Jin

Just like trans joy, Pride month is what you make of it. And we know our joy is here to stay year-round, no matter where you live. I'm grateful to be able to gather some of that Trans Pride energy here with you all, year-round!

And so, we scrawl our joy. We uplift how much there is to live for despite the pain. We take back the headlines that only want to acknowledge we exist when our lives are erased. We center how meaningful trans lives can be, and how integral transness is to the wholeness of our world.

I hope that, no matter where you are and what you're going through, this issue will help you remember that your reality is never just one thing. I hope you lean into the multifaceted nature of your life like the gem you are.

We need your trans joy. We need to know it's possible. This issue is an absolute explosion of spring trans joy, trans publishing gems, and many first-of-their-kind features!

Happy birthday to ATJ! Your support means that trans joy continues to be visible, loud, and proud, in a time when those in power would love for it to be snuffed out or forced underground. We document our thriving. We amplify our voices. We lift us up.

Every bit of joy marginalized folks experience in times of oppression is a reclaiming. It's saying no to narratives that would paint us as a pestilence or as pitiful victims. It's taking back our power over our hard-pressed nervous systems. And it's imagination work.

December can be a challenging time for many, and a delightful time for others. Quite possibly, it's been a mix of both. I know it has been for me, and the submissions this month offer us a glimpse into the wide, beautiful, nuanced spectrum of trans experiences during this time of year.

Our joys are inexplicably intertwined with infusions of care, hope, memory, belonging, rest. And to refuse to succumb to a lifetime of grinding or numbing out, to continue to believe life is worth living, is resistance.