoming a parent, and their academic work on trans studies.
In this dialogue, Ryann Holmes discusses their life with Sir Knight of BlackTransTV. Ryann co-founded bklyn boihood, an organization for transmasculine people of color. Ryann discusses being a tomboy and lesbian in a supportive black family in Maryland, their religious development out of self-shame they faced in Christianity, and coming to a non-binary understanding of their gender. Ryann describes bklyn boihood's commitment to storytelling, making a calendar of members, self-celebration, and the power of self-representation. Sir and Ryann share on their love of black culture, black trans life, and resisting internalized white culture.
Violet shares her experience of being a musician and DJ in New York’s rave scene while navigating the political landscape of gentrification. Having grown up nomadically with immigrant parents, she feels connected to NYC’s trans and queer community and specific sub cultures that explore identities beyond gender through play, non-human kinship, and body modification. Violet elaborates on her political ideas ranging from accelerationism, to campaign finanacing to civil rights for A.I. (Summary by Aviva Silverman.)
Zeno is a wordsmith, performer and educator. He discusses his experience of traumatic narcissism, the difficulty with affirmations, and limitations pronouns have on encompassing an expansive relationship to one’s gender. He speaks about growing up rich and how he used his class as a defense against racism in the suburbs of New Jersey.
Eddie Jarel Jones is a Cleveland, Ohio native and current social influencer, media personality, producer, Emcee, and model. They reflect on the experience of attending a Historically Black College as a queer person and openly claiming their identities in this environment. Discussing their work, including with SlayTV, a Queer, Trans, GNC, people of color media agency, Eddie shares the origins of their hussle mentality. Additionally they speak on danger they have experienced while being femme and non-binary, also Eddie shares the difficulty of navigating both grief and success in relation to social media.
Jackson Reddy reflects on their family dynamics and how these relationships shaped their growth. They also touch upon the role of trauma and the process of healing, especially in terms of self-care and aftercare. Reddy more broadly discusses queerness, visibility, and community as unifying factors. They speak of “feeling alive and joyful” because of art and creation, and how that desire for creativity intersects with their education and future. Overall, Reddy shares an optimistic outlook that is best summed up through his hopes for others -- “so much joy. Joy and healing.” The interview was conducted by Tashan Lovemore as a collaboration with BlackTransTV. (Summary by Daniela Valdovinos.)
In this interview Mylo Mendez shares hir ongoing work with creating queer and trans self-defense. Ze discusses hir evolution as an artist, currently working in zines, as well as hir involvement with punk scenes and DIY venues such as Silent Barn.
Cayden discusses his work as an untenured and trans educator. He reflects on his involvement in the NYC’s teacher’s union the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) and the UFT’s social justice caucus, the Movement of Rank and File Educators (MORE). While a student at NYU, Cayden engaged multiple activist campaigns including advocating for higher minimum wage for campus workers and for the prioritization of financial aid. He also discusses the role his Hindu upbringing has played throughout his life.
Kim Watson is co-founder of CKLife, author of The Modern Day Woman, and trans advocate and leader. In this interview, she discusses growing up in Barbados as an intersexed woman, her years of homelessness in New York and time in the West Village drag scene, overcoming drug addiction and turn towards her work in trans advocacy. She also discusses being a parent, and the conflict between trans leaders.
McKenzie Wark discusses their career as a cultural critic, journalist, academic, and author. They came of age as a radical and writer in underground counterculture scenes in Australia, moving to New York to pursue love, and becoming a professor at the New School. Wark also discusses their relationship with Kathy Acker, their recent coming out as trans, and rethinking their sexual history through trans identity.
Rona Love discusses her early childhood hardships, three decade long incarceration and experiences in psychiatric hospitals. She details abuse, violence and the extreme isolation of being a trans-femme person in the prison system. Prior to being in-prisoned, Rona describes going to Limelight and other nostalgic clubs, visits to Riis beach and the general aura of the 70’s in downtown NYC. She is an advocate today with Black and Pink and is committed to helping girls on the inside with the love and support she has from friends who were there for her and from “the younger generation” of prison abolitionists that are committed to standing up for injustices within the LGBT community.
Erica Connerney is a philosophy/trans literature professor and author living in Tribeca, NY. She discusses her past and present in terms of her identity as a transsexual woman, as well as her hopes for the future. Main topics include her personal involvement with both Catholicism and Dianic Wicca, the importance of community for LBGT people concerning psychological health and survival, and the perceived loss of gay spaces such as bookstores, beaches, and bars due to the wider acceptance of LGBT identities from the straight majority. (Summary by Peri Wait.)
Hayden Gibson was born in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. In this interview, Hayden shares their experiences about growing up in an adopted evangelical family, making the courageous move to New York alone, being a marshal at the NYC Dyke March, and spontaneously joining a queer band. Hayden also goes on and talks about his love for queer literature and how authors such as Walt Whitman, Alison Bechdel and Jeanette Winterson has greatly impacted their upbringing. (Summary by Trina Ngo.)
In this interview, Robbi Ann Mecus describes her journey from growing up with her family, experiencing gender dysphoria in a working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, to living as her authentic female self in rural Upstate New York with her daughter, where she works as a forest ranger. She also goes into detail about personal experiences along the way, including her searches for love and a place to belong, as well as her initial forays into presenting as female before she had come out to anyone she knew. She elaborates on the unique challenges she has faced and faces with regards to trans healthcare access as a person who lives in a rural area, as well as her experience as a member of rural law enforcement, as well as the personal relationship she maintains with New York City itself. (Summary by Garrett Wood.)
Kate Bornstein discusses her life as a writer and actor. Moving between growing up in a Jewish family on the New Jersey shore, studying acting in school, joining the Church of Scientology, finding community in a dyke BDSM community in San Francisco and last twenty years living in NYC, Bornstein consistently emphasizes her grappling with gender, eventual revelation she is neither a man nor a woman, and understanding of the oppressive nature of gender dualisms. Bornstein is among the best-known trans authors since the mid-1990s, influencing a generation in her fusion of personal memoir and postmodern gender theory. (Photo is self-portrait by Bornstein.)
[Bilingual interview in English and Spanish/Entrevista bilingüe en Español y Inglés] /// Lee, a Brooklyn-based musician, journalist, and MFA candidate, reflects on living outside their home country of Chile; they speak of intergenerational trauma through the dictatorship, isolation in watching the Chilean revolution from afar, and their early dreams that guided their move to NYC. Through both Spanish and English, Lee employs the senses as well as colors and feelings to contour their experience of gender. They discuss alternative realities made through virtual and audio landscapes that provide spaces of empathy. More broadly, they explore what self determination looks like living under Capitalism and where they go to connect to themselves and their community. /// Lee, músico, periodista y candidato a magíster en Artes Mediales residente en Brooklyn, reflexiona sobre la experiencia de vivir fuera de su país, Chile; nos habla sobre el trauma intergeneracional de la dictadura.
Dioganhdih was born on sovereign Haudenosaunee territory of Onondaga Nation. They are a two-spirit, queer, hip-hop artist, public speaker and producer. In this interview, they speak about their complicated relationship to New York State and its historical violence as well as their early education both on the reservation and in non-native schools. They elaborate on how their queerness and indigeneity felt held in Oaklands’ black, brown, and indigenous communities. Dio raps Pussy Vortex and Puff Puff Passion, and recount hip hop’s ability to story tell and explore all aspects of their identity.
Matty Kodat shares his thoughts on the insufficient representation of binary trans people, his own relationship to butch lesbianism and trans-masculinity, and how being trained in classical Ballet influenced his experience of gender identity. Matty, who works between poetry, tattooing, and dancing in the collective Ballez, weaves together these interests as a process of reclaiming one’s own body. He unpacks the meaning of trans-panic and the medical ethics of transitioning in one’s youth and then elaborates what utopic queer communes could look like influenced by his interests in herbalism and historical record—most recently mining the Lesbian Herstory and Gerber/Hart archives. Kodat ends by invoking the Wittenstein’s quote, “The limits of our language are the limits of our world,” as an extension of language and poetry’s power to affect change within political hierarchies.
Patty Gone is a performance artist, writer and the author of Love Life (Mount Analogue, 2019). In this interview, they discuss attending Catholic school in Harrisburg, PA. They describe early exposure to soap operas at their grandmother’s house, MTV music videos, Danielle Steel books and their collections of plastic figurines. They discuss years spent in New York and Western Massachusetts, with a focus on performance, art and poetry communities.
Thomas Page Mcbee is a writer, journalist and is the author of two books: Man Alive (City Lights, 2014) and Amateur (Scribner, 2018). In this interview, he discusses growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, queer community in high school, literary community in San Francisco in the early 2000s, and working in journalism through moments of technological change in news media. He describes his writing practice through the years and ongoing reporting on the masculinity crisis.
Ethan Roberts attends Union Seminary where he is a chaplain intern for incarcerated transgender folks at Rosie’s on Rikers Island. He discusses his early religious trauma being apart of a cultic group in Buffalo NY. He speaks about power and class manipulation as well as the greater culture of ‘toxic theology’ within his Mennonite and Baptist upbringing. At college his first encounter seeing a Drag King enabled him to explore his gender and sexuality. More recently, he describes the complications passing as a cis white man and co-raising a child with his partner while navigating his internal and external relationships to trans-embodiment.
Jaheed Hines (he/him) is a black trans masculine man who was raised in Brooklyn, NYC. He begins detailing his childhood and how he found himself uncomfortable with societal expectations set upon him based upon his sex assigned at birth. He recounts attending his first pride in 2016 and feeling at home like he could fly. It was in that moment that he realized it was time for him to live fully in his truth. Jaheed opens up about his close relationship with his mom and how she's been super supportive and understanding navigating this process with him. This provides proof that parents aren't always at odds with their children especially when in the black community. He also speaks a lot about the importance of community, visibility and representation in helping him to live his best life. Jaheed means the one who strives and we're so happy he's alive and thriving in his brilliance.
Noah Foster (they/them) is a black and white trans nonbinary human who was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. Today Noah is a graphic artist who resides in Brooklyn, NY. Noah's early years were very structured, so it didn't allow them much room to be different and live authentically. They never saw a reflection of anyone like themselves while growing up and today make it a point to document themselves via their social media. Noah talks about their happiness in finding themselves and community when they went to college at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, GA. It was there that they met a friend who was of trans experience and she was the first person to truly see Noah as who they are. In that moment Noah felt seen and loved. They shine bright like the sun when in the presence of folks who don't question their identity. Noah is continuing to flourish in their truth, creating art while becoming more active at sharing information on their social media.
Mojo Disco is a multi-talented personality, youth educator, art teacher, fitness instructor, curator, designer, poet, model and artist from NYC. She is the creator of the popular underground event Paint And Poetry that created space for six years as a prominent place for all folks of all experiences to come together and share their brilliance in NYC. Her focus in life is to showcase the brilliance of all black folks through the arts to push for more love and equality. In this interview Mojo discusses being born and raised here in NYC navigating her identity as a black child being raised by black parents deeply rooted in the hip hop culture. She graces us with her poetry piece "TIRED" that she wrote and first shared at a Trans Day of Remembrance celebration in 2019. In this poetry piece she details advice for other women when it comes to love, dating and friendship, remembers Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera and reminds people that women of trans experience are humans who deserves respect.
Dennis Norris II is a writer, figure skater and musician. In this interview they discuss their writing practice, how figure skating relates to writing, nonlinear time and growing up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They also discuss the importance of their queer community in New York and unexpected queer spaces throughout their life. Dennis is one of the hosts of podcast Food 4 Thot and is the author of AWST Collection (AWST press, 2018).
Yva Las Vegass was born in Venezuela in 1963. They recount their early childhood memories of playing folk music on the cuatro and singing boleros with their mother. Yva moved to the US as a teenager to attend boarding school but never finished and eventually found their way to Seattle where they created a music project called Sweet 75 with Nirvana’s Chris Novoselic. Moving to NYC felt like home with the cacophony of street music, people of color, feminist punk houses, and open mic nights to experiment and play music. Yva speaks about gender violence by saying, “I can’t with the gender binary, it’s so constrictive and it’s not working anymore in the world that we live in. It gets in the way of everything, in the way of equality, it’s horrible for men, and lethal for women”