Jennessa Hester is a transgender scholar and creative writer. Her work focuses on the intersection between embodiment, personal identity, community identity, and various forms of media both classical and cutting edge. In addition to her own writing, Jennessa serves as a managing editor for Iron Horse Literary Review, assistant editor for the Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, poetry editor for Wrong Publishing, and is on the editorial board of the International Journal of Disney Studies.

MA in English (American Literature) from The University of New Orleans

BFA in Film Production from Oklahoma City University

Scholarship

“We Don't Talk About Homos: Queer Activism and the Fight to Make #DisneySayGay.” Global LGBTQ Activism: Social Media, Digital Technologies, and Protest Mechanisms, ed. Paromita Pain. Routledge, 163-179. 
 
“Nintendo Switch-ing Genders: Bowsette and the Potentiality of Transgender Video Game Mechanics.” Visual Resources: An International Journal on Images and Their Uses. Online-first publication. 16 pages. 
 
“Audio Ageplay and Sonic Spankings: The Rhetorical Work of Podcasts to Demystify Kink.” Handbook of Research on Communication Strategies for Taboo Topics, ed. Geoffrey Luurs. IGI Global, 344-362. 
 
“Her Phallic Sword: Hypersexual Cyberqueer Activism on Social Media Platforms.” Digital LGBTQ Cultures: A Global Perspective, ed. Paromita Pain. Routledge, 196-209. 
 
“The Warm Glow of a Pixelated Campfire: Queer Generosity and Community Building in the Worlds of Anna Anthropy.” QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 8.3, 189-195.

Poetry 

“the boy scout oath” and “a scout is trustworthy.” Bellingham Review. 
 
“rock me to sleep, daughter” and “what I remember about barbie.” Cream City Review, no. 47, vol. 2. 
 
“I Dreamt They Cast a Trans Girl to Give Birth to the Demon.” HAD. 
 
“the butterfly is a symbol of gender transition.” Rust + Moth, spring issue. 
 
“creecher with the cold lips.” Wrongdoing Magazine, no. 4. 
 
“the boys we pray for twice at night.” Kissing Dynamite, no. 44. 
 
“Womb Envy” and “what 500 tokens gets you.” Corporeal Lit, no. 3. 
 
“My Kingdom Was Beautiful.” Moon Cola, no. 3. 
 

PhD in Film & Media Studies
Email: jennessa.hester@ttu.edu