Our names is an ongoing project collecting recordings of transgender people saying their names. It has a perpetual presence online at www.ournames.org, but is sometimes also exhibited as an audio/video installation. My hope is for the number of names to keep growing, so if you identify as transgender, I would be glad and honored to have your contribution.
For me, Our names has two functions. First, to stand as a concrete and unfailing manifestation of our who we are, of our very beings. When you yourself don’t have the courage or energy, your digital voice is still there to speak your name. It will not be frightened, and it is not alone. Second, to be a sort of safe haven when you begin to have doubts about yourself: “Am I for real? Is this for real?”. When you feel like you’re getting lost in the automated identity factory that is normative society. Perhaps these recordings might act as a reminder that you are for real, and that you are not alone.
“Att välja ett namn är en viktig sak för många”
Fria Tidningen, april 2016
