This project compiles down to earth, honest and detailed interviews with transgender sex workers in Turkey. Proud, inspiring portraits of these activists in Turkey. (25:24- 2012)

“A Social Justice and Art project of Gabrielle Le Roux in collaboration with Trans Activists in Turkey with the support of Amnesty International Turkey and the Consulate General of Netherlands.”

Amongst the trans activists in Turkey, most of their activism is voluntary work so although it is the occupation they have in common, they have a range of other professions as including a translator, a musician and music teacher, a performer, two university students, a rapporteur on transphobic violence, and several sex workers. In Turkey, as in many other parts of the world, if you are a trans woman most avenues of work apart from sex work are closed to you. This video explores how each person feels about their occupation, and what work they would prefer to do – their responses are very diverse.
Meet a diverse group of Turkey’s trans activists in person speaking out on their own terms in this 18 part series of films. Each film explores a different question.

There is a frighteningly high, and growing, incidence of hate crimes and murders of transgender people, specially trans women, in Turkey, and a vibrant, motivated, politicized trans movement has emerged in response and is demanding to be heard. Trans activists of various genders, aged 24 — 57 from five cities in Turkey speak out candidly and intimately in these films about their lives, struggle to get their rights recognised, and vision for a more inclusive world.
These films comprise the video installation in the exhibition Proudly Trans in Turkey. The travelling exhibition, a cultural intervention for social justice, combines portraits drawn from life, first-person stories, interviews and video. It is a call to solidarity with the trans rights movement in Turkey. It is a co-creation between Turkish activists and South African artist and activist for social justice Gabrielle Le Roux.

This is an interactive initiative and we would love to know how and where these films are received. If you use them in your teaching/research/activism or advocacy work, please leave a comment or email proudlytransinturkey@gmail.com with feedback/questions