The year is 1993. Susan Stryker stomps onto the stage of California State University’s ‘Rage Across the Disciplines’ conference, in her “genderfuck drag-combat boots” and drapes her “black leather hiker jacket over [her] chair at the panelists’ table” (84). She then begins to monologue what will later be adapted into text as “My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix - Performing Transgender Rage.” Though, at that point the performance has already begun; Stryker quite literally wears her thesis on her sleeve. In her appearance, she portrays herself deliberately, queerly and monstrously.
The visually striking outfit Stryker describe bears the symbols and calling cards of several overlapping communities. These symbols range from overt to coded, but all are displayed proudly and thought worthy to be included in the written adaptation of the performance. The “pink triangle quartz crystal pendant,” and “shredded Transgender Nation T-shirt,” (84) both display her queerness, referencing the inverted triangle symbol and identifying her as a part of a transgender direct-action group (83). She categorizes her jewelry as grunge, identifying with the alternative subculture recognized by its ideals, music, and fashion. Grunge is a subculture born out of rejection, neglect, and poverty, creating fashion trends from thrifting and repurposing in the face of not being able to afford the aesthetics associated with the idea of rebellion. The biggest claims are made with Stryker’s jacket, which she deliberately draws attention to, taking it off and draping it on display. Stryker is a self-proclaimed “leatherdyke” (85), brandishing combat boots and a leather jacket with handcuffs attached to the left shoulder. She presents her kink and queerness as inseparable and equally public aspects of her identity. Along with the handcuffs she decorates her jacket with rainbow freedom rings and “Queer Nation-style stickers reading SEX CHANGE, DYKE, and FUCK YOUR TRANSPHOBIA plastered on the back” (84). In choosing to place these messages on the back panel of her jacket Stryker takes a risk. Within alternative scenes it is widely believed that it is safest to place the most radical statements on the front of your clothing so you can see any potentially threatening reactions. Stryker loudly announces her queerness with her back turned, accepting the danger that brings. In this appearance Stryker embraces counterculture and displays pride in being at the fringes of society.
She proudly displays not only that she is transgender, but also that she has medically transitioned with the “SEX CHANGE” sticker. It would be inappropriate to neglect the statement Stryker makes with her body itself. As someone who has medically transitioned, she has been altered by science. Her transness exists in her very skin stripped of all fabric. It is in this aspect she first describes her connection with Frankenstein’s creature. She describes the transexual body as “flesh torn apart and sewn together again in a shape other than that in which it was born.” Then she elaborates that, “[i]n these circumstances, I find a deep affinity between myself as a transsexual woman and the monster in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein” (84). This may make it seem that her body is the only part of herself she identifies as monstrous. The comparison is not only in her skin, but the layers she covers herself in, and the greater appearance she displays. The transgender body is a radical thing, but so is the transgender performance and appearance. In the introduction she shares that her “idea was to perform self-consciously a queer gender rather than simply talk about it” (83). She acknowledges the choice she makes wearing the clothes she does. Her appearance is a part of the performance. As a transexual women she could cloak parts of her identity and achieve the appearance of a cis women. Instead, she displays her transness with pride, an appearance in so many ways created.
Stryker is not a queer with any goals for normalcy. Her clothing identifies her as a part of the grunge and leather scenes. Her clothing itself is modified, reconstructed by her own hands, and made into something more fitting for her. Much like her body her clothing is torn apart and sewn back together. Stryker embraces the history of the term creature because a creature “is nothing other than a created being, a made thing” (86). The act of creation is invaluable. Her t-shirt is shredded with the neckline and the sleeves cut out. This, along with other accessories, and her own words, categorize her as grunge. Members of the grunge scene identify with Stryker’s ideals, embracing their rejection. This West coast-based subculture in its reclamation and recreation can be seen as unnatural or creature-like. The leather scene has long ties to the queer community and a long history of being forced away for the sake of palatability. In describing herself as a leatherdyke, Stryker rejects the lesbians and gays of the community who see her too as a monster. She exclaims that she does “not fall from the grace of their company – [she] roar[s] gleefully away from it like a Harley-straddling, dildo-packing leatherdyke from hell” (85). She embraces the idea that she is other, or demonic, and proudly displays herself as a kinky lesbian that does not look how they want. She is proud of her transsexuality, appearance, and kink – and she is proud to be a monster.
To transition is to become the monster, to make the choice to be the other they fear you are, and to do so with a smile, stiches, and black eyeliner. “Just as the words “dyke,” “fag,” “queer,” “slut,” and “whore” have been reclaimed, […], words like ‘‘creature,” ‘‘monster,” and ‘‘unnatural” need to be reclaimed by the transgendered.” Stryker claims, sharing her belief that, “By embracing and accepting them, even piling one on top of another, we may dispel their ability to harm us” (85, 86). In her loudly queer, grunge, and kinky appearance, Stryker displays herself as a monster, and shows that that is a beautiful thing to be.
Works Cited
Stryker, Susan. “My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix - Performing Transgender Rage.” Kvinder, Køn & Forskning, no. 3–4, 15 June 2011.
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