Janet Mock – Pose

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) You’re the first trans woman of color directing a television series. Why was it important for you to take part in directing “Pose?”

A) I think for me the most rewarding part of “Pose” was really just being able to tell the truth about my own experiences. And to really show the beauty, the vibrancy, the love and resilience of my sisters and siblings. I really wanted to ensure that they were able to have “Pose” be a mirror for them to truly see themselves. I think that so often and historically, specifically for trans people and for LGBT people in general, our stories are told by people who don’t belong to our communities. And so they only speak through a very slight prism and that limited prism is often only through victimhood and trauma and violence. And I wanted to show that, yes, we deal with the reality of very gritty stuff that we have to go through and overcome, but we do overcome them. We go through them and we often go through them together to creativity, through love, through acceptance. And so that sense of community, that sense of creating social safety nets for one another through bonding together, I think is one of the beautiful things of being an LGBT person – that taking in and creating of a family is really what this show is all about, at its core.

Q) Talk about Angel discussing her sexual identity in this episode.

A) What was important to me was that Angel (Indya Moore) was fully embodied in her trans-ness. She was not ashamed of it, she was not hiding it. Angel is not ashamed of who she is, so then Patty (Kate Mara) can’t really be ashamed either. In terms of the question of what that means in terms of womanhood, I think that that’s probably one of the largest things on our show that we explore. I’m never trying to have our characters discuss their realness or needing to say that they’re “real.” We already know they’re real because they’re centered in this world.

Q) What does it mean to you to have “Pose” on the air, featuring women of color and trans?

A) You know, I’ve heard this over and over again from the women. Our leads on our show, five trans women of color who are series regulars on a drama series—that there was a certain safety and comfort that they felt knowing that I was in the room, shaping these narratives. And so, because I’ve always committed to being my sister’s keeper; this is the work that I’m committed to doing. There was a reason why I chose to sign on for this show in the first place; it wasn’t for my own career or my own potential. It was because I wanted to make sure that they were protected and that when they showed up to work that they felt that the material was real, that it was resonant—and that, hopefully, then it would resonate with audiences who are feeling their way through an experience that may not be like their own. It’s in every single space, so that when our actors are navigating being on set for twelve hours a day they see people that represent them, and they feel a sense of home, of safety and that this is our space and that we all belong here.

Q) The show is even providing many these actresses and actors with their first production credits. That is amazing!

A) That sense of growth, that bringing all of our community in with us, is a huge part of the advocacy work of “Pose.” I hope that we will be an example for other productions to realize that it’s not just enough for people who don’t belong in those communities to tell those stories and to put marginalized people on screen. But we also have to empower those communities by economically investing in them and giving them jobs and giving them the pen and allowing them to have a true seat at the table.

Q) How do you hope your directing of “Pose” will pave the way for others?

A) We have to be able to write ourselves onto the page so that people can better live and better dream. And I want to give trans women something to dream and reach for, even if it is a bit of a fantasy world. We also have to get to something else, which is survival and resistance and thriving in the world.

*CONFERENCE CALL*