De/constructing DIY identities in a trans music scene

Abstract

The emergence of ‘trans’ as a social and political movement and identity has created the conditions for the creation of a new music scene, organized around the gender(ed) identities of those involved rather than around musical genre. This article examines the parallels between the attitude taken towards gender(ed) identity and the organization of events in the United Kingdom’s trans music scene. Both entail de/construction through strategies of ‘genre evasion’ (Steinholt, 2012) and ‘cut-and-paste’ (Bornstein, 1994). This de/constructive process crosses boundaries and opens possibilities, enabling new modes of organization alongside new ways of understanding culture and identity.