transVerse

Polari Journal Special Issue - transVerse - Issue 4 October 2011 

Issue Editors: D. J. Baker & Sujay Kentlyn 

Editorial Comment

"I stared far back into my past and remembered the child who couldn't be catalogued by Sears. I saw her standing in front of her own mirror, in her father's suit, asking me if I was the person she would grow up and become. Yes, I answered her. And I thought how brave she was to have begun this journey, to have withstood the towering judgements."  - Leslie Feinberg (Stone Butch Blues)

The purpose of this special issue of Polari Journal is to feature the best in writing by transgender, transsexual, intersex, androgynous and genderqueer writers, artists, activists and commentators as well as writing by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Queer writers that features trans & intersex characters, lives, culture or issues.

It is well acknowledged that individuals living inbetween or outside the boundaries of socially enforced gender norms struggle not only with day to day living but with being able to speak openly about their experience. They also struggle to be heard. Therefore, and in acknowledgement of the courage displayed by gender non-normative individuals suggested by the Feinberg quote above, this issue adopted an inclusive attitude with regards to the selection of work. As a result, transVerse showcases writing by professional authors and scholars as well as writing by members of the trans and intersex communities who may not be professional writers but who have come to use writing as a tool to document, express and explore their personal experience of gender and sex.

This issue demonstrates the diversity of the trans and intersex communtities and also reflects the differing degrees of engagement with the practice of writing within those communities. Furthermore, transVerse features work by established and emerging writers and scholars as well as those who have put pen to paper (or cursor to screen) only recently. We at Polari Journal feel that this brings a richness to this special issue that is worth celebrating. We hope you enjoy reading transVerse as much as we enjoyed creating it!

Showcase

Featuring an essay by Ace Falcor, poetry by Adrian Costello and Sujay Kentlyn and a scripted piece by Deborah Hunn.

Museum

Featuring a 'cartoon haiku' by Sam Orchard

Sam Orchard is currently a Masters student at the Auckland University of Technology and the author of a weekly webcomic Rooster Tails.

Fiction & Creative Non-Fiction

Poetry 

Essay

Transmasculinity and Desire: Salamon, Merleau-Ponty and the Embodied Experience of a Genderqueer Transboy

A Scholarly Essay by Joey Macdonald

Sling-Back-Violence and the Story of an Essex Girl

A Scholarly Essay by Julia Horncastle 

Participating in Research: What's In It For Me?

A Scholarly Essay by Ashley Van Houten