What would an uncensored video production on transgender topics from an African American and trans point of view look like? What would we see from a community perspective that wasn’t produced by middle-aged, white transitioners?
Ciora LeGrand is the host, writer and executive producer of sisTers, a new production for Transperience.TV. “I’m doing the show to bring awareness about and to the African American and lower socio-economic communities concerning being trans in America,” says LeGrand. “There is a lot that is not said about our communities – The Dark Side – and it needs to be brought to light so that we can form change within the community.”
The public narratives of trans people has in the past been pretty much only from a white-centric perspective that doesn’t reflect the real diversity of trans experiences. A typical production of trans experiences have been told by cisgender-led production companies, outlining the story of middle-aged, late transitioning white trans women that start right before transition begins. These productions then tell the story with “classic” elements, such as reverse angle shots of these trans women applying make-up, panning shots up a transitioner’s legs to show what great gams she has, and tales of how they always felt “like a woman trapped in a male body.” The production then ends with gender affirmation surgery that’s referred to as a sex change operation, never to ask what happens after surgery.
In 2014, that narrative isn’t even a typical transition by white transitioners, let alone our trans people of color. What’s needed is a public expansion of the trans community narratives that are told that reflects the rich diversity of trans experience.
“I founded The Gender Dances Project to provide production services at little or no cost to the TLGB community,” states Nancy Evelyn Gold, the director and founder of Transperience.TV. “And the project created Transperience.TV to provide a distribution platform specifically for the many voices of the trans* community. sisTers fit perfectly into the Transperience.TV vision. I’m helping present stories that, until I worked with Ciora, I honestly misunderstood or never knew existed.”
“A large part of our audience will connect with Ciora in ways that our other programs can’t,” added Gold.
The first episode of the first season of sisTers aired online Wednesday, July 16 at 8:30 p.m. on Transperience.TV, and the episode can be watched on demand. Ciora introduced herself, provided her thoughts about what the production hopes to show, and talked a little about herself and her experiences in the Stroll area of downtown Pittsburg – an area of Pittsburg where trans* youth do survival sex work. “I was a homeless transgender teen with no one to love her but the streets,” she said in the introduction, “and there is where I grew up.”
In one segment of the show, Ciora asked an 18-year-old escort named Corey what brought her down to the Stroll. “Me and my mom had a fight, so she kicked me out. So, I come down here so I’ll have something to eat the next day: to have clothes to put on … so I just come down here every night, and sometimes I work until four in the morning, ‘till the first bus runs, and I just make my coin if there is some.”
According to The Task Force’s and National Center For Transgender Equality’s report Injustice At Every Turn, trans people are twice as likely to be unemployed as the national unemployment rate, and that number jumps up to four times as likely to be unemployed if one is a trans person of color.
“We need more services for homeless trans youth and adults, first in Pittsburgh, in hopes of expanding around the country to keep them off the streets and away from danger,” Ciora told San Diego LGBT Weekly. “Homelessness is of great concern in the lower socio-economic trans community and it needs to be addressed and handled accordingly. This is what we hope to accomplish by bringing the real experience to TV.”
Transperience.TV’s This Week In Gender began its new season July 16, as well.
Expanding trans narratives isn’t always pretty, but it’s needed. We have more stories to tell and need to be heard than what we’ve typically seen produced by cisgender production companies.
This is incredible! As said, not pretty but got to say and show our story. Even with up and coming Trans* POC in politics and media, it’s not enough. Want to learn more about the Pittsburgh initiative, it can be used in other major cities and states.
Thank you for your work, looking forward to sisTers.