If you turn to page 130 of Tre’vell Anderson’s book “We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film”, you will see a name within the text. And that name is Dino-Ray Ramos. I’m not putting shine on “We See Each Other” just because of this, but because it also provide comprehensive, thoughtful, and educational lens on the history of trans folks in film, TV, and media.
A hybrid of memoir-cultural history, Anderson takes us on a journey of their lived experience and puts it into context with a broader look at how trans people — specifically Black trans people — have been represented on all of our screens. With their distinct, irreverent voice that challenges the status quo, Anderson examines the trans lineage in film and TV — or as they put it, “trancestry”.
From Psycho to Some Like it Hot to Tootsie to Mrs. Doubtfire to RuPaul’s Drag Race to Tangerine to Pose to Orange of the New Black to the “we were all rooting for you” gallows of America’s Next Top Model, the book unpacks the ups, the downs, the triumphs, the tropes, and the importance and complexity of trans visibility and comprehending gender and identity.
With a foreword by Pose‘s Angelica Ross and a viewing guide of trans film and TV, “We See Each Other” gives us the tools to do exactly that.
Purchase “We See Each Other: A Black, Trans Journey Through TV and Film” here!
