Weekly Wail Take-Over: Trans Awareness Week
Hi everyone, welcome to another Weekly Wail/Fireside Chat with me, your occasional wet blanket and voice of reason, J.M. Brannyk!
Happy Trans Week 2020! We’re reaching the end and I hope it was a safe and happy week.
I’m no randy when it comes to gender talk as you can see: here, here, a little here…maaaaybe here.
I myself identify as genderfluid, which is old person talk for NB/nonbinary/…..sigh “enby” (I’m old, sorry little ones). Which I was recently reminded is a form of transgendered. I sometimes forget the umbrellas I stand under.
But, let’s talk trans, eh?
Especially trans in horror.
What is it?
Well, dipping into https://transequality.org’s website, I’m going to take some info:
Transgender people are people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be at birth. “Trans” is often used as shorthand for transgender.
When we’re born, a doctor usually says that we’re male or female based on what our bodies look like. Most people who were labeled male at birth turn out to actually identify as men, and most people who were labeled female at birth grow up to be women. But some people’s gender identity – their innate knowledge of who they are – is different from what was initially expected when they were born. Most of these people describe themselves as transgender.
A transgender woman lives as a woman today, but was thought to be male when she was born. A transgender man lives as a man today, but was thought to be female when he was born. Some transgender people identify as neither male nor female, or as a combination of male and female. There are a variety of terms that people who aren’t entirely male or entirely female use to describe their gender identity, like non-binary or genderqueer.
People can realize that they’re transgender at any age. Some people can trace their awareness back to their earlier memories – they just knew. Others may need more time to realize that they are transgender. Some people may spend years feeling like they don’t fit in without really understanding why, or may try to avoid thinking or talking about their gender out of fear, shame, or confusion. Trying to repress or change one’s gender identity doesn’t work; in fact, it can be very painful and damaging to one’s emotional and mental health. As transgender people become more visible in the media and in community life across the country, more transgender people are able to name and understand their own experiences and may feel safer and more comfortable sharing it with others.
The Trans Killer:
There are so many amazing articles out there about the trans killer, so I’m going to highlight a few for you to check out.
Logan Ashley has an amazing and incredibly in-depth look at some trans killers in the article, “A Timeline of Transgender Horror”. Which was also hilarious because he said, “I refused to watch Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives on principle” and that was a podcast Jim and I did for ComboBox at my own request: part 1 and part 2.
But honestly, if you want a good, long read and analysis before bed, this is the article for you (plus he’s got other really good articles about gender and pop culture).
“Blood, Bodies, and Binaries: Trans Women in Horror,” by Jenni Holtz is a classic piece that everyone should read about some major trans women killers and their influence in horror. It’s short, but concise and is a cornerstone piece when talking about horror and gender (however, I’m still not convinced about Angela):
Horror movies provide a vehicle for viewers to project their own struggles with fear, loss and death and to be able to engage with those feelings in a contained manner that is socially acceptable. By making trans women objects of fear, films like these reinforce harmful ideas about trans identity.
Jenni Holtz, Blood, Bodies, and Binaries: Trans Women in Horror
In an article titled, “Who’s Afraid Of The Big, Bad Trans Woman? On Horror and Transfeminity”, Mey Rude talks about her own experiences while watching Insidious 2 (besides boredom…wait, that was me) and the trans experience in horror as a larger theme and as that translates to real life:
The movies that use trans people or crossdressers as a scare tactic don’t bother to make a distinction between the two. Because of this, for many viewers of these movies, these characters have been their only pop culture reference points when a trans woman is mentioned. That means that when they hear that someone is a trans woman, they have a list of characters that are lumped into this general category of ‘women who are really men’ and that category is filled with psychopaths and serial killers.
Mey Rude, Who’s Afraid Of The Big, Bad Trans Woman? On Horror and Transfeminity
Trans as Body Horror
And while werewolf films are perhaps the most obvious example, body horror in a more broad sense still checks most of the parallels. Any film about the transformation of the body, or about the death and rebirth of a person, can have a transgender reading.
Logan Ashley, A Timeline of Transgender Horror
Before we start with the next articles, here’s a fun exercise from https://transequality.org:
Thought Exercise: Thinking About Your Own Gender
It can be difficult for people who are not transgender to imagine what being transgender feels like. Imagine what it would be like if everyone told you that the gender that you’ve always known yourself to be was wrong. What would you feel like if you woke up one day with a body that’s associated with a different gender? What would you do if everyone else—your doctors, your friends, your family—believed you’re a man and expected you to act like a man when you’re actually a woman, or believed you’re a woman even though you’ve always known you’re a man?
Sounds like the start to a good horror film, right?
Because for some people it is. I mean…real life, not a film. I guess a docum- you get the point. This is a common and easy trope found in thrillers and horror, all the way from frickin’ Gaslight (Reddit users, calm yourselves at the mention) to The Vanishing Hotel to Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
It’s basically Star Trek’s four lights, over and over, except by the people that are supposed to be taking care of you or holding your well-being at heart.
Except it’s your own body that everyone is telling you that you’re wrong about. So not only is there a disconnection/disphoria with your own body, but the people you need to listen to you.
Samwise Lastname on the website GenderTerror.com, expresses in detail the similarities of the trans experience with Cronenburg’s Antiviral and The Brood, in the article, “Antiviral: A Transgender Take on Body Horror”:
There’s a long history of queer people being institutionalized, forced into psychiatric programs, and stripped of their privacy. Gender nonconformity or being gay were once mental illnesses, after all. Even if that’s no longer true, many gender clinics still require patients to have their gender dysphoria diagnosed by a psychologist.
Samewise Lastname, Antiviral: A Transgender Take on Body Horror
Matthew Rogerson goes old school with “A Body in Transformation: Cronenburg’s Body Horror as Transgender Cinema” and has some good citations of other places to check into trans body horror. He brings us back to horror being for and to the marginalized, much like the horror genre generally is:
Horror is, of course, no stranger to empowering narratives for marginalised people, and recently, Cronenberg’s most visceral, most visually unsettling and disturbing output, has contributed to conversations of transgender cinema.
– Matthew Rogerson, A Body in Transformation: Cronenburg’s Body Horror as Transgender Cinema
And Sasha Geffen’s incredible and utterly heart-felt, “Trans Horror Stories and Society’s Fear of the Transmasculine Body” talks in depth about Hereditary, transmasculinity and society’s misunderstanding and fear of it:
It can be nearly impossible to describe this experience to those who do not share it. Arguing for the existence of a primordial gender — not a clothing preference, not an affinity for a certain color scheme, not a set of stereotypical behaviors — is like arguing for the existence of a soul. The only language we have is spiritual, and more often than not we are preaching to nonbelievers.
Sasha Geffen, Trans Horror Stories and Society’s Fear of the Transmasculine Body
You’re Reading Too Much Into It. It’s Not That Big of a Deal.
In October I was in a webinar about intersectionality (because of course I was) and thankfully I always have my webcam off because I was overwhelmed. I think a lot of things hit at once, but something the speaker said really hit me in a way that blindsided me.
“The life expectancy of trans women of color is just 35 years old.”
Now, Imma cut this off here, because it’s a bogus stat: https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2019/09/23/41471629/is-the-life-expectancy-of-trans-women-in-the-us-just-35-no
It was basically a game of telephone, but it shows how little we really know about our own trans communities (especially POC and Black), scientifically and as a whole. Trust me, I am NOT saying this to discredit any hardship that trans people face because without a doubt they face some of the worst discrimination and harassment, including physical violence and sexual assault.
But my point is that it’s easy to throw up stats, and feel sad, and keep going without even looking into it.
And in our beloved horror genre, trans people have been quite the punching bag for a long time.
In the Dead Meat podcast #54: Transgender Representation in Horror, Joan Ford joined James and Chelsea to talk about some of the trans icons and stereotypes. In it, Ford mentions the big push back that many trans/LGBTQ people hear constantly: “You’re reading too much into it. It’s not that big of a deal.”
But when you are marginalized, it is. Our culture, especially pop culture, is representative of our collective thoughts, feelings, and motivations as a society. It is a reflection, a mirror of who we are during a period of time. Horror cannot and should not be excluded. It should be examined and held up to the light for imperfections. I’m not saying that any of these movies are bad, but I’m saying that representation matters and it’s time to let old tropes, shadows of our fearful past of “the other”, die.
As bell hooks said (pulls out heavy grab-bag of bell hooks quotes), in “killing rage: Ending Racism”:
Beloved community is formed not by the eradication of difference but by its affirmation, by each of us claiming the identities and cultural legacies that shape who we are and how we live in the world.
bell hooks, killing rage: Ending Racism
And while she was speaking on racism, many of the same sentiments can be linked towards the LGBTQ community because, guess what, there’s a lot of different ethnicities and colours within our LGBTQ and #HorrorFam.
The more we can see and understand that intersectionality and be open to people’s points of views and criticisms, the healthier and stronger our community and culture will be.
Bottomline:
So, that being said, please go watch an old timey movie that was mentioned in the articles (some are on Tubi for free) and just take a mental step back this time watching them. Try to figure out a few new things for yourself.
I’d also say hug a trans person, but instead (pandemic and all), maybe just follow some people on Twitter and let them know that, yeah, maybe they’re not reading into it and it is a big deal.
For any support, I would suggest: https://translifeline.org/ or https://www.thetrevorproject.org/
Good news to my nonbinary pals – we no longer exist!
“But Brannyk,” you may be thinking, “what am I supposed to do now that I am no longer a real being? How shall I spend my days?”
Unfortunately, the government has not released a handbook for this occasion, so I thought we could brainstorm together.
BECOME A GHOST
There are some benefits to being a ghost, for sure.
No rent or insurance payment. No corporate job, no cleaning cat litter, no AT&T trying to sell you another line after repeatedly telling them that you just want to make sure that your autopayment is on, but they’re all like, ‘Why would you pass up such a bargain on a second line? Are you an idiot? Why wouldn’t you need another phone line?‘ and so you have to tell them, “Because I’M DIVORCED, ASSHOLE, THANKS FOR REMINDING ME OF THAT!”
Ahem. I digress.
Yeah, you may not be able to venture out, much like Adam and Barbara in Beetlejuice. You may need to put up with someone else crashing your place and moving around all of your shit. Or Ryan Reynolds trying to sell you Mint Mobile. Or some toxic couple taking your creepy doll that you spent years on trying to possess.
Or, my absolute biggest pet peeve, when you’re practicing for the ghost speed chair-stacking championship and the normies just don’t appreciate your cool skills.
But the advantages are that you get to stay home, watch tv, stack your chairs and hope whoever buys your house/visits your creepy woods/gentrifies your neighborhood is a cool person, too.
(2 / 5)
It’s a good choice, but has a lot of drawbacks.
BECOME A CREATURE
Look, if you’re not going to exist, go big or go home, I’d say.
Monsters are cool. They play by their own rules. Sometimes they cause havoc. Sometimes they come around and help people. Sometimes they work alone. And other times, they have a lot of friends. Sometimes they just need some affirmation. And sometimes they’re…in high school, apparently?
The cool thing is that they come in all shapes and sizes.
Monsters are generally misunderstood. Some have their fans. Others are hated.
So basically, just like people, except with more tentacles.
The only downsides are that you might be too big or too “ick” for some people (these can also be pluses), you may have a taste for human flesh (no judgement), or the biggest issue – there are too many choices.
You could get stuck trying to figure out what kind of monster you are. If you’re not into labels, it’s an absolute nightmare. Or if you’re like me, it’ll be like standing in Subway for 15 minutes trying to figure out what toppings and dressings you want while the “sandwich artist” is openly judging you.
(4 / 5)
I like the customization, but it can be a bit too overwhelming.
BECOME A CRYPTID
Hear me out. I know it seems a lot like the monster category, but it’s not quite.
Cryptids are weird and mysterious. They keep to themselves. They have people who are fascinated by them and post on Reddit about them. Some have people making documentaries about them.
They’re like monsters’ quieter cousin who reads books in the corner at family gatherings. They collect shiny things they find by the side of the road. Sometimes they’ll steal a peanut butter sandwich or two.
Ever so often, they might scare a human just by existing or by politely asking for their stuff back.
Each one kinda has their own goals and priorities. Their own hangouts and interests. But unlike monsters, they’re not looking to rock any boats-
Never mind, I stand corrected.
(5 / 5)
I like the freedoms of being a cryptid and also dig the cottage-core vibe I get from them.
CONCLUSION: LET’S BE REAL FOR A SECOND…
I know it’s hard right now. It’s going to be hard. You may not exist to some assholes, but you are real. You have real feelings and thoughts and dreams. You have a real future. You have real decisions. Real actions that affect this world.
You have the real ability to wake up tomorrow and choose to exist. And for whatever reason you choose. Use it. Ghosts and monsters and cryptids are powerful, just like you are, even when you don’t feel like it. They have a place in our human world, just like you do. You make this world interesting and important.
You are part of this world, you are real, and you are not alone.
The horror community is one of acceptance, diversity, creativity and passion. In these times, it needs to be. We need to rely on each other. We need to cultivate and protect each other, as much as we need to protect ourselves.
And it looks like I’ll be coming out of my own cryptid hovel I’ve spent the past few years in to remind you that. My job isn’t done. Not by a longshot. And neither is yours.
You exist to me. Today, tomorrow, and forever.
Be safe out there, friends.
If you live in the United States, it’s time to rock the vote for real. I shared this video before in conjunction with my identity-based costume work, and I feel it’s important to revisit now, with the election coming up in just a few days. Besides which, Jack Black and Tenacious D are brilliant and given the current political climate, who doesn’t want to do the time warp? But seriously, get out and rock the vote, your life kinda does depend on it (at least insomuch as being able to make for yourself the life that you want, without the government telling you how to do so – especially if you live on the fringes of socially acceptable awkwardness like me and so many of my friends).
Besides which, this video is so good, it’s worth sharing again anyway. And again, if for some reason the video doesn’t load, you can find it here.
Art Attack
And here are some artworks I made awhile back as political commentary. The photograph was shot of the scene exactly as found, of a sign above a parking lot in a quickly gentrifying neighborhood making sure all knew that any unauthorized vehicles were unwelcome, and hung right in front of a flag that was tattered and torn from being caught on the chain link fence driving the point home. The flags were meant to be interactive, with gallerygoers waving them while singing The Star Spangled Banner in its elitist entirety. The whole really spoke to me regarding some of the political climate at the time (this was right before Trump was elected President the first time). How much has changed since then? In some ways, a lot. In other ways, I guess we shall see.
So on my recent road trip to Miami AZ USA for my menstruation art installation, we decided to detour to Roswell NM en route home. To be honest, this was one of the best decisions of my life, up there with road trippin’ from Arizona to San Francisco along CA-Highway 1, and I will go into the details of why here soon.
Roswell NM USA has totally embraced its alien history of the UFO crash in the late 1940s and subsequent government cover up. The whole town is alien-happy with beautiful hand carved wood totems, murals and statues everywhere celebrating otherworldly denizens of all types, though predominantly the gray aliens of the crash (and their green counterparts). Even the city logo features a flying saucer as the center of the letter “R”. It really is kind of incredible.
One of the biggest draws is the International UFO Museum and Research Center, housed in the wonderful old theater building. This museum details the crash history as well as celebrating aliens in movies and media and examining newer alien sightings and abductions. It is very thorough and includes maquettes, statues, written accounts and an extensive research library, as well as an interesting art collection of various items.
And there are TONS of fun alien themed curiosity shops. I will give a shout out to the newer Invasion Station north on Main Street where there had once been an old car dealership. I love the quirky nature of this particular store as well as their strong desire to promote local artists. Most of their wares are hand-painted in NM and feature designs by prominent local artists including one of the lead muralists in town (I bought a magnet of his). They also feature really alternative kitsch like KISS and Ace Frehley alien bobbleheads, marijuana and anal references, and such. All in all, our own Haunted MTL’s kinda folks…
And the city is a huge tourist draw internationally, so you can meet some amazing and interesting folks from all walks of life who have caught the alien bug or at least want to check out all the hype. As a result of the tourism, the residents seem really laid back and accommodating (kind of like Hawaii but not quite as much) and there is a thriving art scene. And it’s totally my kind of art – weird and a little creepy. Anyway, I feel like I’ve finally found my peeps and am eager to return someday.
If you’re feeling a bit extraterrestrial, I invite you to also check out some of my alien-themed stories here on Haunted MTL: LTD UFOs among us; my Drive-By short story; and LTD Abducted.
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