Jodi Jinks and VisAbiliTy announce "Fluid"

It had to happen, and it finally did. Oklahomans have finally realized transgender people are among them. This is both good news and bad news, good news in that transgender people have been officially acknowledged, bad news in that transgender people have been officially acknowledged. Transgender people have avenues of recourse in employment rights, in access to education, and for self-advocacy in medical settings, but unfortunately, some Oklahoma officials would rather see transgender disappear, again, into obscurity.

According to Jodi Jinks, the Mary Lou Lemon Endowed Professor for Under-Represented Voices at Oklahoma State University, some of those officials are part of the faculty at OSU. As recently reported by The Gayly, the theater department would not permit a student performance of a play representing transgender voices on a campus stage for fear of patron disapproval.

When VisAbiliTy, a newly formed transgender advocacy group in Central Oklahoma, learned about the banned play, they reached out to Jodi Jinks and her students, inviting a dialogue about the incident. After a few conversations, VisAbiliTy cofounder, Paula Sophia, found a place in Oklahoma City willing to receive them: Sauced in the Paseo, Oklahoma City’s premiere spoken word venue.

“A few of the students who participated in “This Title Has Been Censored” are excited to participate in a show at Sauced,” Jinks said. “A place where they can create more discussion about gender identification and fluidity.”

The show, now named “Fluid,” is slated for a performance on Saturday April 16, 2016 at 7 pm. Because some of the cast from the original show have moved on, Jodi Jinks has invited local Spoken Word artists to participate, among them Paula Sophia, who will be reviving selections from her 2006 show “I’ve Wrestled With Angels,” a spoken word odyssey about her life before and after transition. Also, Lauren Zuniga, a renowned Spoken Work Artist here in Central Oklahoma, has agreed to be a special featured guest at the event.

“Free speech is something to be fought for,” Jinks said. “We will not be counted out.”   

The Gayly – April 2, 2016 @ 3 p.m.