In conversation with Tourmaline
Tourmaline is an artist, filmmaker, and writer. Her history-making book MARSHA (May 2025) is the first definitive biography of revolutionary Black trans activist Marsha P. Johnson. Her award-winning films and artwork—held in the Met, MoMA, and Whitney—blend history and futurism. Tourmaline is a Guggenheim Fellow and TIME100 Honoree.
What does being a feminist mean to you?
In 1970, just a year after the Stonewall uprising, Marsha P. Johnson led an occupation of NYU when the university refused to let students host a queer dance party. It was a stark contradiction: an institution sitting in the heart of the Village, a hub of queer life, yet denying students the right to celebrate that very existence. Marsha, always visionary and bold, said no to that. She teamed up with students and fellow street queens to hold a sleep-in at the student center until NYU relented.
What moves me most is how she used that moment to imagine more. Inspired by movements like the Black Panther Party, she dreamed of a world where gender-affirming care, childcare, and open enrollment were all part of the same fight. She knew liberation couldn’t be piecemeal.
That’s the lineage of feminism I belong to, one that’s rooted in collective care, radical imagination, and the refusal to be small. It’s about making space, taking space, and dreaming far beyond the limits of what we’ve been told is possible.
“I love that there is no ending to the dreaming process for the world we want to inhabit.”
-Tourmaline
You’re such an inspiring voice for the queer community, from having your art displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art to being named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. What do you think your younger self would be most proud of if she met you today?
I think my younger self would have plenty of “Pinch me, is this real?” moments. I grew up in a home where we were constantly struggling to make ends meet but those conditions really fueled my dreams and desires and I love that there is no ending to the dreaming process for the world we want to inhabit.
Congratulations on publishing your new book, MARSHA! Can you tell us a bit about what makes you feel connected to Marsha P. Johnson and her story?
In 2002, I moved to New York City for college. As I was exploring the city, I found Christopher Street, which has been a vital hub for the queer and trans community for decades. Marsha’s legacy was so strong in those spaces, and she quickly became an icon for me of the power inherent in living unapologetically as your most authentic self.
Why was it important for you to tell Marsha P. Johnson’s story now, in 2025?
We are watching an aggressive effort to erase trans people from public life but we can learn what to do from Marsha. Beyond her radiant commitment to living as her fullest, most vibrant self, Marsha had a remarkable gift for dreaming expansively, far beyond the limits of her immediate circumstances. She wasn’t just surviving; she was creating. Marsha toured internationally as a performance artist, inspired cultural icons like Andy Warhol and Earth, Wind & Fire, and co-founded a collective that offered housing to fellow street queens when no one else would. She refused to let the brutality of the world around her dull her imagination. Instead, she moved through it with vision all the while building spaces of joy, ease, and connection wherever she could. In a moment where we face similarly challenging conditions, we can look to Marsha, her freedom dreams, art and organizing work to truly understand how it is possible to make a way even in the midst of a mess of a thing.
What is your favorite Marsha P. Johnson fact that you learned in your research for MARSHA?
I loved her sense of timing especially when performing on stage! She modeled herself after vaudeville performers like Billie Burke and could get a laugh out of anyone. Her director Jimmy Camicia taught her how to sing but she knew the audience would rather see her perform all over the place. She knew her audience, and she knew exactly how to bring her audience to their knees again and again. So much of her desire for humor and joy was because of her understanding that conditions were so hard outside the performance hall and that those spaces of relief, in the middle of the HIV/AIDS crisis for instance, were vital to being able to take care of one another.
What are some actions that the FEMINIST community can take to support trans rights?
We can remember that while these conditions are challenging, they’re also changeable. And we get to show up each day knowing that our actions ripple outward—they matter. Are we listening to our trans elders and honoring their wisdom as we face the real problems in front of us? Are we materially and spiritually resourcing our trans siblings?
Just today news outlets reported that Amy Sherald withdrew from her solo show at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery after learning the museum considered removing her portrait Trans Forming Liberty, a portrait of Arewa as a trans Statue of Liberty. That’s what praxis looks like—turning values into action. It’s a reminder that institutions don’t get to define our worth or control the stories we tell through our work. We do.
We love that so much of your work is dedicated to Black trans joy and freedom. What are some everyday practices that help you feel joyful and free?
I love spending time with my cat Jean in our backyard, just walking around in the shade. I find joy in my friendships doing lots of whimsical things like dming each other memes. I play a lot of Mario Kart which is just a truly nothing-serious-is-going-on-here activity for me. For the past two years, my partner Cameron and I have been taking singing and voice lessons together and it’s been such a beautiful way to get comfortable with a part of my body that I haven’t always been. I think a lot of us who are trans have complicated relationships with our voices but I feel so free singing not for an audience but just for myself.
