talk about your joy so others know it's possible

Dear friends,

Ok, I admit I borrowed the title from this rad Bluesky post, but it encapsulates so much of what's up right now. I've seen multiple posts in the past couple weeks about how someone wouldn't normally share about their joy publicly, but then they realized we really need more of it in the world.

We need your trans joy. We need to know it's possible. If you've been sitting on all those lil moments like a dragon hoarding gems, now is the time to send in an anonymous joy submission!

In the spirit of things, I'll share some of my own. I got to spread some trans joy in real life recently! A local small business asked for a piece of art that would make trans clients feel safe when they walked in, and here's what I came up with:

I had an amazing time painting it and putting it up — shoutout to my nonbinary friend who helped out!

This year, Trans Day of Visibility feels like a promise, a commitment, a determination. We and our joys will be visible AF.

Share your joy for those who can't right now. Show us all it's possible. And don't forget to really feel it, too.

With care and solidarity,
Jin (he/him)

A Note for (Possible) Sponsors:

I'm looking for ways to keep this newsletter sustainable without gatekeeping content for free subscribers, because everyone deserves access to trans joy. At the same time, I'm just one multiply-marginalized person who does a lot of free labor for the community, including this newsletter! Are you a cis ally, someone with an extra $5/month, or do you have a rad small business/side gig/venture you'd like to share with our beautiful readers? Other ideas? Please reach out!

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I went on a fun first date for the first time in a while and had a great kiss. ☺️ Unrelated, I made a kickass Japanese cheesecake that was delicious.

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My joy now is my lovely wife and our lives together. We struggle, sure, as do all trans people these days. But we make each other's lives better in so many ways. And our found family here in Wisconsin contributes to that on a regular basis too.

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Had my first horseback-riding lesson today, and my instructor said I did really well for my very first lesson! She even thinks I can be ready to enter my very first beginner-level show at the end of March!!

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I (transmasc, nonbinary) went on a backpacking trip to Big Bend National Park. It was a wild, harsh, beautiful, uncompromising place. The people I met were kind, helpful, ordinary, thoroughly decent. The solitude re-centered me around the core of myself, where labels — even ones that fit — are inconsequential and unnecessary. In the wilderness, I'm just me.

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My brain lights up with so much joy when people start their transitions and share it with me. Like, I'll be here to be the biggest supporter for anyone's progress regardless of how fast, slow or how much effort you can put into it. You'll always be valid.

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it doesn't matter if someone "passes" or not; they shouldn't have to go outta their way to appear a certain way. if you tell me you're transitioning, i will IMMEDIATELY start referring to you as the name/gender you want me to, no questions asked. i hope my words can inspire more trans folk to be more comfortable in their own skin. <3

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My pals helped me pick up a couch that I got on Lex for free, and it is my first piece of furniture in my new apartment!

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I have two: 1) Hit 6 weeks post-op and now I can do anything!! 2) My roomie put up a disco ball in our living room! 

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In May this year, I'll be two years post-op, and this month was my 4-year anniversary on testosterone!

Everyone was right when they said time would go by fast once you transition lmao. I still remember how desperate I was to be post-transition and now I am!

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Every spring the song sparrows outside my window tell me when it’s going to warm up, and my friends the crows stop mobbing and go elsewhere until fall, but they always come back. This year the robins have been plentiful and loud in accompanying the song sparrows to herald spring, and a pair of spotted towhees have set up residence in the bushes outside my door. Looking to the sky for signals from nature gives me a different feeling of grounding, and spring brings so much of that.

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i recently picked up a queer book from my neighborhood free library, "Carry On" by Rainbow Rowell, and i genuinely could not put it down, it had me hooked start to finish!! i ended up reading the whole Simon Snow trilogy in a week, squealing and giggling. it's got magical queer enemies-to-lovers/vampire/tropes, but definitely not lacking complexity. it'd been a long while since i read a page-turner like this, it's such a unique euphoria that gives me soo much joy!!

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If you're feeling inspired, the contributor form is open for your trans joy moments! Don't be shy, share them with us!

March 20: ☀️ Sun -> Aries

March 21: ☿️ Mercury stationed direct 8º Pisces (finally!)

March 30: ♀️ Venus -> Taurus

April 1: 🌕Full moon in Libra

April 9: ♂️ Mars -> Aries

April 14: ☿️ Mercury -> Aries

April 17: 🌙 New moon in Aries

Welcome spring! Welcome Aries season! Welcome the end of the Big Dark! A new cycle began on the spring equinox, led by the great initiator, Aries. Now is a great time to set new intentions for the solar year to come and to clear out anything that you don’t need anymore. Do some internal spring cleaning to take stock of what does and doesn't align with your values.

As the cardinal fire sign, Aries is charged with beginning new projects (don’t ask them about completing anything, though!) with characteristic fire-sign passion and intensity, honoring solar themes of individuality, identity, and light-bringing. Aries season brings the end of Mercury retrograde — while we're still wading through the proverbial mud of the post-shadow phase, there's an opportunity to clear the air and begin a new chapter with more clarity and intention than were accessible over the last few weeks.

Like it or not, Saturn does add a serious undertone to the quick-moving, impatient Aries energy. Saturn in Aries shows us that we cannot trust the Powers That Be to steward the people; instead, we need to find our own ways of creating structure, accountability, and discipline. This three-year transit of Saturn in Aries is both activating and sobering, laying bare the system's flaws for all to see. Gas is over five dollars a gallon, the US is in yet another pointless war to consolidate and hoard power for those already with plenty of it, anti-trans legislation runs rampant, and it's hard to make out the light at the end of this tunnel. We each have to make the choice to self-actualize the world we want to live in, to show up and find some way to continue fighting, even when broken, bloodied, or bruised.

Venus enters Taurus on March 30th, providing a reprieve from the constant need to take quick action. Here's a moment to pause, reflect, and savor the things that we have and the relationships we value. While Aries's heat is temporarily softened by other planets in water and earth signs, look inward before making impulsive choices. Are you forcing things to move faster than they need to? Can you take a minute, an hour, a day to slow down? Taurus knows that slow and steady wins the race, and with Venus here, we have an opportunity to focus on consistency and intentionality in our relationships.

It can feel trivial to “look on the bright side” when the world is on fire, but to get where we want to go, we have to remember what matters. Choose care. Choose joy. Choose love. Choose community. Choose to move forward anyway. We are stronger than our enemies because we have each other. Hold your loved ones close and keep carrying the flame forward. I promise, you got this.

Phew, we are absolutely BLESSED with offerings this month!

We received an overflowing bounty of submissions from talented folks creating audio dramas, comics, chapbooks, translations, and more. A huge thank you to all of our featured creators for sharing your vibrant creative gifts with us. Be sure to send some love their way!

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Sapling (he/they), a former featured creator, is back for more community-activated art magic:

“We’ve Always Been Here” is a multicultural art book (now live on Kickstarter!) that portrays scenes of queer people throughout history, all across the world, beautifully illustrated by over 50 incredible artists!

The book doesn't focus on actual historical figures, but rather realistic portrayals of how everyday queer people lived as their joyous selves throughout history. There's a whole variety of gender exploration, from a T4T Victorian couple to third-gender Indigenous people!

In a time of queer erasure, this zine shows we've always been here and we always will be, no matter what governments and fascists say.

Support & Learn More:

• Check out We've Always Been Here on Kickstarter before it closes on 4/2!
• As long as this project funds, we'll be doing future queer joy zines! So if you're an artist interested in taking part, follow Tapling Zines on social media. And please share the launch post to help us reach our goal!

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A fan of trans storytelling? Check out this small but mighty press, Antithesis Books, run by Kate Walton-Elliott (she/her):

Kate says:

Antithesis Press is a small press dedicated to amplifying Trans and Queer voices. We believe in the transformative power of narrative to combat erasure, foster solidarity, and celebrate the vibrant diversity of trans and queer experiences. We believe that it is vital that our stories are shared and in doing so, preserved. We focus on publishing Trans and Queer stories and media with elements of joy - stories that fill your heart with the warmth of our community.

We have our first two books out — a new edition of Zoe Storm's classic To Own the Libs, and her latest story collection The Heart of the Woods and Other Stories: Five Further Tales of Gender Magic. The third book in our catalog, Bottle Blondes by Rhiannon Swanson, will be out on Tuesday, March 31st! ... And we're now turning our attention to an amazing photographic monograph of trans life by photographer and journalist Victoria Scott.

More From Antithesis:

All published books are available through their online bookstore, as well as through any bookstore that uses Ingram as a distributor (both US and international!).

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Something for the kiddos — and our inner kids who needed this representation! Newbury Honor author Kyle Lukoff (he/him) is publishing his 20th (!) book, about a trans third-grade detective:

Kyle says:

"The Kids In Mrs. Z's Class" is an early chapter-book series spearheaded by Kate Messner, where a class of eighteen third-graders each get to be the protagonist of their own story.

In mine, Sebastian, a young trans boy, figures out which problems he can handle on this own, and which ones he needs help with!

Wanna Read It?

Get your own copy of Kyle's book!

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Released just this month! CD Eskilson (they/them) translated this brilliant collection by a Nordic poet far ahead of her time:

More about Modern Woman by Edith Södergran, translated by CD Eskilson (released by World Poetry Books in March):

A translation of the trailblazing debut collection of poet Edith Södergran (1892–1923), a modernist visionary and one of the most influential poets to write in Swedish. Her poems present a deeply personal examination of gendered subjectivity and the confinement of normative gender roles that today can be recognized as genderqueer. These poems arrive through enigmatic, often androgynous speakers who subvert patriarchal notions of the body prevalent at the time.

Translated from the Swedish by trans poet CD Eskilson, the author of Scream / Queen (Acre Books).

Learn More:

• Get your own copy of CD's translation!
• Follow CD on Instagram!

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A badass debut genderqueer chapbook, by Haley Bossé (they/them):

Haley says:

Aurora Comes Online is a genderqueer self-discovery chapbook for the age of chatbot girlfriends. Haley Bossé’s debut collection weaves together video games, early 2000's revenge horror, coding, and sentient landscapes as they explore compulsive femininity, sexualization, and what it means to break your mold.

I am a queer and genderqueer writer, artist, and educator. I lead the Mycelial Writers Workshop, a queer and trans-centered writing workshop in Eugene, Oregon. I’m also one of the founding editors of the Monarch Queer Literary Awards and the editor of Eye to the Telescope: (Non)Binaries.

Support & Read:

Pick up a copy of Aurora Comes Online!

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CW for next feature: Adult content (18+), depictions of blood (non-realistic, sparkly)

A warm welcome to our first featured audio drama, by Alicia E. Goranson (she/her):

Alicia shares:

My latest project is a hedonistic, transgressive, blasphemous, trans-as-fuck audio drama called "Vampire: The Masquerade: Blood Doll".

Featuring a cast of over 20 trans and gender-nonconforming actors! It is a romantic tragedy about the adventures of a leftist trans woman among the vampires of Seattle, who begins by having erotic religion-philosophy debates over the nature of vampires with one, and progresses to enacting the socialist policy of blood for all. Also featuring a vampire-eating orca and the terrible secret behind Seattle's Gum Wall.

I'm super excited about providing opportunities for transgender voice actors to strut their stuff! Especially by giving them adult material that pushes boundaries.

I'm a Seattle-based trans woman who has been doing audio dramas since 2010! My first audio drama "The Mask of Inanna" won a Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form) Parsec Award and my first novel "Supervillainz" was a Lambda finalist.

Check Out:

• Season 1 of Blood Doll! (18+)
• Alicia's website

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Last but not least, enjoy this adorable T4T comic by Nova (They/He):

Nova says:

I created my very first full-length comic and it features a T4T couple! I enjoy bringing fun stories to life. Being able to create trans art freely allows me to express my queerness in ways that I can't outside the internet. I feel very accomplished not only as an artist, but as a trans artist creating a trans story in a time of uncertainty and chaos.

Support & Read:

Never Been Kissed online!

• Free online event on Queer Archives and Trans Histories with trans artist and activist Tourmaline, 4/8!
• "The Joy Who Lived," a Trans/GNC theatre + comedy festival in LA and online, runs from 3/31 to 4/12. (We featured these folks last year, and now they're doing it again!)
• A class on writing TV pilots and pitching for trans & queer writers in LA, on 4/16.
• The now-biggest trans choir in the world is having its talent showcase fundraiser on 4/18. Seattle folks, come through; it will also be livestreamed around the world, and folks anywhere can participate in the silent auction!
• The choirs are springing to life--a Trans Joy! performance fundraiser for Transhealth in Western MA on 4/19.
• Read this beautiful "joy as resistance" piece about a recent Ramadan event for Queer Muslims in NYC.
• Cis folks share on Bluesky about how/why they started getting involved in fighting for trans rights. This thread is quite wholesome!
• A lovely writing on "Trans Joy After 40"! The writer was generous enough to share a friend link for those of us without subscriptions, but if you have a Medium account, please click the main one to support!

Are you enjoying ATJ? It takes many hours, conversations, and collaborations to make this newsletter happen every month. I don't always hear back from readers, so it would be amazing to hear how this issue inspired you or made you feel, if you want to share. :)

⭐ Do YOU have trans joy to share with us?? Check out the Contributor Guidelines!

⭐ We’re always looking for trans projects & resources to amplify. If you know a trans creator we should feature, are launching something, or have a promising lead, please reply or fill out the form on this page.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, remember to:

1. Make sure this email is in your Primary inbox tab
2. Forward it to someone you think would love it! (Are you the person someone forwarded this to? Get your very own free subscription to Amplifying Trans Joy!)
3. Follow us on Bluesky where we share snippets of trans joy in between newsletters

Again, if you're a cis ally/have a few $ to spare for uplifting collective trans joy, please consider upgrading to $5/month or tipping at Buy Me a Coffee! ⭐

Thanks for supporting and reading!!!

I’ll leave you with this…

I can't think of a pithy sign-off, so ... I love you all! See ya next month.