Matt RubinThe second annual Tranny Roadshow, a multimedia showcase of art, poetry and song by “trans-people,” came to Ursa’s Caf‚ on Wednesday night to a crowd of over 100 students. The event, hosted by Pride Alliance, aimed to encourage students’ discussion of gender boundaries and demonstrate the talents of the transgender community.
The Tranny Roadshow, almost entirely self-funded, is touring at several universities and theatres. All the performers self-identify as transgender – an umbrella term for transgender and transsexual people. Dylan Scholinski, author of “The Last Time I Wore A Dress,” addressed a common misconception about the transgender community.
“One of the biggest misconceptions about transgender people is that you need to be one [gender] or the other – that you have to pick sides,” said Scholinksi.
Scholinski is committed to challenging people to think and to entertaining his audience.
“I’ve been speaking about issues around trans/queer identity for over ten years. I feel it necessary to expose people to how talented we can be,” said Scholinski. “Transgender people are considered the freaks of the queer movement.”
Guitarist Adhamh Roland said, “I try to be really intentional with my music. I feel like the Tranny Roadshow is an educating and empowering tool. I like the format with storytelling and multimedia.”
Roland, a St. Louis native, noted that although the transgender community is smaller in St. Louis than in other cities, it still maintains a strong sense of identity.
As one of the first performance-based events held by Pride, Co-President Tom Giarla said, “[The turnout] exceeded my expectations. It was nice to see a lot of people from Wash. U. as well as the outside community. It was a diverse, eclectic group.”
Several members of the audience came from the greater St. Louis area to experience the Tranny Roadshow and cheer on the performers.
Shannon Knox, a resident of South City, said about the show, “There was more spoken-word than I had expected, but I think that gender is a complicated issue and people really do create these dichotomies.”
Students agreed, as issues about campus inclusiveness came up during the show. Some performers cited the lack of gender neutral bathrooms as a problem that needed to be addressed.
“I think that [the University] is trying to be more inclusive with the e-mail they sent out about the task force. I think the plan for a community center is a good idea. I think they’ve finally gotten on the bandwagon,” said sophomore Yetunde Ogunfidodo.
The Tranny Roadshow will continue touring the East Coast until the end of this month. Wednesday’s event was co-sponsored by the Congress of the South 40, the Social Justice Center, and the Performing Arts Department.