E. Leo Walczyk

E. Leo Walczyk is an independent scholar and cultural critic. Their scholarly work explores the relationship between transness and cultures of public sexuality, in both the historical archive and the contemporary moment. They also produce critical writing for popular audiences, focusing on queer and trans culture and politics, experimental theatre, and popular media. Leo completed an MA in Performance Studies at New York University in 2026.

Project Title: Porn, Pedagogy, and Transmasc World-making

Project Description: “Porn, Pedagogy, and Transmasc World-making” is a component of my larger research project exploring trans cultures of public sexuality. Drawing on the formative theoretical work of Lauren Berlant and Michael Warner, I consider the role of erotics and pornography in the development of trans counterpublics, social worlds, and public cultures.

Here, I analyze a series of educational videos produced by a transmasculine adult performer, alongside his pornographic content. I inquire into the relationship between the erotic and the pedagogical in these representations of the transsexual, transmasculine body. How, I ask, do the technologies, aesthetics, and affective structures of pedagogy and pornography teach us to see, interpret, and desire such bodies?

Project Inspiration: I draw from foundational queer theory developed by Lauren Berlant, Michael Warner, and Gayle Rubin, and more recent thought on trans desire and identity in the work of Cassius Adair, Aren Aizura, micha cárdenas, and Koda Sokol.

Areas of interest: Trans identity and desire, queer theory, trans theory, sexuality studies, performance theory, archival theory, porn studies, pedagogy