trans | Seeking to interview black Trans people for documentary (Reply)

From _ftm_. Please pass this on.

My name is Kortney Ryan Ziegler. I am a doctoral student and an independent filmmaker who is currently working on my next project, titled "STILL BLACK."

I am sending this message out in the hopes of finding potential black Trans interview subjects in the following metro areas: Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. If you know of anyone that would be interested in offering their story to this premiere doc, please pass along this email to them. I can be contacted at stillblackfilm@gmail.com

Brief info about the film:
Drawing upon the African American tradition of storytelling, this project will document the oral narratives of three transgendered (those who have undergone some form of gender reassignment surgery or hormone therapy) African Americans who tell their story of the process in which they came to terms with their gender identity. Through the testimonies of black FTMs and MTFs, this film will examine the intersections of race, class and gender as they apply to black queers who have transitioned, or, are transitioning. In particular, the project seeks to address the implications of and the complexities of a queer sexual identity within the majority of the black community and our society at large, which deems compulsory biological heterosexual activities as the norm, while ignoring transgendered issues.

Subsequently, this film will address the explicit and implicit homophobia that is rampant in the black community and expose the ways in which transgendered individuals have learned to overcome these barriers and form communities amongst other African Americans during/after their transitioning process.

Thank you in advance.

-Kortney Ryan Ziegler
*black by popular demand*

"We must be proud of who we are, and we cannot do that when we hide."
--Martina Navratilova