Trans in Trumpland is a 2021 American four episode docu-series directed by Tony Zosherafatain that chronicles the experiences of four transgender Americans during the Presidency of Donald Trump in North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi and Idaho and investigates transgender rights in the United States during the Trump era.
I just had a feeling [Trump] was going to attack our community even worse than that first week.”[8] Zosherafatain “spent the next three years developing the concept and raising money through Kickstarter.”[9] After a successful Kickstarter campaign in August 2019 raised $65,000, production began in September 2019 in North Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, and Idaho and filming completed in December 2019.
[15] Trans in Trumpland was released on February 25, 2021, on Topic, and is also available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Club wrote that the series is “a step beyond negative headlines, offering a glimpse into the lived experience of those directly affected by laws such as the discriminatory HB2 bill, which prohibits trans people from using bathrooms and lockers that align with their gender identity, or the trans military ban,” and “this docuseries is a heartfelt must-watch.”[17] Writing for Vogue, Liam Hess summarized the effectiveness of the series stating, “the four stories come together to form a rich and moving tapestry, touching on how trans people across a range of intersectional identities have responded to the challenges of living under the Trump administration—as well as their hopes for and vision of the future.”[18] Benedict Nguyen of Vanity Fair called the series “a vital contribution to the trans media canon” but that the series “could have told more complex stories, covering an even wider breadth of experience or addressing the violence of Trump-era policies in more depth.”[19] LGBTQ+ media strongly praised the series.
Johnny Yates of PinkNews described Trans in Trumpland as “a powerful new documentary that puts the spotlight on transgender lives in the Trump era...everyone needs to watch it.”[20] Xoai Pham of Autostraddle stated, “rather than simply presenting the culture of violence, the series’ creator Tony Zosherafatain delivered a resounding celebration of the relationships that sustain trans lives” and that “we are in a new wave of visionary trans filmmaking, with documentaries like Disclosure feature films like Lingua Franca, and TV shows like Veneno.