Seen/Unseen ii

"Often when we say we feel seen, we mean that we feel understood. We might feel seen when we successfully communicate something important and personal to another person, or when we connect with a piece of art in a way that inspires a new understanding of ourselves or the world. SEEN/UNSEEN 2 is Shapeless Press’ third compilation of Trans and Nonbinary art and writing, and our second in the SEEN/UNSEEN series. What is the utility of being or feeling seen, as a Trans or Nonbinary person? How can we be seen in ways that empower rather than endanger us? And what does this zine have to do with it? I’m not referring to representation. “Representation” as we consider it in 2022, can mean too many different things. Often, the very concept is fraught with tokenization, neoliberal co-opting of radical politics and rainbow capitalism. “Representation” may mean a token trans character on a show made by cis writers and aimed at cis viewers. It may mean a single trans spokesperson on a panel of cis people, addressing a cis audience. It may mean respectability politics, an effort to “prove” to cis consumers that Trans and Nonbinary people are “safe,” “normal,” or worthy of care. In order for us to build our own self-concepts and affirm our subjectivity in the face of the dominant narrative, Trans people need more than representation. As Rita Felski writes, “We can only live our lives through the cultural resources that are available to us.” Trans people deserve to live lives richly informed by an abundance of Trans stories. Not necessarily art about transness, but art made by Trans and Nonbinary people for other Trans and Nonbinary people, in which our subjectivity is simply a given"--Preface