#max wolf valerio

[genderoutlaws]

Max Wolf Valerio, Matthew Rice, and David Harrison pictured together in 2023, with the photograph of them marching as the first FTM Pride contingent in San Francisco from 1994 behind them in the background.

#ftm #ftm pride #trans #trans men #tgnc #op #photography #1994 #2023 #1990s #2020s #max wolf valerio #matthew rice #david harrison

[celluloidrainbow]

YOU DON'T KNOW DICK (1997) dir. Bestor Cram & Candace Schermerhorn Lyle, Max, Michael, Steven, Ted, and James: a photographer who lifts weights, a cop, a mechanic, writers, an artist; one is gay, at least three are in serious relationships with women; one was in the seminary; one has three children from a previous marriage. All six are transgender men. They talk about childhood, deciding to transition, telling parents and friends and co-workers, testosterone therapy, surgeries, organs, embracing their histories, and how their lives are now. Friends, a parent, lovers, and two children also talk. All six men express joy at their new-found and more complete identities. (link in title)

#lgbt cinema #trans cinema #you don't know dick #you don't know dick 1997 #us cinema #lgbt #trans #transgender #documentary #usa #lgbt movie #trans movies #lgbt film #trans film #lgbt media #trans media #queer cinema #north american cinema #max wolf valerio #loren cameron #Bestor Cram #Candace Schermerhorn #Jamison Green #1997 #90s #1990s #90s movies #90s cinema #90s films #1990s films

[moviemosaics]

Framing Agnes

directed by Chase Joynt, 2022

#Framing Agnes #Chase Joynt #movie mosaics #Zackary Drucker #Angelica Ross #Jen Richards #Jules Gill-Peterson #Silas Howard #Max Wolf Valerio #Christine Jorgensen #Stephen Ira

[awesomefridayca]

Hot Docs '22: Framing Agnes obscures its own powerful premise and story

#HotDocs22 Review: Framing Agnes obscures its own subject.

In the 1950s and 60s, researchers at UCLA conducted a study into sex disorders. The resulting archive of data contains a cross-section of trans history in the form of interviews conducted with the study’s participants. One of the participants -a woman known only as Agnes- used the study to receive gender-affirming care and then seemingly disappeared. With Framing Agnes, director Chase Joynt…

View On WordPress

#Angelica Ross #Chase Joynt #Documentaries #Hot Docs #Hot Docs 2022 #Jen Richards #Max Wolf Valerio #Silas Howard #Stephen Ira #Zackary Drucker

[genderkoolaid]

Rocco Kayiatos started to realize that he was trans as a teenager. It was 1999 or early 2000, he says, and Google didn’t really exist: “I remember searching on Ask Jeeves for literally anything related to trans men.”  He was living in San Francisco, and was part of the queer poetry scene, having toured with Sister Spit; he was able to meet trans people that way, and the poet Max Wolf Valerio became a friend. Still, Kayiatos says, he struggled to put himself together: “The reaction that I got was really rough,” he recalls. “I felt like I couldn’t really be a man, one, because of insecurity around my own transness, but then two, because culturally, I got so much pushback from people that I loved about how shitty men were and why would I ‘want,’ quote unquote, to be a man.” The trans men he read often seemed to be guilty or defensive: “I never read a book by a trans guy about their experience that wasn’t somehow written in a way that’s like, almost an apology for being a man.”  Then he read Green’s memoir. “It’s just the most profoundly gentle and loving and compassionate offering to healing masculinity, that’s so timeless,” Kayiatos says. “It’s still relevant and advanced in the present day … for me, when people are listing the must-reads about transmasculine people, places or things, if they don’t start with James’s book, I just think, ‘You missed it.’ Because his book is the starting point.” 

— How Jamison Green’s visibility paved the way for a generation of trans men by Jude Ellison S. Doyle (emphasis mine)

#m. #quotes #transandrophobia #transmisandry #anti transmasculinity #transunity #transmasc history #transmasc media

[transterrorweek]

We’re back! Trans Terror Week 2022 will run November 20-26th.

This year your mods are a bit stretched thin, so I would strongly recommend coming to our Tumblr for any questions or concerns, though everything will be cross posted to Twitter. You’ll get a quicker answer on Tumblr. Additionally, thank you so much to everyone who helped us with prompt ideas and graphics!

The rules are the same a last year, detailed on our FAQ page (for the mobile accessible FAQ go here). 

Rules and Reminders:

This event is for anyone who is trans, nonbinary or is currently questioning their gender. Our goal is to uplift trans content creators in the Terror fandom and we encourage cis creators to show their support for their trans compatriots.

There is NO restriction on type of content: art, fics, edits, playlists, videos, everything is welcome!

November 20th is also for Creator Spotlights, make a post highlighting your works and we’ll give you a boost!

Please tag your works #transterrorweek/#transterrorweek2022 and/or ping us @transterrorweek to make sure we see your stuff! This applies to both Tumblr and Twitter.

Fics can also be added to the Ao3 collection. Simply search for “Trans Terror Week” when posting your fic or follow the link on our blog. Our FAQ has instructions for posting anonymously.

Prompts:

This years prompts are following the theme of “In their own voices,” and quotes from the recently released letter book May We be Spared to Meet on Earth will be paired with the titles of memoirs by trans authors. We got a few trans memoirs in 2020′s prompts, but this is a whole new selection. The expanded prompt list can be found on our Prompts page.

Day 1: In From the Wilderness - David E. Weekley | “Read these two notes and tear them up” - James Fitzjames (96)

Day 2: Tranny - Laura Jane Grace | “any blue clothing you can put into the case” - Francis Crozier (33)

Day 3: We Both Laughed in Pleasure - Lou Sullivan | “the suffocating jab of delight mingled with the fearful anticipation of the dreary void” - Charles Osmer (136)

Day 4: A Lowlife in High Heels - Holly Woodlawn | “I was surprised to see him attempt anything so risky” - Edward Couch (148)

Day 5: The Testosterone Files - Max Wolf Valerio | “I have made my cabin very snug & found it best to be my own carpenter” - James Fairholme (105)

Day 6: Exile and Pride - Eli Clare | “occasionally some few rather irksome things occur” - Harry Goodsir (53)

Day 7: Something That May Shock and Discredit You - Daniel M. Lavery | “I am wanting a promotion and a quick return to England” - Henry T.D. Le Vesconte (55)

#transterrorweek #transterrorweek2022 #the terror #the terror 2018 #amc's the terror

[zazzmaster5000]

got tagged by @zemascreams so fuck it we ball

last song: the one i’m listening to right this second is “When the Fire and the Rose Are One” by the great John Fahey

currently watching: Lost, Berlin Alexanderplatz, and Twin Peaks 

currently reading: The Testosterone Files by Max Wolf Valerio and The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron

current obsession: haven’t really had time for one due to gestures at personal life but if i gotta pick, a dance show i saw based on Illinois by Sufjan Stevens 

i will tag @declanlikesmusic and @mx-pokirby in this :)

[moviepostersets]

#Framing Agnes #Movie Posters #Zackary Drucker #Angelica Ross #Jen Richards #Silas Howard #Max Wolf Valerio #Stephen Ira

[yourdailyqueer]

Max Wolf Valerio

Gender: Transgender man

Sexuality: N/A

DOB: 16 February 1957

Ethnicity: Native American (Blackfoot), Spanish, distant Sephardi Jewish

Occupation: Poet, writer, actor

#Max Wolf Valerio #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt rights #trans rights #transgender #trans man #1957 #biracial #native #native american #blackfoot #spanish #sephardi jewish #poet #writer #actor

[transmasculine-history]

For Trans Day of Visibility, here are some brave trans men who have contributed to trans rights activism

Reed Erickson (1917-1992) was an American philantrophist. In 1964, he founded the Erickson Educational Foundation, which researched transsexuality and medical transition, and provided resources for trans people and their families. He also funded many other LGBT groups in the 60s through the 80s.

Lou Sullivan (1951-1991) was an American author and activist. In 1986, he founded FTM International an organization for trans men to help access resources and create a community. He had an immense contribution to the ftm community in the US.

Jamison Green (1948-) is an American activist, author, and educator. He has been advocating for better legal and medical policies for trans people since the 1980s. After Lou Sullivan passed away, Green took over writing the FTM International Newsletter. He wrote the book Becoming a Visible Man, about his own transition and about the shared experiences trans men in society.

Rupert Raj (1952-) is a Canadian activist and author, who has been active since the 70s. He is the founder of various trans rights publications and organizations, such as the Foundation for the Advancement of Canadian Transsexuals, the Metamorphosis Medical Research Foundation, Gender Worker, and the FTM Peer-Support Group.

Max Wolf Valerio (1957-) is a Native American poet, writer, musician, actor and activist. He transitioned in 1989, and in 2006 published The Testosterone Files, a memoir about his transition and experiences as a trans man.

Pepe Julian Onziema (1980-) is a Ugandan LGBT rights and human rights activist. He has campaigned against homophobic laws and coordinated pride parades. In 2013, he received the David Kato Vision and Voice Award, and was chosen as Stonewall's Hero of the Year in 2014.

#trans day of visibility #tdov #lgbt history #trans history #queer history #original post #trans men

[genderoutlaws]

The first FTM contingent at San Francisco Pride | 1994

L to R: Max Wolf Valerio, Matt Rice, David Harrison, Susan Stryker holding daughter, Bryn, Loren Cameron, Stephan Thorne, and Cole.

#op #ftm contingent #san francisco #san francisco pride #pride #trans #trans men #1990s #1994 #max wolf valerio #matt rice #david harrison #susan stryker #loren cameron #incomplete information #trans history #lgbt history

[dear-indies]

Anonymous asked: Hi all! I know you have been asked about z*e kravitz alts, but it got me thinking can i ask for any jewish fcs of color? Any gender! Just trying to diversify some lists. Thank you!

Non-binary:

Mykki Blanco (1986) African-American Jewish / Unknown - genderqueer and non-binary - HIV positive - they/them. 

Tyler Ford (1990) Black and White Jewish - agender - they/hir. 

Rivkah Reyes (1992) Filipino / Jewish - non-binary femme and queer - they/she/siya - has bipolar disorder.

Emma Sulkowicz (1992) Chinese, Japanese, Ashkenazi Jewish - non-binary - they/them.

Chella Man (1998) Hongkonger and Jewish - deaf - trans, genderqueer, pansexual - he/him.

Zo Tipp (?) Japanese Jewish - non-binary - they/he.

Xemi Manibusan (?) Salvadoran [Pipil, Sephardi Jewish, Spanish] - non-binary two-spirit trans woman - she/her. 

Women:

Joanelle Romero (1957) Chiricahua Apache, Cheyenne / Mescalero Apache, Sephardi Jewish.

K.D. Lang (1961) Sioux, Russian Jewish, Icelandic, German, Scottish, Irish, English - lesbian - they/she.

Rachel True (1966) African-American / German Jewish.

Lisa Bonet (1967) African-American / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Michelle St. John (1967) Wampanoag, Kalinago, and Jewish.

Sophie Okonedo (1968) Nigeran / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Gabrielle Anwar (1970) Indian, Austrian Jewish / English.

Dana International (1972) Yemenite and Russian Jewish - trans. 

Bahar Soomekh (1975) Persian Jewish.

Tamara Podemski (1977) Saulteaux, Ojibwe, Lenape, Metis, and Polish Jewish.

Fay Wolf (1978) Ashkenazi Jewish / Afro-Antiguan.

Shiri Appleby (1978) Ashkenazi Jewish, Moroccan Sephardi.

Rakefet Abergel (1979) Moroccan Jewish.

Nafa Urbach (1980) Javanese / Dutch Jewish, German Jewish.

Rebecca Naomi Jones (1981) African-American / Jewish.

Melina Matsoukas (1981) Afro Cuban, Afro Jamaican / Greek, Ashkenazi Jewish.

Sarah Podemski (1983)  Saulteaux, Ojibwe, Lenape, Metis, and Polish Jewish.

Lauren London (1984) African-American / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Juliana Harkavy (1985) Dominican Republic, African, Chinese / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Jemima Kirke (1985) Iraqi Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish / English, Scottish.

Joséphine Jobert (1985) Sephardi Jewish / Martiniquais, Spanish, possibly Chinese.

Jurnee Smollett (1986) African-American, possibly other / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Monica Raymund (1986) Dominican Republic / English, Ashkenazi Jewish - bisexual.

Meaghan Rath (1986) Ashkenazi Jewish / Goan Indian.

Danielle Keaton (1986) Peruvian of Quechua descent and Ashkenazi Jewish.

Tahounia Rubel (1988) Ethiopian Jewish.

Hailie Sahar (1988) African-American, Latin, Indian, Jewish, German - trans.

Lalla Hirayama (1988) Japanese / South African Jewish.

Medalion Rahimi (1992) Iranian, Mizrahi Jewish - she/they.

Margot Bingham (1988) Afro-Jamaican / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Lola Kirke (1990) Iraqi Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish / English, Scottish.

Anna Shaffer (1992) Black South African, Unspecified White / South African Jewish.

Sky Ferreira (1992) Brazilian [Portuguese, possibly other] / Ashkenazi Jewish, Ojibwe, Cree, Chippewa Cree, Cheyenne, Scottish, English, Irish, French.

Sierra-Skye Ashkewe (1993) Mohawk, Jewish / Ojibwe.

Hannah Marks (1993) Muscogee, Egyptian Jewish, Italian Jewish, Polish Jewish, Irish, and English.

Sierra Ashkewe (1993) Mohawk Jewish and Ojibwe.

Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (1994) Afro-Cuban [Yoruba] / Venezuelan [Spanish, some Italian], Tunisian Jewish.

Natalee Linez (1994) Armenian, Peruvian, Spanish, Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish.

Naomi Diaz (1994) Afro-Cuban [Yoruba] / Venezuelan [Spanish, some Italian], Tunisian Jewish.

Kayla Maisonet (1999) Afro Puerto Rican / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Ava Allan (2000) Egyptian Jewish / Unspecified.

Xemi Manibusan (?) Pipil - non-binary two-spirit trans woman - she/her.

Jenny Marlowe (?) Algonquin, Mizrahi Jewish, French, Scottish, Irish, Cornish, Welsh, Ukrainian, and German.

Men:

Max Wolf Valerio (1957) Kainai Blackfoot / Sephardi Jewish, Northern European - trans.

Shaun Toub (1963) Persian Jewish.

Vincent Elbaz (1971) Moroccan Jewish.

Boris Kodjoe (1973) Akan Ghanaian / German Jewish.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar (1974) Ashkenazi Jewish, German, Dutch, Indonesian.

Taika Waititi (1975) Māori, as well as distant British Isles, possibly 1/16th French-Canadian / English, Scottish, Northern Irish, one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish.

Jérémie Elkaïm (1978) Moroccan Jewish.

Josh Keaton (1979) Peruvian of Quechua descent and Ashkenazi Jewish.

Eban Hyams (1981) Indian Jewish.

Daveed Diggs (1982) African-American / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Satya Bhabha (1983) Parsi Indian / Ashkenazi Jewish.

Jon Lee Brody (1984) Korean / German Jewish.

Cooper Andrews (1985) Samoan / Hungarian Jewish.

Aditya Roy Kapur (1985) Indian / Indian Jewish.

Oliver Jackson-Cohen (1986) Egyptian Jewish / English.

Karim Kassem (1986) Egyptian / Egyptian Jewish.

Marc Bendavid (1986) Moroccan Jewish / Belgian.

Pierre Niney (1989) Egyptian Jewish.

Jesse Rath (1989) Ashkenazi Jewish / Goan Indian.

Ryan Potter (1995) Japanese / Ashkenazi Jewish, Swedish, English, German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish.

Jordan Daniels (?) Afro-Jewish - queer. 

Thanks to @antlerqueer for some of these suggestions too!

#fc help #rph #rpc

[forbescaroline]

send me two characters or ships and i’ll make a gifset of the one i prefer!

below are a list of shows/characters/ships i would like to gif! (looking to gif things i’ve never gifed before or only gifed once)

atypical - casey, izzie, casey/evan, sam/paige

bridgerton - daphne, eloise, penelope, daphne/simon, colin/penelope

dickinson - emily, emily/sue, emily/ben

druck - fatou, nora, kieu my, cash queens, fatou/kieu my, nora/josh

elite - rebeka, nadia, lu, mencia, rebeka/mencia, polo/cayetana/valerio

euphoria - jules, maddy, kat, rue, lexi

ginny and georiga - ginny, max, max/sophie, ginny/marcus, joe/georgia

good trouble - callie/jamie, mariana/raj, callie/gael, malika/isaac, alice/sumi, evan/mariana 

grey’s anatomy - amelia, jo, addison, link/amelia, tom/teddy, meredith/nick, amelia/kai, levi/nico

hsmtmts - gina, nini, ashlyn, ej/gina, ricky/gina, carlos/seb

julie and the phantoms - julie, luke/julie, alex/willie

legacies - josie/finch, josie/landon, lizzie/sebastian, lizzie/ethan, kaleb/cleo, josie/rafael

legends of tomorrow - zari (both of them), ava, astra, spooner, constantine/zari, nate/zari, astra/spooner

outer banks - sarah, kiara, sarah/kira, jj/kira, jj/pope

schitt’s creek - alexis, david/patrick, alexis/ted, alexis/mutt

sex education - maeve, aimee, ruby, otis/maeve, otis/ruby, eric/adam, ola/lily, jackson/cal

skam espana - amira, viri, eva, nora, dani/amira, viri/hugo, eva/jorge

skam france - lola, lola/maya, tiff/max, bilal/jo

skins - naomi, pandora, freddie/effy

supergirl - brainy/nia, james/lena, j’onn/m’gann, alex/kelly

teen wolf - erica, isaac, stiles, scott, boyd/erica, corey/mason, liam/hayden, scott/malia, stiles/malia

the 100 - octavia/levitt, jasper/maya, finn/clarke, kane/abby, raven/shaw

the fosters - aj/callie, wyatt/callie, jesus/lexi, brandon/grace, jude/noah

the oc - summer, taylor, seth/anna, marissa/alex

the originals - freya, cami, marcel/rebekah, jackson/hayley, josh/aiden

the secret circle - cassie, melissa, adam/diana, adam/cassie, jake/cassie, diana/cassie, faye/cassie, diana/melissa

the sex lives of college girls - leighton, bela, leighton/alicia, whitney/canaan, eric/bela

the society - allie, elle, kelly, harry/allie, sam/grizz, helena/luke

the vampire diaries - bonnie/enzo, tyler/caroline, tyler/liv, stefan/rebekah

the wilds - dot, fatin, shelby, toni, nora, martha, rachel, leah, toni/shelby, dot/shelby, rachel/nora, toni/martha, fatin/leah, dot/fatin

yellowjackets - shauna, taissa, natalie, jackie, jackie/shauna, travis/natalie, taissa/van

#mmc #i'm trying to gif different things #hopefully this'll keep me busy

[elleclairez]

Fandoms (series) I write for

I will update this list once in a while 

My Masterlist

The Order 

Hamish Duke

Randall Carpio

Orbin

The Vampire Diaries / The Originals / Legacies 

Klaus Mikaelson

Elijah Mikaelson

Kol Mikaelson

Kai Parker

Lucien Castle

Sebastian

Lizzie Saltzman

Hope Mikaelson

Jeremy Gilbert

Ryan Clarke

Jed

Ethan Machado

Teen Wolf 

Stiles Stilinski

Theo Raeken

Nolan Holloway

Isaac Lahey

Brett Talbot

Peter Hale

Derek Hale

World on Fire 

Harry Chase

Tom Bennett

Grzegorz Tomaszeski

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 

Caliban

Nicholas Scratch

Ambrose Spellman

Lucifer

The Letter For The King 

Prince Viridian

Tiuri

Supernatural 

Dean Winchester

Castiel

Sam Winchester

Jack Kline

Titans 

Dick Grayson

Jason Todd

Garfiel Logan

Pennyworth 

Alfred Pennyworth

Jason Ripper

Macgyver

Angus Macgyver

Medici 

Lorenzo di Medici

Giuliano di Medici

Francesco di Pazzi

Vienna Blood 

Max Lierbermann

Ragnarök 

Fjor

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel 

Lenny Bruce

A discovery of Witches

Marcus Whitmore 

Elite 

Guzman Nunier

Polo Benavent Villada

Samuel García Domínguez

Valerio Montesinos Rojas   

Shadowhunters 

Jonathan Morgenstern

Sebastian Verlac

Alec Lightwood

Once Upon a Time 

Peter Pan

Henry Mills

Gideon

Hansel/Jack/Nick Branson

Shadow and Bone 

Kaz Brekker

The Darlking

Nikolai Lantsov

Fedyor Kaminsky

The Umbrella Academy

Five Hargreeves

Fate : The Winx Saga

Riven

Sky

Sam

Blood of Zeus

Heron

Apollo

Hermes

Castlevania

Hector

Alucard

Attack on Titan

Levi Ackerman

Erwin Smith

Eren Jaeger

Jean Kirstein

#the order #the vampire diaries #the originals #legacies #teen wolf #world on fire #chilling adventures of sabrina #the letter for the king #supernatural #titans #pennyworth #gotham #macgyver #medici #vienna blood #ragnarok #sex education #ouat #shadow and bone #shadowhunters #elite #the marvelous mrs. maisel #blood of zeus #fate the winx saga #castlevania #x reader #jean kirstein #levi ackerman #erwin smith #attack on titan

[butyouvealwaysbeenthecaretaker]

I continue to be frustrated by the lack of good trans man writing. There's Max Wolf Valerio, whose Testosterone Files continues to be the *only* good book on the topic Ive read. I've just discovered Daniel M. Lavery, who mostly blogs, and who really gets the mordant embarrassment and florid love of period literature down.

This is not an exaggeration. Fun facts but I once spent a year as a volunteer librarian for a trans community group, so I have read...a heck tonne of books about this. And with those two exceptions, what makes me feel most seen is books by cis gay men, and books by trans women. The cis gays seem to have the corner on "queer male angst and barely contained rage", whereas the trans girls sate my "trans people having extremely boring lives punctuatuated by moments of 'wow, I'm a transsexual' absurdity and gallows humour" quotient. I recommend Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin, and Nevada by Imogen Binnie.

A big part of the problem is that half our literature is written for cis people and the other half is for dykes. The first category are as follows: "Lawrence wasn't like any man I had met before. He listened. He knew what a clitoris was. I felt so safe with him". The second half is like: "I am twelve. A man looks at me. I am fourteen. I'm menstruating. I do performance poetry at our local women's collective. What is gender, really? Isn't it wonderful, all this fluidity and creativity? Drag kings are great. I am 22. Here's a piece on sexual assault. A love letter to femmes, although I'm not a butch." In the latter category, I'd put things like S. Bear Bergman, Ivan Coyote, J. Halberstam which just don't do it for me.

They're writing about a valuable experience, but it's not my experience. It's framing transition as an extension of experiences as gnc women and I...have never been one of those. The butch-to-trans or butch-to-????{still butch, but it's complicated}???? journey is real, but not my journey. They're coming out of a personal and literary feminist tradition, and can't quite jettison or distance themselves from it -perhaps because this is their preference, perhaps due to a political pressure/embarrassment about being an actual man now, possibly because these books are older. . Part of what's so good about Valerio is that he's constantly trying to reconcile his feminism with the new things he's learning about having a testosterone-dominant hormone system. He isn't trying to lurk in a "plausibly a kind of woman, and therefore a member of the good gender" space: he writes honestly about feeling lust in a different way, about how street violence has changed from sexual harassment to physical, about his feelings towards porn changing, and about the biological factors which make up gender.

(and I think the relatability of cis gay literature is in part because it's underpinned by a fear of feminisation, and an anger at being unable to claim the 'real masculinity' which is their right. It's the same rage: "I am a man. Why is everyone treating me as something defective?")

But there seems to be a real lack IMO of transmasculine writers writing about being men, or writing about being trans, in a way I relate to. Lavery's recent articles on "How I Intend To Comport Myself When I Have Abs" or his comic identification of forced masc narratives in women's fiction really grip something in me then twist. Try "Oh Bro! Oh No Bro! You Just Slipped And Fell Into A Vat Of Testosterone Cyprionate" for some painfully real feelings. Lavery, trying to tease out the difference between a wish to transition, and a wish to transition into Brendan Fraiser circa-1998. Don't we all have one of those? Mine is Robert Plant.

and that's what I want to read more of. Something that feels authentic, something that's absurd, something written by an actual trans man who identifies as actually trans and actually male and isn't trying to appeal to a queer women's audience, something which can be ugly or difficult or embarrassing, but primarily something I *recognise*. I guess it's not enough for me to be piggybacking on the literature of other adjacent groups; I want to read my own!

recommendations in the comments pls.

#ftm #trans men #ftm books #ftm lit

[trans-advice]

this article has been copied & pasted in its entirety in case there’s a paywall. however, please try to read the article from the link first so that the journalist & newspaper staff get their wages. thank you.

The film "Framing Agnes" is set to debut at the Tribeca Film Festival this week. (Aubree Bernier Clarke)

Cindy Dampier

Contact Reporter

Chicago Tribune

Chase Joynt and Kristen Schilt might not fit your definition of swashbuckling explorers — he’s a filmmaker and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, she’s a U. of C. sociology professor.

But when the pair embarked on a research project that involved one of the seminal case studies in the study of transgender people, they found themselves digging in dusty boxes, sifting through reams of old paper stuffed into a dead professor’s unsorted archive, and finally peeking inside a rusty file drawer, Indiana Jones-style, to uncover a never-before-seen part of the past. “You can’t make this stuff up,” says Joynt.

What Joynt and Schilt discovered was a treasure trove of notes, part of the work of sociologist Harold Garfinkel, on one of Garfinkel’s best-known interviews with a research subject: a trans woman called Agnes, whom he interviewed in 1958.

Now, as part of a joint U. of C. fellowship, they have turned that discovery into a documentary film, “Framing Agnes,” that has snared a spot at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival, where it will debut Sunday — and is turning a piece of history on its head.

“Agnes’ case is very well known in the field of sociology,” says Schilt, “and has been taken up in the same way that case studies by Sigmund Freud have been taken up, like the Wolf Man or Dora. And because it was such an integral part of sociology and the anchor of the first theory of gender in sociology, Agnes has always seemed very singular; she was one person being written about.”

The revelation in the rusty file drawer was that, in spite of popular perception, Agnes’ case was not singular. In fact, Garfinkel had made a study of eight transgender people in Los Angeles in the late 1950s — and his interviews revealed how those people were a part of a supportive transgender community, and how they interacted with the wider world of the medical establishment, workplaces and everyday life.

“When you encounter the set of interviews as a whole,” says Joynt, “you get a sense of what a world looks like for gender nonconforming people in L.A. in the 1950s. It really deteriorates the idea that people were living in isolation without any resources. While that was true for some, it reveals … this incredibly robust network of support and people who were navigating systems on their own through resourcefulness and creativity.”

Agnes, who had come to Garfinkel as part of her quest to undergo gender reassignment surgery at UCLA, was 19 in 1958. Born with a penis, she had always felt herself to be a woman, and had been living as a woman, with a job as a typist and a boyfriend who knew that she was a transgender person. “For sociologists,” says Schilt, “what the case represented is this idea that gender is socially constructed as opposed to being biological essential. What sociologists found interesting was that someone who was assigned male at birth could create this life as a woman. In 1958, that kind of blew people’s minds.”

As society became more open to recognition of transgender people, Agnes’ tale continued to hold great resonance. “For many trans studies people, Agnes is kind of the folk hero,” says Schilt. “There’s this excitement about this example of someone who was able to do this at 19 years old, and is able to get what she wants out of it. That was pretty rare in 1958.”

With the addition of the cases Schilt and Joynt discovered, layers of detail have been added to those experiences: tales of “parties with 200 lesbians in the Hollywood Hills,” everyday details of struggling to find or keep employment, and a surprising amount of support. “There was a whole network of trans women who would show up for each other in the hospital after someone had had surgery,” says Joynt, “and bring food and snacks, posing as sisters and cousins. They were saying that if someone is trans and lonely, it’s because they’re making a choice, because we’re here and we’re ready to show up. It really revealed how they built these communities.”

Schilt and Joynt, who had “made peace with the fact that we might not find anything” about Agnes in Garfinkel’s overflowing archive, were overjoyed when in 2017 they uncovered new accounts of midcentury trans life. “We went in the first time and thought, ‘We’re going to find something,’ ” says Joynt, “and then over time it was like, ‘Maybe we’re not going to find something.’ When we finally gained access to the drawer and saw what was inside, it was this overwhelming moment.”

“I probably screamed,” says Schilt. “It was like we had really won the archival lottery.”

The discovery changed how they saw their project, raising comparisons between issues faced by the trans community today and those faced by the research subjects, and sparking a new idea about how to present their work. Though they do plan to publish a book, “Conceptualizing Agnes: Exemplary Cases and the Disciplines of Gender,” the two chose to present their work in a 19-minute film that is a hybrid documentary style. “Framing Agnes” employs trans actors Zachary Drucker, known for work on the Amazon series “Transparent,” Angelica Ross of “Pose,” Silas Howard and Max Wolf Valerio to recreate the historical research subjects on screen. Joynt portrays the Garfinkel character.

The presence of the contemporary actors allows the film to focus on the juxtaposition between today’s trans community and the community Joynt and Shilt uncovered in their research. “We gave them character summaries and outlines of the people they would be portraying,” says Schilt, “but we really wanted them to embody these people and bring them to life. Watching them was a beautiful experience.”

Joynt hopes that the film, which is building up a healthy roster of upcoming festival appearances, allows audiences not only to discover a richer past, but shift their perspective on the stories of transgender people today.

“For so long,” he says, “the cultural landscape has been dominated by narratives about trans people that focus on the transition moment, that move from a sort of gender unrest toward a kind of gender resolve. And for us, ‘Framing Agnes’ is an opportunity not to ignore the transition but to say that trans-ness and stories about gender nonconformity are far more complex.”

Schilt agrees: “While social progress is not linear,” she says, “this is this really amazing moment where we get to think about the current context of trans-ness in culture, alongside these historical makings.”

And, she admits, for a sociology professor, it’s also a moment to take in her new career in film. “This was so out of my realm,” she says, “that it took a few weeks to sink in, ‘Wow, this is huge.’ And now I’m so excited, I just can’t wait.”

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