Most people have a complicated relationship with Valentine’s Day. Long-awaited by couples and dreaded by singles, it is a day where love is pushed to the forefront of daily life.
However, recent political developments have denied transgender individuals the opportunity to express their love for themselves and others. In response, The Gender Gallery, a documentary theatre project that explores gender expansiveness through workshops and performances, sought to create space for transgender love this Valentine’s.
“Reclamation of Love: Love Letters to Gender Expansiveness” was held at the Bryant Center’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity (CSGD). Participants sat at a large table stocked with art supplies and created love letters addressed to themselves, other people or the trans community at large.
River Hedgepeth, founder of The Gender Gallery and assistant director of the Arts Annex, guided participants through the workshop, beginning with a grounding exercise and group reading. One-by-one, every person read statements like “I learned to love myself because you loved me” and “You are a work of creativity” to set a positive tone going into the event.
Then, all those gathered around the table began making letters. Some participants just drew pictures, while others wrote long messages. Soft pop music played in the background, and most people munched on the Valentine’s Day-themed Insomnia cookies.
The Gender Gallery began as an undergraduate passion project for Hedgepeth. When he had to take a fifth year at UNC Greensboro, he decided to make the most of it by creating something he had always wanted to see. Hedgepeth said, “It came about because I wanted to create a performance based on trans love and joy.”
The project works in somewhat of a cyclical fashion. First, Hedgepeth hosts letter writing workshops where he collects real stories from trans people to add to a living creative archive. All participants of the event craft their own letters, documenting the experience of trans individuals at this point in time in the process. Then, drawing inspiration from the letters, Hedgepeth later creates a group performance or a pop-up gallery to celebrate the stories the letters contain. The result can be everything from a movement based-show to an artistic display of the physical letters.
Hedgepeth has been running the Gender Gallery for about five years. “I’ve gotten so much feedback from folks that they’ve never been in a room with so many trans people,” Hedgepeth said. “They’ve never been in a room where they were celebrated.”
The Gender Gallery’s mission has only grown in importance as transphobic sentiments have risen. Currently, there are 20 anti-trans bills in the United States introduced at the federal level, involving subject areas like health care, bathroom policies and sports. This is not counting the countless executive orders signed by Donald Trump, doing everything from cutting federal funding for gender-affirming health care for individuals under 19-years-old to ordering the federal government to only recognize two sexes: male and female. While some orders have been paused by federal courts, others have begun to be implemented.
“Things have progressively gotten worse and more targeted towards trans folks,” Hedgepeth said. “The need for this project has grown and grown.”
In these hard times for the trans community, Hedgepeth recommends that people listen, learn and donate to local mutual aid groups if they can. One of the best ways is to support queer and trans art, like The Gender Gallery. Hedgepeth said, “Art can really transform someone’s perspective more than they think.”
In the CGSD this past Valentine’s Day, for a few hours all the bad in the world was shoved away and replaced by love and brightness. Between the craft making and the cookies lay a profound spirit that will not be diminished anytime soon.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Olivia Prusky is a Trinity sophomore and a social media editor for Recess.