Hey Yall, I’m Sage ( @thhrift on IG) a 19 year old queer and trans artist, GLAAD Campus Ambassador, and GLAAD x @TeenVoge #20under20 honoree. Today were discussing a few themes of my latest piece on @netflix ‘s @Disclosure_Doc and why this film is so important!

Watching @Disclosure_Doc was an experience similar to the time I learned the word Transgender—the feeling of having new language to finally hold space for myself. The film allowed me to contextualize my existence as an AfroCuban trans woman in ways I hand not earlier be able to.

https://www.glaad.org/amp/there-has-never-been-a-better-time-watch-disclosure-on-netflix

“When I was 12, I learned the term transgender for the first time while watching a special on Jazz Jennings. Finally, I had the language to express my gender identity...”

“but in the same breath, I was only given a limited vision, a blueprint, a matrix, I felt, to being trans and happy”

Media has always played a large role in my understanding of my transness and my experience as trans woman of color. The ways I saw myself represented on screen not only influenced some of my deepest views of self but the views of my peers.

From the earliest depiction of a gender-ambiguous eunuch in DW Griffith’s film, Judith of Bethulia, transness has been presented as something emasculated, to ridicule, something damaged, something subservient, conniving, and not worthy of love.

I was 12 or years old, at summer camp, when a boy told me that no one would ever love a “girl like me,” a trans girl. The same boy attacked me and the only other trans camper on our way to our bunks one night weeks later.

This memory of violence has followed me for a long time. & for a while I believed “my existence and identity yield violnce, that is just my reality.” Like him, I’d never seen trans love stories on scrn. The only trans narratives I was familr with were those of violnce & rejection

That earliest media portrayal has followed trans people throughout the 20th and into the 21st century. On and off screen we are erased via physical and sexual violence, healthcare and housing discrimination, and job inequity.

@Lavernecox says in the film, even though we have always shown up in film as long as film has existed, trans people in media have always been presented in ways that suggest we are not real, that we are mentally ill, that we are men in costume and that we don’t really exist.

Critical, too, is exposing the deadly effect of having trans women played by cis male actors. “Having cis men play trans women, in my mind, is a direct link to the violence against trans women,” points out @SmartAssJen in the film.

This reinforces the harmful narrative that trans women are simply men in makeup and wigs. As such, we are pretending, we aren’t real, we are a problem that can be erased or even killed without consequence.

These types of representations led me to “become increasingly insecure about my body, my hair, my voice. I became obsessed with being “passable” and being “stealth.” I felt it was the only way I could survive.

I began watching those same trans pageants featured in Disclosure, from old shows like Geraldo and Maury, further ingraining the thought that the only way I could exist was to assimilate to a hyperfeminine ideal.

This became dangerous and harmful as I found myself suppressing and policing parts of my identity, joy, and body. I wasn’t yet aware of the possibility of being openly trans— my only wish was that no one knew I was trans—this way I wouldn’t be jumped in school chased, and teased

That began to change once I saw @janetmock on @piersmorgan in 2014. I saw a grown woman who looked like me standing in her truth, publishing a book, and living happily in the public eye after coming out. I saw possibility.

I finally felt like I could exist as myself, that someone could love me, that I could be someone.

The role trans representation has played in my own understanding of my gender identity has directly led to pursue my goals of becoming a filmmaker, director, photographer, and content creator. Too often are Black and Latinx trans women left out of the telling of our own stories.

We do not exist in story worlds outside the context of our gender, and that is part of what I hope to change. I am a girl who happens to be trans. This ‘happening’ influences every part of my life but I am made up of much more than just my transness.

One criticism I have with the film is that there wasn’t enough acknowledgment of the new generation of black trans youth coming up. I would have loved to see more industry pioneers (like @IAmJariJones @aaronphilipxo @IndyaMoore+) included in the discussion.

Black trans folk have been sources of cultural inspiration for EONS yet never have we been given access to storytelling platforms in the ways we've seen just in the past 5 years. This new cast of trans stars opens a new world of possibility and representation.

What really excites me about Disclosure is that this film will serve as the 1st time the new generations of trans youth, and especially Black and brown trans youth, see themselves represented on screen, and it will be a far more affirming experience for them.

By promoting narratives of happy joyful trans folk we actively reconstruct the mainstream trans narrative and in turn our reality. The link between narratives of violence and rejection we find trans characters in on-screen and violence against trans folks in the streets is clear.

As much as representation in media matters, so does representation at the ballot box! In order to ensure a thriving and equitable future for trans folk, we need to utilize out voting power--but there is no denying the barriers trans folk face when trying to cast their votes.

With voter ID laws getting increasingly strict, the votes of many trans folks with non-accurate IDs face the possibility of not being allowed to vote--the trans voice is being silenced and here are a few stats to show you what we're dealing with!

Get familiar with your rights on #VotingWhileTrans by visiting https://transformthevote.org/voting . Access and share their handy rights guides in English and Spanish now!

Visit https://www.glaad.org/action  to register to vote, pledge to vote, and verify your registration. Also, stay up to date on your state's voter ID laws, COVID voting info, and much more. Make sure to share this resource with your friends and social communities so we can get heard!

Thank you to @LaverneCox and the entire @Disclosure_doc team for this amazing film & incredible resource @netflix I am waiting for even more authentic trans films and series. There are plenty of black and brown trans creatives with stories to tell, just bring us to the table!

“I am fighting for the day I am allowed to exist in my entirety.” Thank you @glaad for allowing me to drop in today and share my thoughts on @Disclosure_Doc! Connect with me on instagram and twitter @thhrift @theteammag Read and Share https://www.glaad.org/amp/there-has-never-been-a-better-time-watch-disclosure-on-netflix