Artists, U.S.

Growing up in a cisnormative society characterized by an entrenched gender binary, trans people have had to invent and create a space for themselves. It is thus not surprising that many trans people have been artists and have developed groundbreaking work in various media. Through their artistic contributions, they have helped establish an identity [Page 47]and a discursive place for themselves and the larger trans community. Moreover, given that trans artists challenge societal assumptions about gender, it is likewise not surprising that many also do not conform to the expectation that they limit themselves to one artistic genre; instead, they tend to produce work in a variety of disciplines and/or mix different media. This entry discusses six contemporary U.S. artists who have received widespread critical ...