This special edition issue by Mohamad Abdouni, co-edited by Joy Stacey and Rayan Abdel Khalek, is a public archive that compiles studio shoots, interviews, personal photographs and archival imagery to record the untold stories of ten trans* women living in Beirut. It pays tribute to trans* women and femme men who have been largely erased from Beirut’s history. The women we spoke to are aged between their late thirties and late fifties, drawing visibility to an extraordinary community that has long been pushed to the shadows. The women tell the story of a city that is now lost, of war, survival, love, balls, parties, families, beaches, abuse, and jail. The book shows an unprecedented history of queer communities in Beirut, and aims at affording our elders overdue respect, visibility, love and kindness.
