my space, our space
Hey there folks...
I write y'all from Pittsburgh, PA. This is my first time to Mr. Rodgers' Steel City, and I am already enjoying myself mightily. My awesome airport shuttle driver, Tim, brought me into the city over the mountain, which meant a surprise view of the skyline from about 1,000 feet. Totally breathtaking. It is also an unusual 70 degrees, so y'all know I'm happy.
For those of you in Pittsburgh, I'll be performing "Debutante Balls" on the 15th (weds) at 8:45 pm. Yes, that late. It's free, open to the public, and will be hosted somewhere inside the William Pitt Union (there will be signs). Please come if you can!
So, I had this idea the other day, thinking about how I can be A Representative of the Trans Community (don't startle--I know there's more than one!) without ever thinking of myself, or allowing myself to be thought of by others, as The Representative. I came up with the following idea. See below.
Concurrently, I joined MySpace. I know! Finally arrived in the 21st Century...I got over the phobia of yet more tech in my life and jumped in. Anyone who can help me make it look awesome wins a prize.
Those thoughts join each other in that I don't want my MySpace to be just My Space. The same way that I seek, with the Wallet Project, to be seen as part of a larger, vastly more diverse and complicated community of transpeople and other otherly-gendered folks. So the Wallet Project will actually be hosted on MySpace. Hooray.
See you there. And here. And wherever you are, on tour.
Turner
Hey there--
I'm an FTM queer trans performer. I tour the country with two solo theater shows, and usually speak to classes at universities as well when I'm on the road.
I'm a white, straight, passing transman. When I speak to classes, I make it clear that the experience I'm telling them is solely my own, and like any good Women's Studies alum, I break down the whole race-class-sexuality-gender-access privilege thing as best I can. But still, I want to take it further than saying "Trans people are every kind of person you can imagine. We are everywhere." I just don't know how much that sticks, coming out of my mouth.
One simple idea I had is to carry around a wallet of photos, which I will take out and proudly pass around to students like the big dork I am. You could take it further, and do some kind of wallet-sized art (2x2.5") representing something important or real to your trans experience (I use "trans" as expansively as possible. I'm describing anybody whose gender identity or expression breaches--to yourself or others--the brad-pitt-angelina-jolie binary, okay? Yeah--you. Or not you, if you don't
wanna.)
Among the other identities that intersect with trans, I also do my best to make it understood that we are ALSO genderqueers, and men and women (who don't use the trans identifier but are a part of the community), and many other things too. I would like for this to be represented in the wallet. So, if you want to, please also include how you identify yourself--eg, man, woman, CD, genderqueer...ummm...whatever's important to you...whether or not you include your name--that would be very helpful to this end. My goal is to represent the diversity that I do not, be that in how I look or who I am; and to make it clear that the individual counts when you're talking about community.
If you want to be a part of this, send along a photo or small artwork. It'll need to be 300dpi resolution (around
600 x 750 pixels) so it'll print out nicely--no bigger than 2x2.5". I'll for sure leave one blank for people who didn't feel comfortable being pictured.
Send to turner@undergroundtransit.com. Please note if you would feel comfortable having the photo shown on my MySpace, too (www.myspace.com/s_turner_s); and whether you want your name associated with the image in the wallet and/or on the space.
Sincerely,
Scott Turner Schofield
PS--Feel free to post, forward, or steal this idea.
I write y'all from Pittsburgh, PA. This is my first time to Mr. Rodgers' Steel City, and I am already enjoying myself mightily. My awesome airport shuttle driver, Tim, brought me into the city over the mountain, which meant a surprise view of the skyline from about 1,000 feet. Totally breathtaking. It is also an unusual 70 degrees, so y'all know I'm happy.
For those of you in Pittsburgh, I'll be performing "Debutante Balls" on the 15th (weds) at 8:45 pm. Yes, that late. It's free, open to the public, and will be hosted somewhere inside the William Pitt Union (there will be signs). Please come if you can!
So, I had this idea the other day, thinking about how I can be A Representative of the Trans Community (don't startle--I know there's more than one!) without ever thinking of myself, or allowing myself to be thought of by others, as The Representative. I came up with the following idea. See below.
Concurrently, I joined MySpace. I know! Finally arrived in the 21st Century...I got over the phobia of yet more tech in my life and jumped in. Anyone who can help me make it look awesome wins a prize.
Those thoughts join each other in that I don't want my MySpace to be just My Space. The same way that I seek, with the Wallet Project, to be seen as part of a larger, vastly more diverse and complicated community of transpeople and other otherly-gendered folks. So the Wallet Project will actually be hosted on MySpace. Hooray.
See you there. And here. And wherever you are, on tour.
Turner
Hey there--
I'm an FTM queer trans performer. I tour the country with two solo theater shows, and usually speak to classes at universities as well when I'm on the road.
I'm a white, straight, passing transman. When I speak to classes, I make it clear that the experience I'm telling them is solely my own, and like any good Women's Studies alum, I break down the whole race-class-sexuality-gender-access privilege thing as best I can. But still, I want to take it further than saying "Trans people are every kind of person you can imagine. We are everywhere." I just don't know how much that sticks, coming out of my mouth.
One simple idea I had is to carry around a wallet of photos, which I will take out and proudly pass around to students like the big dork I am. You could take it further, and do some kind of wallet-sized art (2x2.5") representing something important or real to your trans experience (I use "trans" as expansively as possible. I'm describing anybody whose gender identity or expression breaches--to yourself or others--the brad-pitt-angelina-jolie binary, okay? Yeah--you. Or not you, if you don't
wanna.)
Among the other identities that intersect with trans, I also do my best to make it understood that we are ALSO genderqueers, and men and women (who don't use the trans identifier but are a part of the community), and many other things too. I would like for this to be represented in the wallet. So, if you want to, please also include how you identify yourself--eg, man, woman, CD, genderqueer...ummm...whatever's important to you...whether or not you include your name--that would be very helpful to this end. My goal is to represent the diversity that I do not, be that in how I look or who I am; and to make it clear that the individual counts when you're talking about community.
If you want to be a part of this, send along a photo or small artwork. It'll need to be 300dpi resolution (around
600 x 750 pixels) so it'll print out nicely--no bigger than 2x2.5". I'll for sure leave one blank for people who didn't feel comfortable being pictured.
Send to turner@undergroundtransit.com. Please note if you would feel comfortable having the photo shown on my MySpace, too (www.myspace.com/s_turner_s); and whether you want your name associated with the image in the wallet and/or on the space.
Sincerely,
Scott Turner Schofield
PS--Feel free to post, forward, or steal this idea.
posted by Scott Turner Schofield at 2:56 PM
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