CoP3// ' I Am Woman ' Project

I AM WOMAN (Zine) Project 

Introduction

As part of my studies into LGBT representation I began focusing on transgender representation in animation, in particular how trans woman are represented. Trans characters such as Alice from ' SuperJail!', Mr. Garrison from ' South park ' and Ida Davis from ' Family Guy ' portrayed trans women as either an identity to be disgusted by or fearful of. Each of these character may of been written as open about their identities as trans women however each came across as transphobic in their own way; hyper sexual, overly masculine and violent. I wanted to create something that not only represented trans women's history, equality and lifestyle but created to create a more diverse portrayal of trans women.

Including my research into LGBT culture by interviewing members of the LGBT communities, I also began researching trans women bloggers online, who documented/spoke about their transitioning and experiences. I researched into the personal experiences of Kat Blaque and Stef Sanjati, who both share their experiences as trans women online on YouTube. 

Goals

To represent trans women's history, life style and equality movement and create a more diverse dictation of trans women.

Research

• Kat Blaque. (2012-present). Kat Blaque . Available: https://www.youtube.com/user/TransDIYer/featured.
• Stef Sanjati. (2014-present). Stef Sanjati. Available: https://www.youtube.com/user/ThePrinceSane.
• South park, (1997-present). [TV programme] Parker, Trey. Stone, Matt. US: Comedy Central Productions, Paramount Television.
• SuperJail!, (2007-2014). [TV programme] Karacas, Christy. Stephen, Warbrick. Gruber, Ben. US: Warner Bros. Television.
• Family Guy, (1999-present). [TV programme] Macfarlane, Seth. US: 20th Television

Development

The begining of this project involved me working on two different projects, that I ended up abandoning. 'Dreamt Awake' focused on the anxieties behind identity and '#PRIDE' focused on showing identity pride through social media and connecting with others. These two projects helped me understand the depiction of trans women as honest and realistic. 

After conducting further research into trans lifestyle and trans history, I began working on this zine. I used photoshop to create this zine page by page.

Completion

Above are the pages from the zine I created for this project. Of course this zine doesn't define trans culture or represent fully what it is to be trans. However I created this zine to promote awareness and acceptance of trans people and in that way, I'm successful with the end result of the project. This project has developed my approach to storytelling as a creative, by researching into LGBT history and Trans history it's inspired me further as a queer feminist to support the campaign for LGBT equality by creating more LGBT and gender focused material - such as zines, animations and cartoons. 

Looking back at the project, I would of liked to of interviewed more people for research, especially more transgender people.

I’ll be printing this zine later this year in order to promote trans awareness.

Covers

Page from zine