Abstract
This chapter describes how transgender people and their allies in the US combat trans erasure—the exclusion of trans people, especially trans women of colour, from public discourse and history—by producing transmedia texts (i.e., new versions, re-tellings, or extensions of narratives across multiple platforms) that are trans memory projects. The authors frame these trans memory texts as instances of transmedia activism, in that they bring trans people into American cultural memory and recruit support for the trans rights movement. The trans memory projects discussed are: social media protests against a commemoration of the 1991 documentary Paris is burning and against the Roland Emmerich film Stonewall; crowdfunding campaigns for films about Miss Major Griffin-Gracy and Cece McDonald, as well as for those trans women’s support and maintenance; David France’s documentary The death and life of Marsha P. Johnson and criticisms of that film; and the Ryan Murphy–produced television drama Pose, which employs trans writers, producers, and directors as well as the largest cast of transgender series regulars ever assembled.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
- 2.
‘Cisgender,’ often shortened to ‘cis,’ is ‘an adjective used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their body and the gender assigned to them at birth—in other words, someone who is not transgender, nonbinary, or intersex’ (The Queer Dictionary, 2014).
- 3.
For example, one tweet from 30 August 2015 read: ‘Did you know Macklemore threw the first brick at Stonewall?’ and another tweet from 12 November 2015 read: ‘A lot of people forget that it was Macklemore who threw the firstbrick at the Stonewall riots,’ both referencing the rapper Macklemore, whose 2012 hit ‘Same Love’ expresses support for LGBTQIA communities and was taken up as anthem for the effort to legalise gay marriage. Stonewall’s depiction of a white male character as the initiator of the Stonewall actions struck some as a parallel of the way that Macklemore, a white heterosexual man, became a prominent representative of the gay marriage movement. The ‘threw the first brick’ meme has persisted to the present day. For instance, on 9 April 2019, one tweet read: ‘JK Rowling: Professor McGonagall threw the first brick at stonewall,’ mocking the fact that, in interviews, author J.K. Rowling has repeatedly retconned (that is, she has introduced a ‘retroactive continuity’ for) her Harry Potter universe to include queer characters and storylines, even though her novels and the films based on them only make brief and veiled allusions to queerness.
- 4.
#Resistance is a hashtag frequently used on social media to mark speech and actions that oppose the administration of US President Donald Trump, specifically the administration’s efforts to target women, immigrants, members of particular ethnic and religious groups, and others for unjust restrictions and persecutions.
References
/bent. (2015, September 27). ‘Stonewall’ tanks at the box office. IndieWire. Retrieved from https://www.indiewire.com/2015/09/stonewall-tanks-at-the-box-office-213743/
Anderson, T. (2016, June 3). LAFF: Why Laverne Cox is lending her voice to the ‘Free Cece’ documentary. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-laff-free-cece-documentary-20160525-snap-story.html
Armstrong, E. A., & Crage, S. M. (2006). Movements and memory: The making of the Stonewall myth. American Sociological Review, 71(5), 724–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/000312240607100502
Astor, M. (2017, November 9). Violence against transgender people is on the rise, advocates say. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/09/us/transgender-women-killed.html
Bailey, F. (Executive Producer). (2009–present). RuPaul’s drag race [Television series]. USA: VH1.
Bailey, M. M. (2013). Butch Queens Up in Pumps: Gender, Performance, and Ballroom Culture in Detroit. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
Bauer, G. R., Hammond, R., Travers, R., Kaay, M., Hohenadel, K. M., & Boyce, M. (2009). ‘I don’t think this is theoretical; this is our lives’: How erasure impacts health care for transgender people. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 20(5), 348–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jana.2009.07.004
Bevan, T. (Producer), & Hooper, T. (Director). (2015). The Danish girl [Motion picture]. USA: Focus Features.
Bloodsworth-Lugo, M. K. (2007). In-between Bodies: Sexual Difference, Race, and Sexuality. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
BRIC. (2015). BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival: Paris is burning. Retrieved from https://www.bricartsmedia.org/events-performances/paris-burning
Butler, C. (2011, August 11). Trans erasure and the Old Bailey. The Transadvocate. Retrieved from http://transadvocate.com/trans-erasure-and-the-old-bailey_n_3918.htm
Canals, S. (2018, May 24). FX’s ‘Pose’ creator on his difficult journey bringing the groundbreaking trans series to TV. Daily Beast. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/fxs-pose-creator-on-his-difficult-journey-bringing-the-groundbreaking-trans-series-to-tv
Clark, A. (2015, June 24). Burning down the house: Why the debate over Paris is burning rages on. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/24/burning-down-the-house-debate-paris-is-burning
Cordova, J. (2015). Boycott 2015 ‘Stonewall’ movie. GSA Network. Retrieved from https://unite.gsanetwork.org/petitions/boycott-2015-stonewall-movie
Cox, L. (Executive Producer), & Gares, J. (Producer & Director). (2016). FREE Cece! [Motion picture]. USA: Jac Gares Media.
De Kosnik, A. (2013). Interrogating ‘free’ fan labor. Spreadable Media. Retrieved from https://spreadablemedia.org/essays/kosnik/#.XFybuNF7mL8
Dunn, T. R. (2015). Public memory/Historical trans-cription: Struggling with memory in Paris is burning. In L. G. Spencer & J. C. Capuzza (Eds.), Transgender Communication Studies: Histories, Trends, and Trajectories (pp. 217–232). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
Emmerich, R. (Producer & Director). (2015). Stonewall [Motion picture]. USA: Roadside Attractions.
Farnel, M. (2015). Kickstarting trans∗: The crowdfunding of gender/sexual reassignment surgeries. New Media & Society, 17(2), 215–230. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814558911
Fincher, D. (Director). (1990). Madonna: Vogue [Music video].
France, D. (Producer & Director). (2017). The death and life of Marsha P. Johnson [Television motion picture]. USA: Netflix.
FREE Cece! documentary (2016). Retrieved from https://www.freececedocumentary.net/
Furfaro, D. (2015, May 16). Celebrate Brooklyn fest fails to celebrate trans people of colour. Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved from https://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/38/21/dtg-paris-is-burning-controversy-2015-05-22-bk.html
Goldschein, G. (Executive Producer). (2015–2016). I am Cait [Television series]. USA: E!.
Gossett, R. (2012–present). The spirit was… [Blog]. Retrieved from http://thespiritwas.tumblr.com/
Gossett, R. (2017a, October 6). Post on Instagram. Retrieved from https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ7byULA9KA/
Gossett, R. (2017b, October 11). Reina Gossett on transgender storytelling, David France, and the Netflix Marsha P. Johnson documentary. Teen Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/reina-gossett-marsha-p-johnson-op-ed
Gossett, R., Stanely, E. A., & Burton, J. (2017). Known unknowns: An introduction to Trap door. In R. Gossett, E. A. Stanley, & J. Burton (Eds.), Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility (pp. xv–xxxvi). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Gossett, R., & Wortzel, S. (2014). Happy birthday, Marsha! Kickstarter. Retrieved from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/405694149/happy-birthday-marsha/description
Gossett, R., & Wortzel, S. (Producers & Directors). (2018). Happy birthday, Marsha! [Motion picture]. USA: Star People.
Griffin-Gracy, M. M., McDonald, C., & Meronek, T. (2017). Cautious living: Black trans women and the politics of documentation. In R. Gossett, E. A. Stanley, & J. Burton (Eds.), Trap Door: Trans Cultural Production and the Politics of Visibility (pp. 23–37). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Human Rights Campaign. (2016). Violence against the transgender community in 2016. Retrieved from http://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2016
Human Rights Campaign. (2017). Violence against the transgender community in 2017. Retrieved from https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2017
James, C. (2016, June 3). LA Film Festival review: ‘Free Cece’ powerfully chronicles transgender movement. Awards Circuit. Retrieved from http://www.awardscircuit.com/2016/06/03/la-film-festival-review-free-cece-powerfully-chronicles-transgender-movement/
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York: New York University Press.
Jenkins, H. (2011, July 31). Transmedia 202: Further reflections. Confessions of an Aca-Fan. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2011/08/defining_transmedia_further_re.html
Jenkins, H. (2016, January 19). Telling stories: Lina Srivastava talks about transmedia activism (part one). Confessions of an Aca-Fan. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/blog/2016/01/telling-stories-lina-srivastava-talks-about-transmedia-activism-part-one.html
Johnson, S. D. (Executive Producer). (2018). My house [Television series]. USA: Viceland.
Jordenö, S. (Director). (2016). Kiki [Motion picture]. USA and Sweden: Story AB and Hard Working Movies.
Julie R. (2015). Landmark Theatres: Don’t erase these brave trans women from LGBT history! Care2 Petitions. Retrieved from https://www.thepetitionsite.com/484/281/263/landmark-theatres-dont-erase-these-brave-trans-women-from-lgbt-history/
Kacere, L. (2015, January 24). Homonormativity 101: What it is and how it’s hurting our movement. Everyday Feminism. Retrieved from https://everydayfeminism.com/2015/01/homonormativity-101/
Kasino, M. (Director). (2012). Pay it no mind: Marsha P. Johnson [Motion picture]. USA: Redux Pictures.
King, J. (2017, October 11). Accusations against director of Netflix doc keep rolling in. Mother Jones. Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/media/2017/10/the-plagiarism-accusations-keep-rolling-in-for-this-netflix-doc/
Kohan, J. (Executive Producer). (2013–present). Orange is the new black [Television series]. USA: Netflix.
Kohler, W. (2016, October 13). Drunk History falls for the hype and wrongly recaps the Stonewall riots, Marsha P. Johnson, and Sylvia Rivera. Back2Stonewall. Retrieved from http://www.back2stonewall.com/2016/10/drunk-history-falls-hype-wrongly-recaps-stonewall-riots-marsha-p-johnson-sylvia-rivera.html
Lawson, R. (2015, September 22). Stonewall is terribly offensive, and offensively terrible. Vanity Fair. Retrieved from https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/09/stonewall-review-roland-emmerich
Lewis, A. J. (2014). ‘I am 64 and Paul McCartney doesn’t care’: The haunting of the transgender archive and the challenges of queer history. Radical History Review, 120, 13–34. https://doi.org/10.1215/01636545-2703697
Livingston, J. (Producer & Director). (1991). Paris is burning [Motion picture]. USA: Miramax Films.
Madonna & Pettibone, S. (1990). Vogue. On I’m breathless [album]. New York: Sire Records.
McWilliams, R.H. (2017, June 23). ‘I got my civil rights!’—Why the LGBT movement owes everything to Marsha P. Johnson. HoneySuckle. Retrieved from https://honeysucklemag.com/i-got-my-civil-rights-lgbt-movement-owes-everything-to-marsha-p-johnson/
Meyers, J. (2016, February 2). Trans∗ invisibility. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamieann-meyers/trans-invisibility_b_2619929.html
Mock, J. (2017, October 13). Why I celebrate and stand by Reina Gossett. Allure. Retrieved from https://www.allure.com/story/janet-mock-why-i-stand-by-reina-gossett-marsha-p-johnson
Moreland, Q. (2016, May 16). Tracking Anohni’s avant-garde evolution on stage. Pitchfork. Retrieved from https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1144-tracking-anohnis-avant-garde-evolution-on-stage/
Murphy, R., Falchuk, B., & Canals, S. (2018–present). Pose [Television series]. USA: FX.
Namaste, V. K. (2000). Invisible Lives: The Erasure of Transsexual and Transgendered People. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Nora, P. (1989). Between memory and history: Les lieux de mémoire. Representations, 26, 7–24. https://doi.org/10.2307/2928520
Ophelian, A. (Producer & Director), & Florez, S. (Producer). (2015). MAJOR! [Motion Picture].USA: Floating Ophelia Productions.
Ophelian, A., & Florez, S. (2013). MAJOR! A new documentary film. Kickstarter. Retrieved from https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/missmajorfilm/major-a-new-documentary-film
Pearse, K. (2010, October 20). Trans erasure. No More Lost. Retrieved from http://www.nomorelost.org/2010/10/20/trans-erasure/
Pepe, M. (2015, August 19). Why is LGBT rights advocate Marsha P. Johnson being left out of history? Odyssey. Retrieved from https://www.theodysseyonline.com/marsha-johnson-lgbtq-rights-advocate-stonewall
Queer Dictionary, The. (2014). Definition of ‘cisgender’. Retrieved from http://queerdictionary.blogspot.com/2014/09/definition-of-cisgender.html
Quinn, T., & Meiners, E. R. (2011). Teacher education, struggles for social justice, and the historic erasure of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer lives. In A. F. Ball & C. A. Tyson (Eds.), Studying Diversity in Teacher Education (pp. 135–152). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Real, E. (2018, June 1). Ryan Murphy says ‘Pose’ could never have happened without trans talent. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/ryan-murphy-pose-hiring-transgender-talent-1116572
Rigney, A. (2008). The dynamics of remembrance: Texts between monumentality and morphing. In A. Erll & A. Nünning (Eds.), Cultural Memory Studies: An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook (pp. 345–356). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
Setoodeh, R. (2018). Transgender actors roundtable: Laverne Cox, Chaz Bono and more on Hollywood discrimination. Variety. Retrieved from https://variety.com/2018/film/features/transgender-roundtable-hollywood-trump-laverne-cox-trace-lysette-1202896142/
Soloway, J. (Executive Producer). (2014–present). Transparent [Television series]. USA: Amazon Video.
Spade, D. (2011). Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law. Brooklyn, NY: South End Press.
Stryker, S., & Silverman, V. (Directors). (2005). Screaming queens: The riot at Compton’s Cafeteria [Motion picture]. USA: Frameline.
Vaid, U. (2013). Now you get what you want, do you want more? N.Y.U. Review of Law & Social Change, 37(1), 101–111.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
De Kosnik, A., Goldberg, C.H., Havard, J., Johnson, P.M. (2020). Trans Memory as Transmedia Activism. In: Merrill, S., Keightley, E., Daphi, P. (eds) Social Movements, Cultural Memory and Digital Media. Palgrave Macmillan Memory Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32827-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32827-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32826-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-32827-6
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)