Staging Trans Feelings: tactical atmospherics and cisgenderism in We Dig (2019)

Image: We Dig (2019) by None of Us Is Yet a Robot

Blog post on Medium

To talk about ‘trans performance’ is to talk about performances that enact and investigate trans as a political act of affirmation, self-determination, and the felt affects of cis regulation. This paper is a working statement on the stakes at play in arguing the vitality of trans voices and perspectives for our collective social thriving. Trans performance maker Emma Frankland’s work and in particular her collaboration for We Dig at the Ovalhouse in Oct 2019 is an apt case study for this discussion. As part of her company None of Us Is Yet a Robot (which as a name makes direct reference to a trans community shorthand ‘bio-girl’ to describe a cis-girl), We Dig was a part of the staged demolition of the Ovalhouse in London. None of Us Is Yet A Robot’s performance explicitly explores the search for protection (by digging a hole) and the labours of navigating cis oversight. While gender transition is a theme that informs the work, Frankland’s performances often offer a commentary on broader politics of oppression, labour, and ecology.