Why shouldn't joy be your everyday reality?

Hello friends,

It's me again - Jin. This summer, I got to visit a very personal site of trans joy in real life.

Have you ever fallen in love with someone or something you saw in a movie, a reel, a clip somewhere? Like a message from another world, or of another world, that felt so distant from your own?

For me, it was Taipei, and specifically, the gayborhood of Ximending, thanks to an indie film that I saw years ago at an Asian-American film festival that changed my life. In the movie, queer and trans lovers cavorted around a magical world filled with opulent color, glittering gatcha machines, and secret forests.

It wasn't just that watching As We Liked It cracked my egg, though it did. It was that the story made me want to live in that euphoric world.

And a few weeks ago, while Ching-In was dropping a beautiful guest post for you all, I walked through the screen and onto the actual shores of Taiwan. I truly hadn't realized how much of the film set was just Taipei itself, because I think I couldn't imagine that such a colorful, fun, and beautiful place could exist, could be anything other than a director's imagination, green screens, and some creative set-building.

But as it turns out, I was wrong.

I now know in my bones that trans joy can become everyday reality. That the thing you long for (and secretly think you can never have) can enter wholly into your life.

Because when I watched that film, I went out the next day and started my transition.

Then this summer, I got to walk in that story-world, if just for a few days.

This is what I wish for you: That your most vibrant and inspiring dream-worlds can become your reality.

Whether that's a literal place you want to visit, a community you hope to co-create, an art installation you envision, or something beyond ordinary description - why shouldn't it be real? Why shouldn't you get to live it?

With care and solidarity,
Jin (he/him)

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Your trans joy is a living blueprint for anyone struggling to picture what a happy future could look like.

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My wife and I just celebrated our 12th anniversary. She pointed out I was her husband for the first 6 years, that now I've been her wife for the last 6 years, and every second forward is time I'll be her wife longer than I was ever her husband - and how she loves me more than ever, so I guess I'm posting about being the luckiest woman alive.

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I hate to see men walking around without a shirt on. I’ll qualify that I hate seeing cis men do that.

When a trans guy does it after top surgery, I fucking love the sheer joy they exude.

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this whole transfem peter parker trend is really making me ponder how much a wonderful, under-appreciated thing trans joy is

all the shit in the media about the threats trans people pose to society and meanwhile. it's just people being happy. people with the most beautiful smiles in the world.

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I moved to a famously red state in my early adult years, so it's kind of surreal to think that I'm spending so much time around other trans people nowadays, and especially with more than a handful of trans masculine folks in the Midwest. Honestly, it's kind of magical how I can't easily tell how old most of them are either! None of us ever thought we'd find community here, and gender euphoria really melts the years off a face. Joy makes us eternal. We've been here and we'll always be here, persisting and infinite and everywhere.

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I swear to all the gods and devils in the universe there is nothing like listening to trans women making jokes and talking together. - @homogameragenda

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One day trans people will have access to everything we need, embraced as ourselves with joy and empathy, and treated as a normal and natural part of the human tapestry of experience.

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Taking the leap to transition at any age changes the world around you for the better.

You are the exact representation someone desperately needs to see.

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...Hell yes. I love that these days, more often than not, the joy tapestry is woven with words of affirmation for the community.

Please don't hesitate to share your joy moments, words of inspiration and love, and healing experiences via the contributor form! I can promise that someone needs to read what you have to say.

While an exciting new feature is in the works (watch this space!), I wanted to share a couple of special announcements:

First of all, in September, I've been invited to guest-curate a special issue on trans joy for Speak the Sojourner, the online literary magazine of Hinton Publishing! Each published creative will be paid $50, and this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in publishing their work. I will be accepting submissions through Sept 18th.

✨ If you're a writer of poems, short fiction, or nonfiction, OR a visual artist, please submit your work for consideration through this form. (Note that this is separate from the usual ATJ contributor form.) For any questions or submission issues, please reply to this email.

My next announcement is that our last guest editor did such an amazing job that I thought we'd do it again! While I'm working on Speak the Sojourner in September, this is a perfect opportunity to share another wonderful voice with you all.

🥳 I'm happy to announce that our next guest editor will be Marco (they/them), a trans and nonbinary community organizer, artist, and tarot reader based in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley! Their work centers queer and trans liberation, community care, and the radical practice of cultivating joy. They also explore tarot as a tool for reflection, connection, and reclaiming personal and collective stories as @KindredRootsTarot on Instagram.

Please give Marco a warm welcome (and all the submissions!).

Interested in guest-editing a future issue? I'd love to hear from you - please reply to this email.

Welcome to this month's amazing features, which carry the vibe of queer-cult-classics-to-be. Plus, they all happen to be filled with gorgeous color and imagery, despite none of them being visual art! Please enjoy this rainbow kaleidoscope of creativity.

Yoshi Das (he/him) is an incredible singer, songwriter, and pianist you should definitely all know about. I was thrilled to hear about his first album release this month, and even more excited that he wanted to share it with you all.

Yoshi says:

Hey y’all, I’m an Indian AuDHD trans boy singer-songwriter who loves animals, poetry, and showering people with love. 🥰 I'm sharing my very first music release here, released on August 14th! It’s an EP called “Revolution.”

“Revolution” has four songs on it, telling a story of devastation to revolution, in response to the current times. It’s available on most streaming platforms!

A bit about my musicianship:

I’ve explored a million different avenues of music on both piano and voice my whole life. My experiences range from jazz improv to choirs (both singing and accompanying), to music theory and conducting classes, to performances at open mics and talent shows.

One avenue I’ve explored for a long time now is songwriting; I’ve been writing songs for piano and voice since I was 15 (I’m 28 now). About a year ago, I started working with my music producer friend, whose record label is called Aery Records, to start putting my music out there professionally.

My songs are very often about mental health, trauma, social justice, found family, and other forms of platonic love. My songwriting is influenced by a conflux of musical theater, choral music, classical piano, and Indian music, so it tends to be fairly unique and varied in style.

Hope y’all enjoy the journey from heartache to rebellion that is my brand new EP!!!!

Much love,
Yoshi Das

Links:

• Stream the new Revolution EP!
• Yoshi's Bandcamp
• Yoshi's artist page

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Next, we have Ani King (they/them), a queer, gender non-compliant writer and artist from Michigan. They are a Monarch Queer Literary Award recipient, with work on the Wigleaf Top 50 Long List, and in Best Small Fictions 2025 and Best Microfiction 2026. 

Join me in celebrating their forthcoming story collection!

Ani says:

FAMILY NIGHT is by turns a lyrical celebration of queerness and an exploration of family and loss, often through a lens of magical realism. These collected flash fiction stories explore relationships and connections: In "Auntie Gigi Has Mango Breasts," a young trans woman's auntie helps her with physically transitioning via a lengthy bathroom surgery and they both see themselves more clearly at the end. A teen girl attempts to summon her missing mother home with cigarette smoke and yacht rock songs in Mother-mother, Wasp-mother," and in "Sorry About the Fence," two sisters dispute how to care for an unhealthy elderly unicorn.

There is deliberate focus on trans and queer joy in "Kitchen Dancing," where a small family has a quiet discussion about gender over the smells of comfort cooking and unfolded laundry; a queer woman accidentally raises two daughters from the bones of her long-dead pet rabbits. There is certainly disconnection and tragedy within some of these stories, but queer and trans identities are sources of joy, and there is intentional celebration in finding one's self. 

Links:

• Pre-order a copy of Family Night! (Preorders help indie books so much.)
• Find out more about Ani and their work.
  

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Last but not least, I'm delighted to share this important book on sacred gender exploration by someone whose work I've been following for years: Eli Lawliet (he/him), aka The Gender Doula. This is his first book, and it's a beauty!

Eli shares:

In my years of working as a gender doula, I have found consistently that when we learn how to center joy, pleasure, and desire in our gender exploration and transitions, we thrive. This book is part instruction manual for ritual creation, and part reference book for rituals themselves.

But the thread that binds it all together is this--how can we be more in touch with our joy, our pleasure, and our desire? Can we make our bodies into allies? Can we find support and love from our trancestors and our communities? Can we use ritual to find rootedness in a world that wants to erase us? 

It is my deep and sincere belief that the answer is yes. And while ritual may not be the only tool we need to do so, it's a really excellent (and versatile) one! I hope that this book brings you a lot of support. Please know that it's a love letter to you and to our community. May we continue to be courageous, and to thrive.

Links:

• Order your own copy of Gender Rituals! More ordering options here.
• Eli's website

• Previously featured art book on trans joy, Moments of Euphoria by Tapling Zines, launches 9/1! Sign up now for early-bird pricing.
• The first scientific study on gender euphoria has just dropped, and the results are free for public download. Go Aussies!
• In case you missed it last month, KB Brookins of Trans News That Don't Suck and I collaborated on a piece on why trans joy matters in these times.
• A recent study shows 70% of folks in Japan actually view trans people positively, and that much of the negativity online is spread by bots.
• Beestung's Pleasure Issue is out, featuring (as always) all nonbinary writers! They will have a virtual reading on 9/20 from 12-2pm PDT that is "free for all attendees, w/ a suggested donation of $4" to their GoFundMe. Email beestungmag@sundresspublications.com for the Zoom link to attend.
• Don't forget to submit to my call for submissions on trans joy for Speak the Sojourner by 9/18!

Are you enjoying ATJ? Please reply to this email with your thoughts, nice words, and love notes! With permission, your words might be featured in an upcoming issue!

⭐ If you're a cis ally or have a few bucks to contribute toward uplifting collective trans joy, consider becoming a trans joy gremlin at $5/month or buying us a coffee. You can also now gift a subscription!

⭐ Do YOU have trans joy, a rad project, or resources to share with us?? Check out the Contributor Guidelines!

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Thanks for supporting and reading!!!

I’ll leave you with this…

I love how trans folks everywhere know that all our liberation is interconnected. Stepping into a trans community space on the other side of the world felt so dear and familiar - may spaces like this manifest everywhere around the globe.

Till next time, friends!