Trans Day of Visibility: An Autostraddle Community Photo Gallery

Julia / 24 / Colorado / They/them

Instagram / Venmo

I love that I am my own little gender star occupying my own solar system, and when I look out into space I see that there are as many genders as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the coasts. I also love a good they-joke from other genderqueers.


Sam / 26  / they/them

Twitter

Since coming out as trans and genderqueer about two years ago, I’ve learned how complicated it can be to exist in visible defiance of the widely assumed binaries of sex and gender. But it has also been an incredible gift to have unsubscribed from the expectations and internalized shame of confining my body and self-understanding to one gender category. I’m in graduate school to become an evolutionary biologist, and through studying ecological variation, I’ve come to see myself as more deeply a part of our world’s incredible biodiversity as someone who is other, neither, and both male and female.


Jae Siqueiros / 24 / Portland, OR / He/Him/His

Instagram

“I am strong, I am resilient, I am deserving of love.”


TUREAC ARIS / 24 YEARS / ROMANIA / HE

Instagram

It’s a privilege from my point of view to be a trans. You can see and experience both camps, you can analyze them closely, which not every cisgender person can do. As a transgender person, I’ve enjoyed every change of mine. It’s great to see my body transforming into what I want it to be. It’s really sad that we have to go through so many procedures to get there, but what we live is beautiful. :)

Kasen Truth / 26 / Los Angeles / he/him/his

Instagram / Cash App / Youtube / Venmo

I love being trans because I feel like it sets me apart from everyone else. Being a trans guy comes with a few challenges but so does everything else in life. I love being visible because it gives me a chance to be the person I needed when I started my transition to other people and that makes me feel like I’m in alignment with my life’s mission!


Flynn Germain / 24 / Los Angeles / mostly they/them

Bandcamp / Patreon

I love that I’ve finally gotten to a point where I’m comfortable in my masculinity and my femininity. I love the way my vocal range expanded on T, and that I can include all those new sounds in my music!


Cass / 29 / Minnesota / they/them

Twitter

I got my hair cut short for the first time ever in November, six months after I looked up what nonbinary meant and realized that it fit me to well, a T, and has for a while. I had dressed mostly masculine of center before the cut, but now I feel truly free – truly myself. I love being able to challenge the gender roles and binaries in my life while discovering who I am and creating a more inclusive world in the process. Still, some days I don’t feel trans enough. But the white stripe in the flag is meant for us, so I’m valid. My labels change almost daily (as of press time I go with agender and nonbinary), but I’m still valid. Still myself. Still happy. I’m visible in my identity as a queer person of color because I want to help kids and others feel valid in their identities too.


Daria (the 🐢 is Dolores!) / 20 / MN & MI / they/them/theirs

Venmo

I love my sense of humor. I love the process of learning how to be myself openly, and finding that the more myself I am the more it makes people around me comfortable to be genuine too. I’ve found some of my closest friends through being trans, and I love them too! (Dolores loves dandelions :) )

Julien / 39 / Portland, OR / they/them

Twitter / Instagram

What I love most about being trans is the friends I’ve made who I wouldn’t have met or gotten to know if I wasn’t trans. I love them as family and every single day I’m so grateful for them! I wouldn’t be alive without them! I also love the freedom I feel since realizing I’m simply not beholden to most of the rules I grew up believing. I can be and do almost anything I want! It’s an extremely liberating feeling and I wish everyone could feel it.


Jessica / 28 / United Kingdom / She/Her

Youtube

I love feeling calmer and having a fuller understanding of why I never felt “right” growing up. I love that I can be the visibly and openly transgender person that I needed when I was growing up – and didn’t have.


Liz + Jessica / 30 + 41 / Northern VA / she/her/hers

Liz’s Twitter / Liz’s Kofi / Jessica’s Twitter / Jessica’s Instagram

From Liz: Being trans to me is something I’ve denied myself since I first didn’t fit in or feel right in my own body. Coming out and transitioning as hard as it can be finally lets me get to feel like me. I get to experience all he joys that I haid tried to hide so long. so being trans to me is almost like watching a miracle happen in real time.

From Jessica: Being trans has meant finally being able to be myself, feel comfortable in my own skin, and finally be able to live my life.  To have a body that is me, and to accept and celebrate my body as it is my own unique, fat, and tall trans women body. Being visible means I can show others that they can be themselves, and that transition isn’t only for those with a certain body type.


Jay / 24 / Portland / They

Instagram / Twitter

I love how exploring gender through my body continues to bring me closer to being present in my body consistently. The more I express my transness, the more I feel capable of exploring joy in my body without dissociating. I remember the ways I tried to shrink and hide my physical presence and cover up my trans identity. It only hurt me. Being visible doesn’t always feel like an option (or always safe), but I would rather feel the uncertainty in joy than ever shrink and hide again.


Vic / they/them

Twitter

Discovering I am nonbinary has made everything finally make sense. I love my style, my community, and hearing people at my school refer to me with the right name and pronouns. I love being trans and queer and I’m proud to be an out scientist!


Carson / 23 / he/they

Twitter

My favorite thing about being trans is getting to determine for myself who I am and how I get to be!


J. Mack / 25 / Los Angeles / They/Them/Daddy

Instagram / Patreon / Venmo / Cash App / Bandcamp / Landr

I love being a Black Trans Non-binary Femme Boi. Even among much adversity I feel strong, resilient, and free. I have overcome homelessness, joblessness, mental & physical violence. I am empowered by my peers and the unbalance in the world to go for my dreams no matter what! With an abundance mindset and as a plant based Indigenous creative I’ll heal my world.


Alex / 28 / they/them

Website

I love how understanding and opening up about my trans identity has let me regain confidence in myself and my body, as a person and an athlete. I started snowshoeing this winter and I recently came out in my soccer league! I love being seen as my true self.


Asher Ford / 30 / Austin, TX / she/her

Instagram

Ah, this trans life is something. I love the connections I make with other trans folks who share my experiences or trans folks who teach me new realities about their stuff all the time, and I love knowing I am always striving to find and be more of myself.


Flo / Leeds, UK

Instagram (just been set up, follow for upcoming trans music!)

It’s taken me a long time to accept my transness, but feeling comfortable in my skin is worth every second. It’s a strength that I can rely on any time, that can’t be taken away from me. Being out as nonbinary just feels like home to me.


Lila Leatherman / 27 / Salt Lake City, UT ~ Eastern Shoshone, Goshute, and Ute territory / they/them

Website / Instagram

I’m a scientist, a rock climber, and nonbinary trans person, and I love that being trans helps this recovering anxious rule-follower question the system. I love the community that comes around being queer and trans when we join together to support one another. And even though it’s often scary, I love being trans in places where people don’t expect it— like a hiking trail, or the climbing gym, or a scientific meeting. Outside of my science research work, I write about social justice and trans identities in science and the outdoor industry. (Photo credit: Irene Yee, taken on Ute and Cheyenne Territory)


Brie / 30 / Brooklyn, NY / she/her

Instagram / Venmo

The day I had the epiphany that I was transgender was one of the most stressful, frightening, and overwhelming moments of my life. However it didn’t take long for me to see it was possibly the greatest moment as well. I now feel so complete and I actually love seeing the woman in the mirror. When I first started transitioning, it felt like an impossible task but now I know better. It’s also been so rewarding discovery such a huge, loving queer community and I’ve made so many wonderful friends since starting coming out.

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Ari

Ari is a 20-something artist and educator. They are a mom to two cats, they love domesticity, ritual, and porch time. They have studied, loved, and learned in CT, Greensboro, NC, and ATX.

Ari has written 330 articles for us.

31 Comments

  1. Shawty! I love your choice of pronouns Al(aina) lol.

    You / we are all valid and fabulous. That goes to those of you who can’t be visible today. I see you all and I love you all.

  2. Thank you for this article so, so much. Signed, lesbian mother of a teenage trans son <3

  3. Omg this is so beautiful. Just over here weeping with joy at this celebration of trans life. Thank you for putting this together. Happy TDOV!

  4. This is amazing. Thanks for putting this together, Al, and thank all the participants for being visible.

    I see you today, tomorrow and always.

  5. Does anyone have any tips on what to do when you’ve just fallen in love with ~100 strangers in a very short amount of time?

  6. Love this, love you all!!

    Anna ~ it’s lovely to see you here and I didn’t realize we share the same eye colour!

    This is my favorite post so far this year 😄

  7. i love this so so much, thank you for putting the gallery together al(aina) and thank you to everyone who participated <3 y’all are beautiful.

  8. What an uplifting experience to see so many beautiful kind sexy babes saying Hello.

    The messages of Joy and Freedom and Love, Wow !

    Thank you to each and every one of you.

  9. I’m a few days late, but this article and all of the amazing words/pictures shared filled my heart with so much joy!

Comments are closed.