Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Flowers in meadow
Flowers in meadow
Photo by Hannah Janssen from Unsplash
MSU | Culture > Entertainment

Transa: A Celebration of Transness

Bella Plumaj Student Contributor, Michigan State University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Red Hot is a non-profit organization that produces music and media that speaks to diversity and awareness. Their 1990 compilation album “Red Hot + Blue” raised funds for AIDS research, incorporating artists such as Sinéad O’Connor, U2, the Nelville Brothers, and more. 

“Transa” is a musical project, released on Nov. 22, 2024, that celebrates trans and non-binary people. It follows a meditative journey through its 46 songs, separated into chapters with themes of survival, grief, acceptance, and reinvention. It speaks to tensions present in western society––between nature and human constructions. 

The project began in 2021 and has over 100 contributing artists- Faye Webster, Frankie Cosmos, Lomelda, Adrianne Lenker, Fleet Foxes, Clairo, and more! They give the compilation a range of musical genres and identities. 

Some of the tracks have a direct conversation with gender identity, but the project does not force a performance: 

“This understanding of my own transness [is] so wrapped up in connection with the larger nature around me,” says Bell. “[We wanted] to create a project that really spoke to the naturalness of transness, and our connection with the earth. And I think that that really informed, then, how we structured the project itself, which was this meditative, sprawling journey. The freedom to make work outside the established theme of ‘Transa’ speaks to an inherent tension of the compilation- many artists from marginalized backgrounds have rallied against the expectation that they only make work that speaks to their identities.”

In our current political context, it is especially important that we celebrate our identities by reveling in the joy and sweet melancholy of existence. In existing, in navigating through the world as our most authentic and open selves, we are teaching power what it cannot do. When we celebrate the ancient, transcendent power of transness.

Bella is a senior at Michigan State majoring in Apparel and Textiles with a cognate in English. They are the Social Media Director for Her Campus at MSU, celebrating and uplifting members through various platforms. Bella is also the Secretary and Social Media Director for the Creative Writing Club at MSU. She is a lover of art, poetry, literature, film, music, and nature. As a writer and artist, understanding and analyzing art as a reflection of society and a mode for social change is something that fascinates them.