Feeling Stormy: Survivance and Pleasure as Quotidian Praxis in the Diaries of Lou Sullivan

• In Event: Trans Archives and Alternate Genealogies

Abstract

In this paper, I examine selections of Lou Sullivan’s diaries to explore and unearth the entwined nature of his feelings of unease and his experiences of contentment to argue that both constitute vital aspects of his lived experience of struggle and resilience as a trans man. Through this paper, I seek to disrupt and re-imagine dominant assumptions of trans ways of being that flatten and diminish the nuances of daily living. I trace Sullivan’s feelings from his girlhood into his adult life to both encounter his past, and insist on the present salience of encountering trans narratives with greater complexity.

Presenter

• Isaac Essex, Brown University