"TransTrans: Transnational Trans Histories", an exhibition co-curated by ANU SLLL's Associate Professor Katie Sutton, is opening on Thursday 19th September 2024 at the Victorian Pride Centre in St Kilda, Melbourne. It will be showing until 3rd November 2024.

The exhibition delves into the interactions among German and European, North American, and Australian trans communities between the 1900s–1970s, as well as their collaboration with scientific researchers on gender diversity. It focuses on networks and trans and gender-diverse activism in Berlin in the 1920s, the US in the 1950s and 1960s and Australia between the 1900s and 1970s.

TransTrans features important figures such as Magnus Hirschfeld with his world-famous Institute for Sexual Sciences and trans community leader Lotte Hahm in interwar Berlin. It showcases the wave of media attention around Christine Jorgensen or the community of trans activists that gathered around Louise Lawrence in San Francisco, a close affiliate of trans medical researcher Harry Benjamin. Australian trailblazers range from Bill Edwards in the early 20th century through to Roberta Perkins, Vicky Harris and Phyllis McGuiness whose contributions have been fundamental to furthering trans rights in this country.

It has been co-curated by Katie Sutton (ANU), and Birgit Lang (University of Melbourne), who have developed for the Australian context an exhibition that previously showed in Canada and Germany. The exhibition development has involved close consultation with an advisory board including Transgender Victoria, Seahorse Victoria and the Australian Queer Archives. It has been enabled by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

The exhibition will be launched by Victorian Minister for Equality Harriet Shing and Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner Ro Allen, with a performance by local cabaret sensation Rosie Rai.

For more information, see the the exhibition website: TransTrans: Transnational Trans* Histories

For enquiries, please contact Dr Katie Sutton at katie.sutton@anu.edu.au.