Abstract: In a moment of profound and widespread transantagonism articulated within both liberal-centrist and alt-right political formations, how do trans subjects cultivate arts of endurance? This talk develops a concept of weathering, thinking with the work of contemporary trans writers of fiction (Callum Angus and Torrey Peters), visual artists (Nicki Green and Jes Fan), and queer and trans theorists (Eric Stanley, Cam Awkward-Rich, and Eve Sedgwick). In an historical moment that seems to demand continuous reactive defense, how are trans subjects building capacities to slow down, bear with, and endure? How do practices of collective care support the cultivation of such capacities amidst an urgent now? How are artists figuring the slow and mostly unspectacular art of long-haul trans survival?

Bio: Hil Malatino is Joyce L. and Douglas S. Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and Assistant Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy at Penn State. He is the author of Side Affects: On Being Trans and Feeling Bad (Minnesota 2022), Trans Care (Minnesota 2020), and Queer Embodiment: Monstrosity, Medical Violence, and Intersex Experience (Nebraska 2019). His essays have appeared in Hypatia, TSQ, Signs, and other journals and edited volumes. You can contact him at HMalatino@psu.edu.