Brianna Austin is a freelance writer for magazines such as Tgforum.com, Lady Like, Girl Talk, Girls Club Reporter, TG Crossroads, Jazz Review, and Music Press. She is about to co-launch a new website with Gina Lance called www.tglife.com. We first met her at the notorious Silver Swan, where she asked if we’d be in a documentary she was filming – but we declined, due to privacy. A couple of years later when I ran into her, I had to admit we were ready to do her documentary, but she’d abandoned the project, and was very amused at how fast we’d gone from terrified newbies to out out out. It was a pleasure to get to chat with her.
1. So what’s Brianna Austin been up to?
That’s a mouth full. I moved to Buenos Aires in the spring of 2004 and it has been an amazing experience. In addition to running my website, Girls Club Reporter, I did some writing for Lady Like, Jazz Review and other mags, and spent the end of last year finishing a book I co-wrote (it is not trans-related) entitled An Unscripted Life, … I’d Do It Again, which will be available in October. Most of 2005 I have been developing a new transgender web portal (www.TGLIFE.com) which will launch shortly. And lastly, I’ve been working on two new books that are both trans related, Candidly Transgender and A Changing Season. I’ll spend August-Oct in NYC and then return home to finish the books in the fall.
2. Of all the articles you’ve written for so many trans magazines, what’s your personal favorite?
All of them. Really, that is a tough question because they all have meaning for me, depending on where I was on my gender journey at the time I wrote each. If I had to choose a few, I guess I like Transgender Box, Masks, I Am Who I Am, and They Burned Witches Too! These and others are posted on my website.
3. What was/is it like to report on the scene here in NYC for Girl Talk? Did you ever think, “oh no, not another tranny party”?
Never, I loved every minute of it. Most weeks I was out 4-6 nights covering either a party, show, reviewing a Broadway or Off-Broadway play, or interviewing trans celebrities. At the same time I was going through my own evolution, so it was great. I enjoyed finding new and exciting things to bring to my readers, and now get a huge kick out of seeing how many NY metro t-girls attend Invasion of The Pines, which I first wrote about in 2001. But, mostly, I enjoyed the opportunity to interact with such a diverse group of the people (trans, gay, straight, tourists, etc.) and have the opportunity to educate them as best I could. Every time someone got past my gender and saw me as a person, I felt as though I accomplished a small victory.
4. So what’s Gina Lance *really* like?
Gina and I hit it off the first time we met in 2001, and she is great – down-to-earth and doesn’t take life too seriously. She can be a cut-up and we have had a lot of laughs together. Since she came on board as Editor-in-Chief to run the magazine section of TG LIFE, we speak everyday, and she never fails to make me laugh. I can’t wait to attend SCC with her this September.
5. What would you like to see happen in terms of transgender acceptance in the next 5 years?
I would love to see more education — both in the mainstream and inside the trans community. It would be really great to see people stop spouting the party line to justify who they are, and just enjoy the day. It’s not what we wear that defines us, its what we do in life. Life is short and simple: it is people that complicate it.