Precarious Persistence: Queer, Punk, and Trans Lineages of Tranny Fest/San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (1997 – present) Andrew Robbins, Doctoral Candidate, Media Studies University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication Co-founders/Co-directors: Christopher Lee (1964- 2012) & Alex Austin with Miss Major Timeliness San Francisco has a “vibrant and anarchic contemporary transgender scene where many of the old distinctions between transexuals, transvestites, butches, and queens have broken down. The city also has a long history of transgender political organizing and community building, creating a space where less survival-oriented forms of cultural production can flourish” (Susan Stryker, 1997) Queer – Punk – Trans As activist lineages - ACT UP, Queer Nation, Trans Nation As sensibilities - Genderfuck - DIY cultural production (zines, Queercore, performance, S/m parties) “Fucking with gender is fucking with the dominant paradigm and that’s punk rock… The definition of punk is to subvert the dominant paradigm through art, music, culture, and we were turning gender and sexuality on its head.” – Lynn Breedlove (of Tribe 8, interview in Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution, Dir. Yony Leyser, 2018) Lynn Breedlove, Outpunk #1, 1992 Sideburn #1, 1976, illustrated by Tony Moon Acknowledgements • GLBT Historical Society Archives: “Tranny Fest” Collection • San Francisco Public Library Archives: “Maga/zine” Collection • University of Oregon: Center for the Study of Women in Society – Graduate Research Grant • All past and present, visible and invisible gender fuckers, scofflaws, outlaws, punks, weirdos, rockers, visionaries, film crews, poets, activists, musicians, and audiences that paved the way for, built, and sustained Tranny Fest/SFTFF since its official debut in 1997 Contact: [email protected].