Travis Alabanza, a nonbinary artist has been battling transphobia with burgers. In 2016, someone threw a burger at them, calling them a “tranny”. This is only one of many attacks they have suffered due to their gender identity. 

Travis is nonbinary. Which means that they use they/them pronouns. Instead of being called he or she, they use these gender-neutral pronouns to refer to themself. 

Two years after the incident, they hosted a sold-out show called “Burgerz”. Based upon what happened. The show puts a microscope on gender and the transphobia that most transgender people experience. It’s risky. Mostly because it relies heavily on audience participation and mostly brings white, cisgender men on stage. Cisgender refers to people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth. “What you realize in having him on stage is that he is so much more complex. You realize Oh, he’s hurting too. We’re all hurting.” 

At 21, Travis became the youngest person to be awarded a residency at the Tate for 2017-2018. They also gave a number of workshops to speak to school children about performance, theater and uses crafts in order to talk about gender and race. They really believe young people are the key to transgender people becoming accepted in society.