Welcome to our Transgender Day of Visibility Virtual Art Gallery. This collection of transgender self expression came from submissions from transgender and gender-expansive community members in Colorado and beyond.
In case you missed our live TDoV celebration event, you can watch the recording here.
Censorship is used as tool by those in power to silence members of marginalized communities, and prevent the exchange of ideas that challenge existing norms. As a result of white supremacy and western imperialism, transgender people and bodies have been systematically censored and erased from our global history and culture. In the spirit of transgender visibility, and in our resistance against white supremacy, we have chosen not to censor depictions of nudity in this gallery. Transgender people and stories deserve to be seen and heard.
All artists have confirmed that nude subjects in their artwork are at least 18 years of age.
NOTICE: Some of the following images contain nudity
Content warning: Sexual assault, dysphoria, transphobia
Lulu Joanis (She/her/hers, They/them/theirs), Littleton, CO
Misgendered
misgendered as I often am,
feeling as I often do,
given and giving hallucinations to see or
to hear,
I sit down and set up
in anger against shutting up,
and write a poem,
hoping to quell the mind with a quill:
in this dresscase,
a sketch,
exhibited to the courtyard,
of
how it feels to be misgendered:
like a mistake out of your blame
brought up time and time again;
like well intentions- thrown into a
stony and salty bottom;
like fighting tooth and chipped nail for mere existence,
like holding the weight of all the just-learning liberals on your too-wide shoulders,
knowing that their support is conditional, hinged
on your reaction;
and all that from
a stubbled chin held high from
a wooden closet-room-
the walk to the car is always the hardest part-
and then once on campus,
full of thinking, feeling progressives
and benevolent colonizers,
I’m lulled into a false sense of security
by the ironic pillars,
yonic roofing exposed
by peering fingered pipes,
a distraction from upwards so my sex below is safe from prying eyes
Enter the false senses of others,
that this out and proud person,
who has catered their assignments to their queer identity,
who always has a second opinion on the two-gendered notion
when the educated class talks about what they deem women;
(the power of the pussy echoes plosively through the rafters)
this transitioning woman, whose only phase is a portending
realization-of-self,
whose thighs are freshly shaved atop socks of rainbow stripes,
whose schoolgirl skirt sways in an exaggerated, self-gladdening gait,
whose mask cannot cover all the thicker wire hairs below the sideburns,
whose turtleneck ambiguates their picturesque frame,
whose eyes are big and hair is bouncy-
“yeah, earlier he said,”
he said,
followed by my words-
from the same person
who told me to go live in the woods, then, if I have problems with the way the world works;
one cannot fault another for not knowing;
the well-meaning student body,
(a body pluralized, referred to by a singular pronoun)
bows its head in deference to the offender,
gesticulating with downward-pointed brows,
“you’ll encounter people of different stocks in this life,”
while scoffing at real diversity;
and the judge speaks,
“Person whose rights were recently erased,
“you have had the floor to make the case for your own existence;
“now let us give the dehumanizer a turn”
Lulu Joanis is a non-conforming transgender woman and poet living in Colorado. They study English and genocide, with a degree from Seton Hill University, a liberal arts school where she has also been published in the campus art-literary magazine Eye Contact. She loves all types of art, including music, literature, and collecting digital creatures. She tutors English and science online, and otherwise copes with living in a post-capitalist hell-scape.
Dakota King (He/him/his), Wheat ridge, Co
![[Image description: A photograph of a big orange sun setting behind the silhouette of trees. The sky around the sun is a deep burnt orange.]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/556ce596e4b0982744a8f187/1616622853556-P3BORKJYJRRZUATI8HKM/DakotaKing.jpeg)
[Image description: A photograph of a big orange sun setting behind the silhouette of trees. The sky around the sun is a deep burnt orange.]
Majestic Sunset
Blair Wynters (He/him/his), Colorado Springs, CO
[Image description: A digital illustration of a light-skinned, nude androgynous boy sitting with his back towards the viewer, looking over his right shoulder. The figure is wearing only a black laced up corset. He has light pink short hair and is wearing a hoop gold earring.]
Boys wear corsets, too
Blair is a Deaf digital artist, currently in school for a double major in art history and museum studies. With his art, Blair likes to express the more feminine side to the male body. Being androgynous himself, he identifies with his paintings, which is where he gets his inspirations. He hopes to bring an appreciation and positive light towards beautiful feminine men.
Alexis (She/her/hers), Littleton, CO
[Image description: A long, vertical abstract drawing. In the foreground is a gray silhouette of a human figure. The silhouette stands at the foot of a long pastel pink, blue, and purple path that extends off the top of the page. Surrounding the path is a pastel blue and yellow, blended background.]
Long road to happiness
Alexis wanted to represent her journey into transition (mtf), and probably the long road that is still in front of her.
![[Image description: A horizontal abstract illustration of a golden yellow and magenta hand releasing a butterfly with pastel pink, blue, and white wings. The background is blended pastel pink and purple.]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/556ce596e4b0982744a8f187/1616624159287-AUO7FGA4ROTOAEFK1NO0/AlexisBenini2.png)
[Image description: A horizontal abstract illustration of a golden yellow and magenta hand releasing a butterfly with pastel pink, blue, and white wings. The background is blended pastel pink and purple.]
Learn to fly
V Mitchell (They/them/theirs), Arvada, CO
[Image Description: Page 1 of stylized poem. The poem reads as follows.
Love letter to my body
I wish ur pain could b stars
I wish u sparkled whenever the lower back was inventing dark
i wish everyone else didnt put u in boxes
made u into a stain n expected so much (or littl) of u they think
girls r quiet n small n neat when really we get angry we get
raped we paint things n fingr othr girls we do everything
they fear we breathe n sometimes its smokey out of our
nostrils n sparks fall out of our mouths like pearls
Some days all i think abt is u n the way everyone sees u i
know im hard on u i know u r magical u r sparkles u fall apart
like anything would but u keep going that hrt of our has
been
Constant for twentyfour yrs u feel so broken n cry so often i
dont like this pain any more than u do i dont like what
everyone else assumes n cuts off from u, from us
that weak when u cried each time there was an echo of urself an image
telling u everything wrong w u the dysphoria dysphoria dysphoria
it was everywhere u cried that mourning ur husband asked abt ur
boobs we love those soft creatures but not lately not when they
were for everyone else
I wish there weren’t bexes so quickly so darkly
around our feet to block us fm being whole fm
having expectations:
((one day u will marry a man they said one day u
will have chldrn one day u will be fruitful not w art
w small aliens u will manifest n harvest u will need
money n that means jobs u hate n corportations n
going to drs for poor sleep patterns))]
[Image description: Page 2 of Stylized poem.
{gradi-tude}
that s what we r learnin these days this body is for me n no
one else these bones n muscle n scar tissue have survived
n survived n survived n survived this hrt has never stopped
since bein a small red thing baby-cheeks the hrt has inhaled
n survived back when i was assigned she all i wanted was
sleep then-me n now-me r the same we see ppl around us
talking the lights are too bright our heads have been
throbbing for days n all we long for is somewher to go for edges
to soften for a long silence darkeness we cannot interrupt even
when the navy sky turns to static n all we want is some
peaceful petit mort little death the hrt is still here n breathes
this momentum
hey babe
one day u will be free n that day is
twoday I say the crying is ovr the
tearing urself apart after phone
calls the resting on floors trying to
dig donw to somewhere warmr n
quiet of turning ur eyes down to
Avoid their i’s of dressing in long
mens shirts so they’d stop calling
u ma am (unsuccessfully) those
days r done those days r gray in ur
pale pink sky n u’ll wake up to a
cloud less mourning tmrw it’ll be
tom-or-row]
Tycho dorian dwelis (He/him/his), Colorado Springs, CO
[Image description: A portrait of an android with blue skin, bleeding gold blood from an injury. Animated fireflies and lights float around his head as if in zero gravity.]
The General
As an author and artist, Tycho’s work takes many forms and spans many media. Many of his illustrations are of characters, scenes, or events from his written work. He is incredibly passionate about writing, art, and anything that allows him to create his own worlds, comics and animation included. His goal is to write dreamy fiction for all ages that is unique, inspiring, and imaginative. He wants his books and art to instill wonderment in the reader. He likes to write about themes that include coming of age, magic realism, identity, relationships, and bullying. His books are intended for readers ages eight to twenty-five, and are meant to connect the world of the fantastical to everyday life.
Galaxy Jase (he/him/his, they/them/theirs), COlorado Springs, CO
[Image description: A collection of Asian inspired sweets illustrations. There are three mochi donuts in the lower left hand corner. A stack of four flavors of Swiss rolls with fruit, chocolate, and cream is the focus of the piece on the right in strawberry, ube, matcha, and chocolate. Behind the Swiss rolls, there are two taiyaki ice cream cones with a variety of toppings and sprinkles. All sweets have a magical glitter pattern overlaid on top.]
Magical Delights
Jase is a disabled trans artist in the Colorado Springs area, originally from Aurora! He loves cute illustrations and is working on a few lines of cute merchandise to sell at local conventions in the form of earrings, key chains, stickers, and more! They currently have these designs and more available for sale on my RedBubble while he tries to raise the funds to make their own merch for conventions.
Ari Rosenblum (they/them/theirs), Denver, CO
[Image description: A multi-color abstract portrait of a person's torso, from the chin to the upper thighs, with their hands are on their belly. The torso takes up most of the frame. The body is made up of several organic shapes with smooth edges. The negative space between shapes is beige. The bottom of the head (which runs off the top of the page) is bright orange semi-circle. Below that is a long, curved, deep purple oblong shape that is meant to represent the person's neck. Under the neck is a navy blue peanut shape meant to be the chest. On each side of the chest is a bright pink kidney bean shape, each with a small bright red circle in it, but not centered. The belly is a light blue bean shape with a black bean shaped belly button. Bright red arms surround the neck, chest, and belly. Extending from the arms are deep green hands embracing the belly. The blue belly and green hands look a little bit like the Earth. The pubic area is a smooth deep purple shape that roughly resembles an upside down triangle. Inside is a bright red exclamation point. The legs are a bright golden yellow that extend from the pubic area off the page. In the gap below the pubic area, in between the legs, there are red circular shapes meant to represent drips of menstrual blood. The artists signature and the year are lightly scribbled on the bottom right corner. The drawing is surrounded by a white frame.]
Nurturer of self
This piece is an embodiment of Ari’s journey of radical self-love. Inspired by a group therapy assignment about the book The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor, this drawing is meant to represent their vision of the highest version of themself, as they learn to nurture and love their soft, trans, queer body.
Ari is a queer, Jewish, trans non-binary, neurodivergent photographer and multimedia artist. They were raised in Colorado and currently live in Denver.
Kate Ferraro (they/them/theirs), Wayne, NJ
[Image description: A photograph of Robin (he/him), a white non-binary transmasculine person with recent top surgery scars, oval glasses, and short brown hair, from the torso up. He stands in front of a pastel pink background. He is wearing a septum ring in his nose. He looks at the camera with a closed-mouth smile, as he holds up a piece of a white box for prescription Testosterone gel in front of him.]
Robin
This image depicts Robin (he/him) who identifies as transmasculine non-binary, shortly after having his top surgery. The image itself is part of a larger series, "Faces of the LGBTQ+", which showcases the real faces of those living in the LGBTQ+ community. The artist, Kate Ferraro, is a 23 year old non-binary photographer from NJ! They’ve been photographing for 6 years professionally, graduating with a BFA in photography in May 2020. Their main work revolves around COVID, LGBTQ+ experiences, and anything to do with activism.
[Video description:
"Title card: The words Venus Victrola cover a snake and camiellia Logo.
Title: Rejuvenessence at 10 degrees
A chill electronic beat mixed with Ave Maria plays in the background. (“Ave plague” by king plague.)
There are recordings of a cold, frozen landscape. There is snow blowing across a rocky landscape with mountains surrounding the scene.
Venus wears festival wings and lingere. faer are dancing and twirling in the strong winds. The wings furiously flutter in the breeze. Fae is also dancing barefoot on the cold earth but it does not seem to affect faerself.
There are more shoots of the old landscape that transition into scenes of Venus dancing with the festival wings.
As the beat slows - there are shots of Venus wearing fluffy angel wings and a vintage pink night gown. Fae are sitting on a rock as the wind blows faers hair Back. At first fae dances but then beings to shiver and cry.
The video closes with more shots of the landscape and Venus dancing with the festival wings.
Title card: GENDERFAE (Fae/Faer) – an agender person with femme and androgynous aesthetics
Title card: Tip Venus, Venmo @venusvictrola, CashApp $venusvictrola
Title card: Thank you for supporting local drag!"]
Sandrín Molina Cortéz (He/him/his, They/them/theirs), (so called) Fort Collins
[Image description: A tumultuous yet serene abstract painting that includes lots of white with brilliant blended colors seeping thru all over. there are lots of different shades of blues and greens, reds and oranges. the background is a yellow piece of paper. the paint is acrylic. the work is very abstract.]
Shedding shame: Rebirth
[Image description: A black and white photograph of a Native American Latinx person's face against a dark background. His gaze is directed slightly to the left and he has a neutral expression on his face. He has long wavy hair that blends into the dark background. The right side of his face is shadowed, while the left side of his face is in the light. He has a moustache and beard, and he is wearing a thick septum ring.]
yo me conozco
This photo was the first self portrait Sandrín shared that openly showed his beard. Posting it was an act of self liberation and preservation in the face of transphobia.
[Image description: A black and white photograph of the face of the same individual as the first photo. This time, he is posed in front of a bright background, and his whole face is visible in the light. Again, he has a beard, moustache, and septum ring. His gaze is directed slightly to the left and he has a neutral expression on his face.]
yo sé quién soy
![[image description: A color photograph of the same individual as the Photo 1 and 2. He is posed in front of a wall with several abstract, colorful paintings. His head is tilted slightly up. His eyes are closed and he has a pleasant look on his face.]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/556ce596e4b0982744a8f187/1616684918338-J9RIYRYYL71WP3FEW54Z/finalmente+quiero+vivir.jpg)
[image description: A color photograph of the same individual as the Photo 1 and 2. He is posed in front of a wall with several abstract, colorful paintings. His head is tilted slightly up. His eyes are closed and he has a pleasant look on his face.]
finalmente quiero vivir
Sandrín Molina Cortéz, is a mixed-race Native American Latinx person of color. Sandrín's art is informed by and produced through cathartic artistic practices that allow him to shed off shame that has been cast onto him throughout his young life as a gender non conforming intersex queerdo. Artistic catharsis allows sandrín to contend with obstacles in a way that allow him to move forward in life with integrity.
Website • Facebook • Instagram • Venmo: @Sanpapi • Cashapp: $ragtimepal • PayPal: sandrinmolina@gmail.com
Bethany Ava (She/her/hers), Denver, CO
[Image description: A digital illustration of a purple flower on a light and dark blue background. The type of flower is not obvious, although it resembles a coneflower with shorter, rounder petals. There are smaller yellow blooms originating from the center part of the flower.]
A Frozen Moment #1
[Image description: A photograph of a thin, racially ambiguous transgender woman sitting on the edge of a dirty red reclining chair. She is wearing black lace lingerie, with garters and stockings. Her genitals are exposed under the garter. She has long wavy dark hair and has an indistinguishable tattoo on her arm. She is leaning on one arm to the left side of the chair. Her thighs and knees are parallel with each other, but her shoeless feet are pushed out in opposite directions She is biting her lip and looking down at her body, possibly at her genitals, as her other hand grabs her hair, moving it to the side.]
Silen Wellington (they/them/theirs), Fort Collins, CO
We Taste Queerness on the Twilight
Transcript:
This poem brings Whipped Cream Burnett’s to parties.
This poem loves to make straight people uncomfortable.
This poem isn’t afraid to correct the Chancellor’s interpretation of their gender pronouns on stage in front of a thousand person crowd.
This poem used to listen to a song called “Hegemonic Blowfish.”
This poem used to listen to a band named PWR BTTM.
This poem used to have wet dreams about Jesus.
This poem doesn’t give two shits about white gay cis men theorizing in ivory towers.
This poem was not born this way.
You can bet your sweet ass this poem knows when to take a laxative.
This poem shaved off all her hair the day after the election.
I walked this poem home from the straight bar after he got kicked out for yelling “Fuck Donald Trump.”
This poem cried when we got home.
This poem is scared of men.
You wrote this poem on my collarbone with your teeth.
This poem would fuck you all night long, and all day long, regardless of substance.
This poem sobbed the first time she kissed a girl.
This poem doesn’t believe in healthy relationships.
This poem once got a ride home from a stranger on Grindr in exchange for sex.
This poem knows that being campy is a survival tactic.
This poem knows it’s less dangerous if straight people are laughing at you.
This poem wouldn’t say no to a line of coke from a stranger at the club.
This poem smokes a packet of cigarettes when he’s drunk.
I held this poem’s hair back as they were vomiting at the bar.
This poem will get fucked to forget.
This poem hates how sometimes fucking leads to remembering.
I see this poem in my lover’s sad eyes after they give me an orgasm.
I cried after this poem fucked me so hard I had to look at the sandpaper pillar of fear in my spine.
This poem called me at 4:45am to say “I legitimately overdosed. My dad found me in time.”
This poem has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Or Bipolar I. Or Bipolar II. Or maybe Borderline - they haven’t decided.
This poem knows the differences are invisible but the consequences are deadly.
This poem likes to take a couple shots before performing a drag show.
This poem gets double takes in gendered restrooms.
This poem hates when servers end their “What drinks will you have” with a “ladies.”
This poem defines dysphoria as an intense current under which you have no grounding.
This poem doesn’t want your pity.
I am devastated that I can’t even protect this poem in my own bedroom.
I started writing the poem the day a man in a pick up truck asked me and my high school lover to take our sick shit elsewhere.
I knew I’d never stop writing this poem the day my ex-lover stuck a bloodied note in my locker.
I knew this poem could never be unwritten the night she was crying silently in my room and whispered “I think they make that word sound ugly so that no one will ever want to say it.”
That word was rape. This poem is about rape.
This poem isn’t going to forgive you.
This poem isn’t about you.
None of this poem is for you.
None of this poem is fictionalized.
This poem was once angry but is getting tired.
This poem is weary but awake.
This poem keeps going.
This poem writes itself.
This poem never stops.
We will never stop.
We will never stop writing this poem.
Amergin Ó Kai (She/her/hers, They/them/theirs), Loveland, Co
[Image description: A heavily textured, corrugated surface with multiple layers of old looking paint of various colors, over which the words, "I'm Spartacus" have been freshly painted in red and black letters. The apostrophe in "I'm" has been stylized is a pair of waving red and black pennants, while the black letter "T" in "Spartacus" is crossed with three diagonal, parallel red arrows (pointing downward and to the left); both symbols commonly associated with individuals identifying as antifa.]
I’m Spartacus
The piece was inspired by the simple post on various social media, "I am antifa,” made a couple of months ago by Angela Walker, a queer black woman who ran for Vice President on the Green Party's ticket last November. The post received numerous replies along the lines of "I'm antifa too," reminding Amergin of the famous "I'm Spartacus" scene in the classic movie, Spartacus. It calls to mind the sense of rebellion, as well as the fact that anyone can be antifa in the face of oppression and authority. The image is intended to call to mind an old sheet of corrugated steel, such as might be used to board up the entrance to a building that has been closed for a long time: rusty, covered repeatedly in paint, old posters, flyers, and graffiti, including a partially covered "Black Trans Lives Matter" flag. An older, smaller version of the slogan can be made out, painted over but failing to erase it, as if inspiring someone else to come back and repeat it - bigger, bolder, louder, and even more clearly.
Sophia Ericksen (she/her/hers), Denver, co
[Image description: A woman with face in negative at top left corner, hand extended to the center, reaches through a black hole with glowing halo toward a red sun. Watch on wrist. Light colored silhouetted branches and hair flow toward the hole and are blown towards the sun.]
Athena Sylvers (they/them/theirs), Edgewater, CO
[Image description: The image appears to show two individuals from the knees up, sitting next to each other on a white couch. However, on closer inspection, one can see that both people on the couch are actually the same person. The figure on the left side of the image is an average sized black person with short kinky hair and facial hair. Their legs are crossed with one hand resting on their knee and the other arm resting on the back of the couch behind the other figure. They are wearing a black tuxedo with a purple and gold bow tie, rectangular glasses, a dangling earring, a gold necklace, and a crystal or diamond ring. They have snakebite lip rings on their lower lip. They are looking at the figure sitting next to them with a smile on their face. The figure on the left side of the image is an average sized black person with long heat-curled brown hair. They are wearing a sleeveless black lace dress with a matching shawl drapped just above their elbows. They are wearing the same ring, glasses, necklace, earrings, and lip ring as the figure on the left. They are looking at the figure on the left with a closed-mouth smile on their face.]
A Conversation Piece
In each of us the spirit of the Masculine and the Feminine resides. These energies, often misunderstood, lend us different qualities emotionally and tangibly. During moments of conflict with our gender expression a conversation is started between the opposing sides of our identity. We've been convinced that one or the other must come out victorious, defining who we are in our gender expression, but what happens when they work in harmony? Two parts of a whole, in duality, yet one and the same.
Athena Sylvers is a proud Black Nonbinary entertainer who is passionate about sharing insight through the power of performance art. Dedicated to questioning the gender binary, they have a strong belief that gender and sexual expressions are fluid and ever changing. Embracing this energy, they dance the line between the masculine and the feminine with hopes that, through demonstrating such freedom of expression, they can encourage others to embrace and admire the beauty of individuality. Emanating power and grace, they entertain and educate, ensuring justice for the disadvantaged while spreading love and light in these times of fear and uncertainty.
If you are curious about Athena and what they stand for, you can catch them hosting their first show SanctiTea on April 25th at Blush N Blu Denver. At this Variety Show/Discussion, performers will use their artistic medium to Spill the Tea on what is sacred in both the divine and the mundane while celebrating Easter, Ostara, and the Spring Solstice! Socially distanced seating is limited, and the event will livestreamed by Amplify the Voice!
You can purchase tickets on the website linked below.
Chris Talbot-Heindl (They/them/theirs), Denver, CO
Chrissplains Nonbinary Advocacy to Cisgender People: Refusing to Affirm Pronouns is Like...
[Image Description: The piece is a comic. The description says "Too often, when nonbinary people affirm their identities, pronouns, or names, people react in ways that value their own comfort over our dignity. Pronouns are as important to affirm as our names, because they say who we are. To illustration how silly (at best) and hostile (at worst) every argument made to justify using the wrong pronouns is, let's reimagine the scenario using names.
"Sometimes it happens like this: #1" The first cell shows two people in a car. The driver says "I know my Grandma calls you Charlie, but she's old and doesn't know any better." In the second cell, the driver says "Please don't rub your name sensitivities in her face. In fact, it's probably best if you don't mention it at all. The third cell shows the two people facing each other in silhouette. The passenger responds: "I can't spend an entire evening being called Charlie. I would rather just go home." The driver says, "Quit being so dramatic. It's not going to kill you to be called Charlie for the night. For Grandma." The passenger says "I'm not being dramatic. That's a lot to ask." In the fourth cell, there's the exterior of the car. The driver says "You knew what you were getting into with this party. Now you're ruining my evening." The last cell of this section has a close up of the passenger's face, forehead creased. It says "sigh" next to their face.]
[Image description: "Sometimes it happens like this #2:" The first cell shows the front of a person speaking to someone who's back of the head is facing the viewer. The head says "Hi Becky! My name is Chris." Becky says "Hmm. Well, Chris is plural (it even ends in an s), so I can't do that. I'm kind of a grammar nerd, you see. I'll just call you my name, since you seem to have all the same...parts as me." In the second cell, we just see Becky, closer up, smiling, and with her hands up like she's explaining something. Off cell, it says "But, my name is Chris." Becky says: "No. Still can't do it. Why can't you make up a name that isn't plural? Look, I want to be sensitive to your beliefs, but I draw the line at bad grammar." The third cell shows Becky and the back of someone's head. The head says "It is also singular and...I'm not changing my name." Becky says: "Guess you'll have to deal with me calling you Becky. Don't say I didn't try."
"Sometimes it happens like this #3:" The first cell shows a party with different groupings of individuals. Towards the back of the room, there are four individuals. A tall person leaning on a shelf says: "Tom, Emma: this is Charlie." The second cell shows a closer view of the group. The person the tall individual said was Charlie responds: "Oh actually, my name is Chris. Nice to meet you two." In the third cell, there's a close up of the tall individual with a label "Later in Private:". They say: "You know, you could have reprimanded me in private! I was so embarrassed. Now Tom and Emma might think I'm some kind of homophobe or something! Everyone who knows me knows I love the gays." Off cell, Chris says: "I didn't want people to call me Charlie. My name is Chris." The tall person says "You could have dealt with it instead of calling me out like that!" The fourth cell is a close up of Chris's face, forehead creased. Off cell, the tall individual says "It's like our DEI training: call in, don't call out. Maybe you need a refresher." In the last cell of this section, there's a silhouette of the tall individual with their hand up like they're explaining something, while Chris walks away. The tall individual says "I'm just trying to help you navigate these uncomfortable situations professionally! Don't just walk away and 'cancel' me!"]
[Image description: "Sometimes it happens like this #4:" The first cell shows Becky and the back of Chris's head again. Chris says: "Just a gentle reminder: my name is Chris, not Charlie." Becky says: "There's not a magic switch I can turn off, you know." In the second cell, there's a close up view of Becky who is smiling and has her hands up like she's explaining something. She says: "This is a huge change and isn't going to happen overnight." Off cell, Chris says "I understand it'll take some time, but I'm also going to remind you." In the last cell in this section, Becky is explaining a lot. Her words encompass the entire background of the cell and begin "Well, actually, you really need to be patient with me. You'll have to deal with it until I can wrap my head around it. From the beginning of time, people who have looked like you have been Charlies, not Chrisses. I was taught this etiquette from a young age, back when I was..." The rest is not readable, as it is behind the characters.
"Sometimes it happens like this #5:" The first and second cells are back in the car. The driver says "Before we go in, I want your word that you won't make this about your name." The passenger responds "I don't make things about my name, but I'm not going to sit silently if someone calls me the wrong name." The driver says "That is making it all about your name! Why can you never let it go?" In the third cell, there's a silhouette of the driver's and passenger's faces. The passenger says "Why'd they invite me if they aren't going to use my name? They either want me here or they don't." The driver says "Can't you pick some other time to ' stand your ground'?" The passenger says "When would be appropriate to ask people to use my correct name?" The fourth cell shows the outside of the car. The passenger says "I don't know! When it isn't so selfish! This party isn't about you and your name!" The last cell of this section has a close up of the passenger's face, forehead creased. It says "sigh" next to their face.
[Image Description: "Sometimes it happens like this #6:" The first cell shows a party with different groupings of individuals. Towards the back of the room, there are two individuals. A tall person leaning on a shelf says: "No, I can't call you Chris. I don't believe in it." The second cell shows a closer view of the two. The second person responds: "...What do you mean you don't believe in it?" In the third cell, there's a close up of the tall individual. They say: "Like, I know this might get me in trouble with HR, but...there's all this SJW stuff going on and everyone is trying to be all PC. But it's against my beliefs for Chrisses to exist And I shouldn't have to go against my beliefs." The fourth cell is a close up of Chris's face, forehead creased. It says "sigh" next to their face. In the last cell of this section, there's a silhouette of the tall individual with their hand up like they're explaining something, while Chris walks away. The tall individual says "We do still have freedom of religion in this country. I better not hear from HR."
Below that, there's an illustration of my face next to a banner that says: "To Summarize:" The summary states: "Current social trends consider it normal and even polite to assume other peoples' gender and pronouns. But this can be really harmful to trans and nonbinary people. When someone tells you their pronouns, just use them. If you accidentally slip up, apologize (or thank the for reminding you), use the correct pronoun, and move on. Allow trans and nonbinary people to decide when and if to correct people, and don't shame them for making things 'uncomfortable' for cisgender people by affirming their identity. Their lives are likely full of harm from being misgendered and hearing the wrong pronouns constantly. Temporary discomfort shouldn't be valued more than their dignity.]
Chris Talbot-Heindl (they/them) is a queer, trans nonbinary, triracial creator working through the complexity of identity through art. They are the co-creator and editor of The Bitchin' Kitsch and creator of Chrissplains Nonbinary Advocacy to Cisgender People educomic.
Website • Instagram • Twitter • Tapas • Paypal: chris@talbot-heindl.com • Venmo: @Chris-Talbot-Heindl
Emmett Fantastic (they/them/theirs), Denver, Co
[Image description: Two embroidered puppets hold hands on a brightly colored painted beach with an eye in the sky. One puppet has a bandana patterned fabric face with pearl teardrops and pearl teeth. The other puppet has evil eyes embroidered on the backs of their hands.]
Chrysalis Conway (She/her/hers, they/them/theirs), Denver, Co
[Image description: An oil painting of a transgender woman with strong features and shoulder length curly hair, from the torso up. She is staring back at the viewer while topless. Her figure is painted in monochrome magenta tones, which stand out on a bright blue background.]
Maybe I am
"Maybe I am enough. Maybe I am a pretty girl. Maybe I am woman enough despite what people say. Maybe I am stronger than I thought and others told me I could ever be.
This painting is about womanhood and through what lenses people choose to see it. While my facial features could be described as manly, my chest reveals a contradiction. Can a transgender woman be vulgar for being topless? Bigoted individuals might call her a man, but would call her chest indecent despite men’s chests being inoffensive. So could you still call her a man? Or maybe you’d have to see her for something else. If only just to censor her. In the end, it doesn’t matter. She is who she says she is. You can’t censor her."
[Video description: Chrys, a young white transfeminine person with long, curly, red hair, sits in a white-framed, red upholtered arm chair in her apartment, as she reads her poem, Visibility. She is wearing a black ruffled, full length gown, with a deep v-shaped neckline, and is holding an open book on her lap. She is wearing pink eyeshadow and lip stain, and has on oval shaped dangly earrings. To her left is a set of shelves with various items on each shelf; the top of the shelf has several plants sitting on it. Behind her are several framed pieces of art and vine-like plants. On her right side is a gold side table detailed with metal leaves, atop which is a lamp and another plant. Next to that is a pink and beige floral couch. Tucked behind the couch is a large self portrait of Chrys. In the portrait, Chrys is painted in monochrome magenta, with a bright baby blue background. Her head is tilted up as she looks into the viewer’s eyes.]
Instagram • Venmo:@Chrysalis_Cracked
Silas Beranek (They/them/theirs), Denver, CO
[Image description: A drawing of a white non-binary person with short, straight hair that is parted all the way on the right side. They have big brown eyes and royal blue lips. They have broad shoulders, and are wearing a blue v-neck shirt. Their head is tilted slightly left. The background is white with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple squiggles and brush strokes.]
Not Your Stereotype, Avi Noah
“This is a drawing of one of my close friends Avi Noah. Avi Noah is Non-binary and in this piece was made to show that not all Non-binary people are thin and androgynous. If you look up Non-binary scroll, and see how long it will take you to find someone even somewhat bigger in size. It tends to take a while. And that is because the stereotype for Non-binary people is thin and tall. But truly that's not how it is. And my piece is proof of that. Avi Noah is not your stereotype.”
Nik Bluebird lane (they/them/theirs), Evergreen/Colorado Springs, CO
[Image description: There is a pink background with a white fog. In the foreground there is a thin, naked nonbinary person with a buzzcut and freckles. They are painted with rainbow colors. Their hands pull at a huge gaping tear in their chest that is a deep and holllow redish purple inside. Their face is in pain.]
“Torn”
Nik Bluebird Lane was born and raised in Colorado. They are a Sociology student at Colorado College and have an art degree from Red Rocks Community College. This painting is about being non-binary in a world that often doesn't understand, and the pain and anxiety that dysphoria can cause. Follow their work on Instagram!
Website • Shop • Facebook • Instagram • Venmo: @nik--chapleski
Saoirse cooney (She/her/hers, they/them/theirs), Centennial, Co
[Image description:"A quadtych of superset renderings of the Mandelbrot set reminiscent of Rorschach Blots. Every image presents the same underlying structure with differing colouration symbolic of the artist's journey of self-discovery.
The first image, ""Vacuous Schema"" consists solely of shades of stereotypically masculine blue, indicating both the world's perception and the artist's avowed self-identity. Fine details are washed out and difficult to perceive, if not erased completely - this is the image of a facade, not a face; a potemkin identity.
The second image, ""Dysphoria Underneath"" uses a violent, jarring, discordant colour composition to illustrate the cost of the state of affairs represented by the first image. Colouring corresponding to the Trans flag can be seen in the background, giving a him to the cause, and of things to come.
The third image, ""Mirror Moment"" uses the colours of the flag to illustrate the triumphant discovery of the artist's underlying identity. At the same time, the colouration is intense, bright, and supersaturated, detail is washed out, alluding to an - albeit understandably - disproportionate significance placed on this one single strand of their self. This too, represents something less than a whole - a crystallisation of genuine identity, but one incomplete in itself.
The final image, ""And Truly Seen"" represents the end state, where all the threads of the artist's identity are woven together into a cohesive whole. Colouration is similar to Mirror Moment, but no longer painfully bright or supersaturated. All the fine details may be seen, evoking a sense of coherence and balance, representative of both the artist's true self-perception, and their aspirations to be seen in that light by the world. Transfeminine-affine colours predominate, but masculine shades also remain, symbolising traces of historical contexts and contemorary self-presentation.]
A Transfeminine Mosaic
Saoirse Cooney is a digital artist, writer, programmer, and recreational mathematician who works primarily with dynamic systems and escape time fractals in visual media. In 2013, she developed a new way to visualise escape time fractals that revealed heretofore hidden underlying structures - the superset method, which allows for a mathematically meaningful recursion to be applied to the process of computation underlying the generation of such images. After creating the most recent iteration of this technique in 2017, she has spent most of her creative energies on a new project in fictional transmedia while sketching out new versions of this method and improving the underlying efficiency and clarity of the program she developed to implement her algorithm as a prelude to placing it on the public domain.
Her participation in this event on this day of visibility marks the final end of 21 years of culturally enforced silence, wherein she spent every moment of her waking life in the first and second parts of this piece.
Dylan Matthews (he/him/his), Fort Collins, CO
Trans Mask
This song is representative of Matthews’ transition as a man of trans experience. The first part represents the sadness and uncertainty he felt before he transitioned. He felt as if he was wearing a mask to hide his true self, hence the song's title. The song's bridge represents his transition, and how realizing he was trans helped inspire him and pull him out of his depression. The second part of the song is about how he feels now that he can be himself; He no longer has to wear a mask and now feels free to just exist. He now feels empowered to stand on his own, as himself.
“Transitioning has been the greatest gift of my life, along with music, and I am honored that I could write a song to express this.”
"Trans Mask" is written, played, and produced by Matthews. He hopes listeners can enjoy it, and relate to the emotions in the song. Thanks for listening!
Transcript
What is this mask I wear?
I can see it clearly,
But no one seems to care.
And why am I stuck standing here?
I know something’s wrong,
But I don’t know what I fear.
I am a mirror,
I am an empty reflection.
I know it’s not a way to live,
But I need the protection.
But I think I found another way.
I think I found another way.
I know I should feel afraid.
But all I feel is peace.
Now I see myself in me.
Now I be myself for me.
The mask is gone and
I am free.
The mask is gone and
I am free.
Now I can stand on my own. x4
Mellik (he/him/his), Denver, Co
That Much
Written by Mellik, “That Much” touches on the demise of a much anticipated second date.
Meghan & Mellik are a fresh, local and queer indie rock duo.
Find more on Instagram at: @mgorty @megmal5 @rosecolorlensband
Mixed & Mastered by Judybelle Camangyan IG: @judybelle.wav
Transcript:
You don’t like me that much
Maybe one day
That’s okay
I won’t make no promises
That’s a double negative
I need to fall flat on my ass
dad calls the shark attack
It's not off the table yet
Lick the butter stick
The smoke outside is getting pretty thick
I told you I was thirsty for a drink
Maybe you should come inside
Now I am drinking the whole lake
I didn’t mean it like that
I waited 6 months, just to see your arms
Night walks round congress park
Please Don’t get your face cut off
God I hope not
You hate your brother
You already know that
His trips to Boca
You hear from mother
He didn’t mean it
The smoke outside is getting pretty thick
I told you I was thirsty for a drink
Maybe you should come inside
Now I’m drinking the whole lake
I didn’t mean it like that
I didn’t mean it like that
In spitting distance
You give me shivers
Gotta do the groundwork first
Jeanie Cookston (SHe/her/hers), Denver, Co
Dysphoria
"This EP started as my junior project for the school I currently go to (Cornish College of The Arts) but it is SO much more than that. This project has taught me so much about not only music production and digital audio engineering, but it's given me an outlet to create the music that I've always wanted to make. I love each of the songs so much and they all contain a huge chunk of my heart and my lungs and my fingers and my eyes. I hope this song makes you dance and cry and scream in the car on your way to work. And, specifically to my queer community, I hope you can find relevance and connection to my words. They represent my struggles as a human, but more intimately my struggles as a trans woman in America. Now go rejoice in your ability to hear music, and stay grateful.”
Transcript
I pull my hair up real tight
I put on what I like
But someone’s screaming at me
Inside my own damn mind
I’m trying to be perfect,
Criteria too high
But this conclusion of my body
Is not the final word tonight
You can’t control me
You’re just afraid
Of being seen of being saved
I know I’m worthy
You have no say
The mirror’s not my enemy
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
I hope you don’t stay too long
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
This phobia
I hope you don’t stay too long
This shadow hangs too close
To my porcelain face
I can’t forget I’m beautiful under thisI need to remember my name
Reflections speak too loud
But still I let them in
A cycle which I cannot stop
They scream at me “why aren’t you him?”
You can’t control me
You’re just afraid
Of being put back in your cage
I know I’m worthy
You have no say
But still you walk all over me
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
I hope you don’t stay too long
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
This phobia
I hope you don’t stay too long
I’m not afraid
My body’s not quite whole
But that don’t mean that I’m alone
I’ll take the pain
Because I know exactly who I am and she is in control!
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
I hope you don’t stay too long
Dysphoria
Dysphoria
This phobia
I hope you don’t stay too long
Julia Condolora (She/her/hers), Denver, CO
![[Image descriptioin: A photograph of a handcrafted wooden vase. It is a burnt orange color with thin light vertical lines spead a couple inches apart running from the lip to the base.]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/556ce596e4b0982744a8f187/1616702156916-YXVKZECFAR6SGWPJ1ZKD/JuliaCondolora1.jpg)
[Image description: A photograph of a handcrafted wooden vase. It is a burnt orange color with thin light vertical lines spead a couple inches apart running from the lip to the base.]
Mahogany and maple turned wood vase
All the Little Things
Transition is such a big thing.
Or so it seems
To the world around me
I was becoming a whole new person
To me, I was only exposing
who I’ve always been
Is transition the even the right word?
Maybe unveiling fits better.
Transition consumed the last decade
Full of so many milestones
Each of which was significant
Those dates we celebrate with “years since”
But what I cherish most is all the little things
All those daily occurrences
Those words that affirm
Messages from the world
that say you are seen
Hearing those words ma’am and miss
Seeing my living name printed
on top of credit card receipt or a Birthday card
Hearing my name called out
by the hostess saying this way ladies
It has become expected now
but it never ever gets old
Name tags
Printing my name on one of these the first time
was like an announcement to all
In case you don’t know who I am…
[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A BLUE RECTANGLE WITH THE WORDS “HELLO, MY NAME IS JULIA” WRITTEN ON IT, LIKE A NAME TAG.]
Hearing my dead name called out
and not reacting to it
Yes, it took some time,
But I’m delighted to say
I have no attachment to it now
When my wife introduces me as her wife
It fills me with a joy I can’t explain
Partner worked fine for a time
Being her wife with not inevitable
There is such significance in that word
It says that she sees me
in the same way I see her
When the woman next to me at the nail salon
strikes up a conversation
About something women only talk about
with other women
Realizing, the person I’m talking to
has no idea I’m trans
Then realizing, this the case most of the time.
Do you know what makes these little things
so meaningful to me?
These are the things of life.
The everyday trip to the store
A night out to dinner
A day at the beach
A barbecue with friends
A girls night out
It’s the gift
that all the milestones provide.
Lindsay lennox (She/her/hers, they/them/theirs), Arvada, CO
[Image description: sepia-tones swan wing with overlaid hot-pink poem. Poem reads:
came a day
when all she desired was sleep. she was not
depressed
or sleepy or fatigued
it was simply a craving, insistent, insinuating
itself into her thoughts
finally she slept
not for a night; for some amount
of time incalculable and irrelevant to zir dreaming brain
ze slept
waking up ze said, ah yes. that was the reason
for that pain in my chest, that ache
in my back; no wonder the aspirin didn’t help
and ze stretched, wings slipping
free of the film under which they’d formed
drying themselves to show a rainbow
that would (ze knew) turn
to white in good time.]
Lindsay Lennox is a nonbinary writer living in Colorado.
Phineas (they/them/theirs), Morrison, CO
The Non-Binary Song
Subtitles embedded in video