ON TRANS VISIBILITYShowing up as who you are
‘Bellies’ author Nicola Dinan pens a note on expression, being seen and the power of community for Transgender Day of Visibility.
By Nicola Dinan
27 March 2024 · 2 min read
Visibility can cost a trans person so much. Some of us are stripped of our dignities, and
others are stripped of their lives: Brianna Ghey, Nex Benedict, and many others through
time, named and unnamed.
Trans people are often asked to share their stories, encouraged to place their personal
traumas on a public stage. And what for? We are told that sharing could lead to
understanding (from cis people), that understanding could lead to empathy (from cis
people), and that with enough empathy, maybe our community will earn respect (from cis people). But no matter how much you lick the boot, it might still kick you in the teeth. And so maybe this version of visibility — shaped to appease the cis gaze — misses the mark.
In this story, sixteen trans and non-binary people stand side-by-side, in a shoot directed by a non-binary person, shot over the course of a day in a Berlin ballhaus. In the video, we discuss not what it is to be trans, but what it is to be Gigi, or Casil, or Zair, or me — our art, dreams, and our hopes for the future. The day was an exercise in connection — shifting our focus from outside to inside. Visibility became less about reaching beyond a community, and more about strengthening the ties within it.
Global solidarity — including that between trans people — has become increasingly urgent. Trans people face hostile legislation and increasing inequality. Others are being bombed out of the future that they deserve. But even in the most dire of circumstances, community can persevere. It is here for you.
“No one is free until we’re all free — this [goes out to] everyone that’s suppressed.”
- Gigi Spelsberg
GIGI SPELSBERG (@GIGI.SPELSBERG)
A Berlin-based activist, model and actress, she’s previously featured in our Holiday story and returns for TDOV.
GIGI SPELSBERG (@GIGI.SPELSBERG)
A Berlin-based activist, model and actress, she’s previously featured in our Holiday story and returns for TDOV.
“Fashion needs more commitment to the things they want to stand behind. ”
- Casil McArthur
CASIL MCARTHUR
Aka @casil_the_goat_lord, a Colorado native and model, has walked for designers such as Marc Jacobs and shot by Steven Meisel and Collier Schorr.
CASIL MCARTHUR
Aka @casil_the_goat_lord, a Colorado native and model, has walked for designers such as Marc Jacobs and shot by Steven Meisel and Collier Schorr.
“[I could use clothes to] express something I couldn’t otherwise express.”
- Nicola Dinan
NICOLA DINAN (@NICOLADINAN)
A London-based writer, her highly acclaimed book ‘Bellies’ is being turned into a TV series and she’s currently writing her second book.
NICOLA DINAN (@NICOLADINAN)
A London-based writer, her highly acclaimed book ‘Bellies’ is being turned into a TV series and she’s currently writing her second book.
Nicola Dinan is a London-based writer and the author of ‘Bellies’, her first published novel. ‘Bellies’ follows the relationship of Tom and Ming — two recent graduates and newly lovers — that highlights the awkwardness of first love, emotional complexities and anxieties of being in your twenties, all whilst navigating through Ming’s transition.
Through the release of ‘Bellies’, Dinan has continued to be an outspoken writer for the trans and queer community, drawing from her own experience as a trans woman, featuring on publications such as Dazed and AnOther. Her work continually highlights the importance of representation and global solidarity within, and between communities. Previously featured on Creatives to Watch, today, she writes for the Transgender Day of Visibility on Stories on Zalando.
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