Essays, conversations, and archival investigations explore the paradoxes, limitations, and social ramifications of trans representation within contemporary culture.The increasingrepresentation oftrans identity throughout art andpopular culture in recent years has been nothing if not paradoxical. Trans visibility is touted as a sign of a liberal society, but it has coincided with a political moment marked both by heightenedviolence against trans people (especially trans women of color) and by the suppression of transrights under civil law.TrapDoor grapples with these contradictions.
Theessays, conversations, and dossiers gathered heredelve into themes as wide-ranging yet interconnectedas beauty, performativity,activism, and police brutality. Collectively, they attest to howtrans people are frequently offered "doors"-entrancesto visibility and recognition-that are actually "traps," accommodating transbodies and communities only insofar as they cooperate with dominant norms. The volume speculates about a third term, perhaps uniquely suited for our time- the trapdoor, neither entrance nor exit, but a secret passageway leadingelsewhere. Trap Door begins a conversation that extends through and beyond trans culture, showing how these issues haverelevance for anyone invested in the ethics of visual culture.
Contributors
Lexi Adsit, Sara Ahmed, Nicole Archer, Kai Lumumba Barrow, Johanna Burton, micha cardenas, Mel Y. Chen, Grace Dunham, Treva Ellison, Sydney Freeland, Che Gossett, Reina Gossett, Stamatina Gregory, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Robert Hamblin, Eva Hayward, Juliana Huxtable, Yve Laris Cohen, Abram J. Lewis, Heather Love, Park McArthur, CeCe McDonald, Toshio Meronek, Fred Moten, Tavia Nyong'o, Morgan M. Page, Roy Perez, Dean Spade, Eric A. Stanley, Jeannine Tang, Wu Tsang, Jeanne Vaccaro, Chris E. Vargas, Geo Wyeth, Kalaniopua Young, Constantina Zavitsanos