Grad Profile: Telling Stories Not Typically Reflected in the Media
Avatara Smith-Carrington, an LGBTQA advocate, created a web docu-series on what it means to be queer
'I decided to create something more reflective of myself and my friends and people who I know that I don't see in the media.'– Avatara Smith-Carrington
Avatara Smith-Carrington consumes a lot of media, but the Rutgers senior rarely sees queer-identified people represented. So the Political Science/English double-major decided to do something about it.
“I decided to create something more reflective of myself and my friends and people who I know that I don’t see in the media,” said Smith-Carrington, who is queer-identified and prefers the pronouns they, them and their. “I neither identify as she or he; my gender is very fluid in terms of what masculinity and femininity can be, so I use ‘they, them, their,’ " they said.
Connecting with Rutgers student and documentary filmmaker Jamie Deradorian-Delia, they created “To Queer Things Up,” a web docu-series that tells the stories of queer-identified people. Through interviews, the four completed episodes explore what “queer” means to people who identify themselves as queer because other LGBT monikers don’t do who they are justice. More episodes are in the editing stages. You can also find the live episodes here.
“Every time we release an episode, I fall more in love with this project because I see people who say, ‘wow, this is so cool because I don’t see myself and this is exactly how I’ve been feeling,' ” Smith-Carrington said. “It makes me feel happy that people do see themselves in some form of media.”
While pursuing a double major and dual minors in Social Justice and Critical and Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies, the 22-year-old Rutgers University-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences senior has advocated many ways. They were a Common Purposes Ambassador, chosen to help promote respect for diversity and cultural differences among the Rutgers community. As an ambassador, they also attended the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE) in Indianapolis last year and returned to Rutgers to plan and hold a “Shades of Privilege” conference that focused on inclusivity, civility, social and human justice, and respect for all groups, persons, and cultures.
This year, Smith-Carrington returned to the Livingston Social Justice Learning Community they were a part of freshman year as a peer mentor. They were involved in LlEGO – the LGBTQQIA People of Color Organization at Rutgers University, Speak Out magazine, and this month will address the “lack of space for marginalized voices in the queer community” at the Northeast LGBT (NELGBT) Conference.
“I’ve worked with Avey for about two years and I’ve definitely seen them grow,” said Zaneta Rago, director of the Rutgers Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities. “They’ve gone from a place of exploring their own identity to creating avenues for others to explore their identities. Avey is taking mentoring and providing resources for future generations very seriously.”
Smith-Carrington, who grew up in Jersey City and Somerset, looks forward to a career in academia one day and to creating a queer media company that brings the narratives of many atypical stories to life. As for being a professor, expect the atypical to guide any academic pursuits, as well.
“Education can come from any space,” they said. “I’ve learned the most from having conversations with people just telling me their truths. That’s where I see myself going – becoming a professor but deconstructing education and creating a way that is more open and accessible to people who maybe don’t function in a typical classroom setting.”
Click here to read about other outstanding members of the Class of 2015
Media contact: Dory Devlin, ddevlin@ucm.rutgers.edu