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I AM SAMANTHA by Benjamin Scheuer

Netty Wendt April 1, 2020

Singer-songwriter Benjamin Scheuer has released a song about a transgender woman called ‘I am Samantha’. The track is based on the real life story of Samantha Williams, who Scheuer encountered and befriended in a New York City coffee shop. During their conversations, Samantha related to Scheuer that she had never heard a song about someone with her name. He promptly changed that, filling notebooks with her journey of life and transition.

Appropriately, the song was released on International Transgender Day of Visibility and is accompanied by a music video directed by award-winning T. Cooper , and starring a cast of 27 trans actors  (believed to be the largest ensemble trans cast to date). The visuals are provided by an all-female LGBTQ and/or person of colour crew. Notable cast members include Monica Helms (creator of the Transgender Pride Flag and Skyler Jay (season 2 of Queer Eye).

As Samantha herself says, “it is the story of one trans woman. It is also the story of what it means to love and be loved, a human journey we all take to find identity, acceptance and love.”

Alison Glock-Cooper directed the touching behind the scenes documentary which can be viewed here:

Gscene loves this and says that We are Samantha.

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