Beginning the new video for her song, I Am Her, with “if you had to wear my shoes, you’d probably take them off too,” artist Shea Diamond does just that, places her audience in her shoes. Diamond is a black, transwoman originally from Flint, MI who now lives in New York City. With straightforward lyrics and power in her voice, Diamond sings “there’s an outcast in everybody’s life and I am her,” calling attention to her “outsider” status as a transwoman of color. She does this with incredible strength and grace, Diamond’s song and video is not asking for our pity or even our appreciation. She tells us to look her directly in the eyes and confront our preconceptions of transgender people.
In her video, Diamond features multiple trans and nonbinary people as well as clips from a Black Lives Matter march in solidarity with trans people of color. These powerful images are tied together by the black and white effect of the video and really adds impact to Diamond’s lyrics. The message of “I am shame, she is me” calls out the collective shame we have about being different and spins it into something empowering. Shea Diamond calls us to stand in our “shame” and not let it bring us down.
