Roundtable: The Creative Industries and the making of trans in(visibility)

The creative industries have been crucially involved in creating public understanding of trans identities. Excluded from official histories and records, since the mid-20th century the experiences and lives of trans people have nonetheless gained increasing visibility in spaces such as life writing, documentary or stage performance. This visibility has been both essential and risky for trans people: while on the one hand it has supported community-building and activism, it has also reproduced and amplified hierarchies of exclusion, and exposed trans people to increased scrutiny and violence.

This roundtable brings together scholars of trans celebrity Ellie Homant (Cornell), Dr Martin Ponti (Washington College) and Dr Alon Lischinsky (Oxford Brookes University) to discuss the ambivalent value of trans visibility. It looks at the difficulties that trans celebrities experience in the tension between public prominence and privilege, on the one hand, and trans stigma on the other, and explores the alternatives the stars past and present have found to navigate them.

This event is part of the 6th International Creative Industries Festival organised by the Creative Industries Research and Innovation Network at Oxford Brookes University, it is FREE and OPEN TO ALL!