Title: Seen/Unseen ii
Description: "Often when we say we feel seen, we mean that we feel understood. We might feel seen when we successfully communicate something important  and personal to another person, or when we connect with a piece of art  in a way that inspires a new understanding of ourselves or the world.

SEEN/UNSEEN  2  is  Shapeless  Press’  third  compilation  of  Trans  and  Nonbinary  art  and  writing,  and  our  second  in  the  SEEN/UNSEEN  series.  What  is  the  utility  of  being  or  feeling  seen,  as  a  Trans  or  Nonbinary person? How  can we  be seen in  ways that empower  rather  than endanger us? And what does this zine have to do with it?  I’m not referring to representation. “Representation” as we consider it in  2022,  can  mean  too  many  different  things.  Often,  the  very  concept  is  fraught  with  tokenization,  neoliberal  co-opting  of  radical  politics  and  rainbow capitalism.  “Representation”  may mean a  token  trans character  on a show made by cis writers and aimed at cis viewers. It may mean a  single  trans  spokesperson  on  a  panel  of  cis  people,  addressing  a  cis  audience.  It  may  mean  respectability  politics,  an  effort  to  “prove”  to  cis  consumers  that  Trans  and  Nonbinary  people  are  “safe,”  “normal,”  or  worthy of care.   In order for us to build our own self-concepts and affirm our subjectivity  in  the  face  of  the  dominant  narrative,  Trans  people  need  more  than  representation. As Rita Felski writes, “We can only live our lives through  the cultural resources that are  available to us.” Trans people deserve  to  live  lives  richly  informed  by  an  abundance  of  Trans  stories.  Not  necessarily  art  about  transness,  but  art  made  by  Trans  and  Nonbinary  people for other Trans and Nonbinary people, in which our subjectivity is  simply a given"--Preface
Subjects: Sexual minorities' writings, American, Literary collections, Transgender literature