13 Reasons' Tommy Dorfman Plots Second Act: Queer Media Mogul

When Instagram handle @clubcurran began posting on June 25, it was with a series of portraits.

“P R O U D” the caption read, with the requisite production credits. “More to come.” And more did come: for about a month the handle continued to post portraits of the editors of the then-to-be-launched publication as well as their collaborators and friends. This was community, central to the new platform as ideated by cofounder Tommy Dorfman.

“Curran came to me as this idea for community and safe space and platforming queer and trans people as I started transitioning because I felt lacking in resources in a lot of ways,” says Dorfman, who shot all of the images for that launch. “The main interest in doing all of this is to build more community and, honestly, make more friends.”

On July 27, almost exactly two years since the actor best known for her role on Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why revealed to the world that she is trans, Curran launched its first online zine. With an all trans female-led editorial board, the publication touts itself as an “autonomous” space to foster intimate conversations between queer and trans people. But for Dorfman, who has taken on the title of creative director for the endeavor, it’s just as much about putting cold, hard cash in the hands of creatives who may be seeing their avenues dry up.

“I have had a lot of queer and trans friends get let go from jobs,” Dorfman says. “Especially in media and on the talent side, just because of the way politics interfere with capitalism. Queer and trans people tend to be the first people cut in all institutions. This felt like, ‘What can I do to open up a new door for people to support themselves through their work?’”

Conceptualized during the pandemic as Dorfman began her own transition, Curran fills a gap that the performer and director of the upcoming feature I Wish You All the Best identified as starving for content. Whether covering fashion, wellness, astrology, or culture, Curran endeavors to put those conversations on the page in a way that’s largely unfiltered or truncated as a result of media corporatization — in this way, Curran continues in a long line of queer, independent zines.

“We don’t really do journalism in the classic sense,” Dorfman explains. “We have some Q&As and conversation pieces. We have a culture column which is probably the closest thing. Everything we strive for is through this lens of intimacy; really inviting people into the mind, body, and spirit of queer and trans people.”

What’s also absent from the site is any advertising and seemingly any space for it. Dorfman maintains that all contributors are paid “competitively” and editors are under contract. For now, those funds came from a round of angel investment.

“I really just reached out to — there’s no other way to say it — rich people I knew, asking if they wanted to invest in this queer and trans thing knowing it’s a small business,” Dorfman says. “All of that money goes into the business. The goal is to redistribute wealth and platform queer and trans artists.”

The zine is only the beginning for Dorfman. While platforming and financially supporting writers is the start (in September the site began to publish a serialized novel), she endeavors to expand that to other types of creatives. For the holiday season, Curran is set to launch a marketplace of queer- and trans-owned businesses. There is also a hope to one day build a mutual aid fund that awards grants to visual artists.

While working on Curran, the entrepreneur posted a “get ready with me” video to TikTok, featuring a hormone shot for the first time.

“I found it not just spoke to queer people or trans people,” she says. “It was clear to me that inviting people in intimately and [showing] vulnerability is a pathway to connection and solidarity that is essential.”

Read about our other Advocates of the Year here.