Been T/Here
We almost never see trans people of color in love.
Think about that. There are very few representations of trans people beyond those representing themselves on social media. When corporate media shines a light on this community, it is most often reporting on something horrifying that has happened, or about how trans people are a problem in our politics. When trans people are seen in documentaries, it is most often about trauma and struggle. In narrative media, they are most often side characters. Examples like seeing Peppermint getting married on Survival of the Thickest are rare.
While working for Trans Lifeline and filming America in Transition, Andre Perez realized he was working in this space of centering the very real challenges trans people endure. This is an important part of achieving justice, particularly for trans people of color who often face the most significant but he felt the need to offer competing representations.
“I realized I literally think and talk about trans people dying every day. I wanted to make a more hopeful and celebratory series. I wanted younger trans folks, people who were just coming out, or people who are in the struggle every day to be able to take a few minutes to connect with the stories, and say, ‘I’ve Been There!’”
In seven quarter-hour episodes, Andre represents a diverse group of people across race, ethnicity, gender expression and age. We meet punk rocker Crispin Torres, choreographer and OTV mainstay Darling Shear, and performance artist NIC Kay (also of OTV’s Bronx Cunt Tour). Each has their own relationship to love, community, and politics. We see how trans people are not a monolith.
Perhaps the most moving portrait is of the late Gloria Allen, a.k.a. “Mama Gloria,” an elder who ran a charm school at the Center on Halsted. Though she passed in 2022, she inspired a hit play, Charm, and documentary bearing her name. In Been T/Here, we see her at perhaps her most raw and vulnerable–though she never loses her poise. She tells tale of early loves and more recent entanglements, which are even unresolved during the time of filming. We see her negotiate her love and desire to marry with someone she met online, seemingly live on camera. Only through the trust of a filmmaker like Andre could an icon be so comfortable sharing their most intimate moments.
Andre worked hard to develop this facility in producing such care-centered stories. He had been consistently documenting complex trans stories before these projects. He founded the Trans Oral History Project in 2009 running until 2020. He and a team of volunteers conducted over 100 interviews, documenting trans stories across all lines of identity and experiences. This project served as a springboard for Been T/Here.
“All of my media work centers around giving people the platform to talk about what matters most, and so I am often talking to folks who aren’t used to being listened to. The first time this really hit home was when I was talking to an older trans man who has been an incredible activist for decades. I was really nervous about doing his story justice, and honored that he took the time to share it with me. When we finished, he got emotional and thanked me for listening to him. I was just a kid with a camera, but I started to realize the power that can have in my own community.”
Seeing trans POC folks find love and meaning is so important at a time when their real stories are invisible and their images made visible only when it's politically useful for those in power. There's so much beauty and sincerity in Andre's series, and it's clear to me no one else could have done it but him. He really inspired participants to open up about their struggles, dreams, and histories.