A trickster is an archetypal figure found in many world mythologies and folklore traditions, personifying the subversive, subversive and often disruptive forces of nature. The trickster operates outside social boundaries, often through their chaotic, playful and disruptive behavior which disrupts the established order and rules of society. They represent rebelliousness, chaos and non-conformity, often working from the margins of society – where they offer a unique vantage point of critique and disruption. Tricksters are creative and inventive, often engaging with tricky problems and paradoxes in order to disrupt oppressive structures and scripts. In some stories, tricksters may even succeed in subverting and/or transforming the oppressive structures they initially sought to disrupt. Tricksters challenge the status quo, asking us to question taken-for-granted assumptions and ultimately inspire transformation.

See also: intergenerational trauma, black geographies, white supremacy, post activism