Media personality and civil rights activist Ashlee Marie Preston sat down with writer (and NYLON contributor) Devan Díaz in conversation to discuss representation and shortcomings in media when it comes to trans writers. Díaz brings up the trap of being pigeonholed in topics to write about, to which Preston pointed out that trans media personalities—and trans people in general—are anything but a "monolith." Yet they're still portrayed as "caricatures," as Preston put it, in television and otherwise. "I would like to see complicated, flawed trans characters and not just the martyrs, the saviors of humanity, and the moral compass," Díaz states.

But in real life, Preston points out that for Black trans women, "there's always a demonizing narrative that's attached to us already. Even in 2019, there's been 11 trans women who have been murdered, and they've all been Black." Preston's media work attempts to go directly against this, underlining the "heart" of Black trans women.

Get to know Preston and Díaz in the video, above.

Check out the other videos in our series where we placed queer people from different generations in conversation with one another:

Dani and May OkonRob Smith and Eddie Jarrel JonesLauren Morelli and GarciaMarlene Colburn and Naima Green

Produced by: Alexandra Hsie

Directed by: Charlotte Prager

Camera: Charlotte Prager + Dani Okon

Edited by: Charlotte Prager