Authoring Authenticity:
Narratives of Change with CTAG
Partner: Carleton Trans Advocacy Group (CTAG)
Group Members: Kayleigh Lewis, Theo Dunn, Kai Dao, Mateja Blazhevski
Project Description
A multi-pronged project aimed at bringing awareness to CTAG’s calls to action through a docu-series, social media campaign, and supporting website.Â
Authoring Authenticity is a multi-pronged project aimed at bringing awareness to CTAG’s calls to action through a docu-series, social media campaign, and supporting website. The docuseries, which will be published online and screened at the capstone exhibition, focuses on a few core calls to action that address key areas of trans advocacy at Carleton. Episodes focus on pedagogy, bathroom legislation, and ensuring respect for trans communities. By taking a personal and artistic lens to address CTAG’s calls to action and bring attention to community narratives, Authoring Authenticity creates an avenue for local transgender activism and a platform where transgender community members can share their stories. Agency and fostering relationships with participants is a key consideration of the docu-series and subsequent works, ensuring that trans and non-binary participants have creative control and consent over their stories, where these narratives have often been neglected and subject to discrimination.Â
The website will contain three main sections. One section will be dedicated to providing resources. Some key resources will be: a multilingual term glossary page; an interactive map displaying all the available gender-neutral washrooms on campus; infographics showcasing CTAG’s Calls to Action; and information regarding departments’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion groups. The next major section will be dedicated to a digital art gallery. This gallery will be available to all individuals apart of the 2SLGBTQI+community who wish to have a platform where they can safely share their projects. And the last main section will showcase Trans*, Two-Spirit, and Non-Binary community members’ responses to a set of questions that relate to CTAG and their work around campus.
Through the social media campaign, Authoring Authenticity promotes the docu-series through highlighting barriers to equity for trans communities at Carleton University and gaps in knowledge of institution-based discrimination. Through appealing to student audiences with witty and relatable posts, Authoring Authenticity’s social media campaign connects with its key audience to inspire trans activism and generate discussion leading up to the docu-series premiere.Â