NYU senior creates video series about the struggles of being a transgender woman

‘As a transgender woman, I have undervalued myself for many years because the media and authority figures led me to believe that I am inferior’

Summer Luk, who performs under the name Summer, is a senior studying Media Communications and Songwriting at Gallatin. This month, she is releasing three videos as part of an “I Am Me” campaign. As a transgender woman, she hopes that the series will “explore the internal struggle that I have faced when the outside world categorized and reduced me to only one aspect of my identity.”

What inspired you to make these videos?

I was inspired to make these videos because I want to be an artist who is not afraid of being utterly honest and vulnerable and that is how I want my audience to connect with the music I make. As a transgender woman, I have undervalued myself for many years because the media and authority figures led me to believe that I am inferior when I know now that that is not true.

I have found through performing music that I am able to invite people into my world, and help them realize that what I want is not that different from them, which is to be respected and celebrated for the complex human being that I am. That is why I shot three videos, a promo, lyric and music video. Each of the three videos that will be released has a unique theme that builds towards the message that transgender people are valuable and that they deserve to be respected and celebrated.

How do most people act toward the transgender community?

I found that there have been more people who are accepting of the trans community in recent years, especially since celebrities like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner brought about increased visibility and awareness towards the trans-community. I find that in my own experience that people’s attitude towards trans-issues really changes once they get to know a transgender person. It is important that we continually lift the voices of marginalized people because that is the only way they are heard. I hope that there will be a shift in the conversation, where people recognize that we shouldn’t reduce somebody to one aspect of their identity but instead learn to celebrate people for their complexities.

How did you do this in your video?

I had different goals for each of my videos. The promo and music video is more about my personal journey of self-acceptance whereas with the lyric video, I sought out transgender woman who are of different races, ages, faiths, and stages in their transition to showcase the huge spectrum that exists within the community.

Was it a difficult journey coming to love yourself?

I think it was difficult because I was told that no one would ever really see me for who I am and accept me, and those beliefs are perpetuated. So in the promo, I dealt with the question of whether I could love myself even with all the labels and whether I could love myself first because only then did I know my own value and not let anyone convince me otherwise. As I grow, I recognize that my past experience made me more fearless, more resilient, and more compassionate and these are qualities that I am proud of.

Does NYU provide a supportive environment?

I think NYU does a good job, they try to be as supportive as possible, but I think that there are certain sects of people that are not so supportive, which is probably the case in every school.

What is your biggest fear about the video?

I want to tell a human story of people coming together to celebrate each other and I hope that it would not be reduced to only “this is a transgender woman”. Another fear I have is the potential backlash that might come with this, but then again, that’s what I think art is. Art is supposed to strike a nerve and make people talk about topics that might make them feel uncomfortable. So we’ll see how it goes.

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