ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Reservations required. RSVP for each discussion at the links below in the Schedule of Events beginning Thursday, October 6, at 9 a.m.

DESCRIPTION:
It’s been a watershed year for trans representation in film and TV, yet trans people continue to fight for basic rights. Two panel discussions will explore the many meanings of trans visibility, from mainstream television to experimental film and video.

The past year has been called a “tipping point” for the media representation of transgender and gender-variant people. Trans characters made appearances in Orange Is the New Black and Transparent, and the history of gender transitions was represented in the Oscar-nominated film The Danish Girl. But, as welcome as this new visibility may be, it has also drawn attention to persistent anxieties about the movement of trans people through and across highly gender-normative landscapes. Trans activists continue to fight for the rights of trans people in prison, in public bathrooms, and everywhere.

Schedule of Events:
7 p.m.: Experimental Transmedia
Experimental filmmakers, performers, activists, and scholars Mya Taylor (Tangerine), Chris E. Vargas (Museum of Transgender Hirstory and Art), Sam Feder (Kate Bornstein Is a Queer and Pleasant Danger), and Silas Howard (Transparent) will discuss the shifting nature of trans politics.

USC Students, Staff, and Faculty: RSVP
USC Alumni: RSVP
General Public: RSVP

8:30 p.m.: Transparent and Beyond
Artists and Transparent co-producers Zackary Drucker and Rhys Ernst, along with other queer and trans talent behind the Golden Globe and Emmy Award–winning series, like director Silas Howard and cast member Trace Lysette, will discuss how Transparent’s success has changed—and struggles to change—the entertainment industry’s approach to trans and queer politics, production, and performers in Hollywood.

USC Students, Staff, and Faculty: RSVP
USC Alumni: RSVP
General Public: RSVP

Additional Links:
Mya Taylor Twitter
Chris E. Vargas Twitter
Zachary Drucker Twitter
Rhys Ernst Twitter, Vimeo
Silas Howard Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo
Trace Lysette Instagram, Twitter

Organized by Karen Tongson (English and Gender Studies) and Jack Halberstam (American Studies and Ethnicity, Gender Studies, and Comparative Literature). Co-sponsored by the USC LGBT Resource Center.

Photo: Radium Cheung and Sean Baker