Our bodies exist as messages that circulate within relational fields. Black bodies are policed and profiled, fat bodies are ridiculed, and disabled bodies are pitied. The same is true of anyone with a body that is labeled as “different.” While many think of individual bodies as private possessions, my experience as a transboy demonstrates that our bodies are actually quite public. My body is subject to scrutiny whenever I go through airport security, get pulled over by police, or even enter public bathrooms.
What do they look like? How do they have sex? How have they changed? How will they remain the same? These are some of the questions that inevitably end up on “do-no-ask” lists concerning the bodies of trans* people. I’ve heard trans* people say that we shouldn’t be asked these questions because we don’t ask these questions of non-trans* people. I just wonder why? Why don’t we talk about our bodies? Why must they be the stigmatized bearers of shame?
This performance speaks directly to the necessity of conversations about bodies, specifically trans* bodies. In this performance, I welcome curiosity, and I hide nothing. I choose to revel in the shame and stigma that are often attached to bodies that are different.
The purpose of this blog is for me to answer any questions you might have about me. It is important for you to know that I only speak for myself. Every trans* person is different.
Click on the “Blog” link above to find out the answers to the questions that were asked at the #Unexpected performance of “Ask Me Anything” at the Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center in Fort Myers, FL July 1, 2016.
Ask Me Anything 