TEXT FROM THE MAGAZINE
“I've been drawing since I was a child, and I never thought about why I created art other than that it was something I enjoyed doing. But as I've gotten older, I've come to understand the benefits and the importance of creating, and the impact art has on others.
Twenty years ago, I learned about documentary artist and activist JEB (Joan E. Biren.) I remember reading about her in Harmony Hammond's “Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History.” Hammond wrote about JEB's longing to see lesbian images in the early 70s, something that was lacking at that time. She had never seen a photo of two women kissing. Nor did she have models to pose for her. So, JEB borrowed a camera and took a photo of herself and her partner kissing. According to Biren, her "thing" was “to take pictures of the people that other people weren't taking pictures of, to make visible what was invisible.”
She wasn't the only one capturing queer or trans people. Soon, I also discovered the work of Catherine Opie, Loren Cameron, Kate Bornstein, Leslie Feinberg, Ivan Coyote, Amos Mac, Rocco Kayiatos, and so on. Through photography, spoken word, music, writing, and film, these LGBTQIA+ creatives documented their lives or the lives of others in their community.
I wanted to do the same. Our community has a history of being invisible, censored, stereotyped, used as punch lines, falsely represented, and villainized. We have the gift of illustrating honest, accurate, and positive depictions of ourselves. Even though there is more visibility today compared to the past, there will always be a need to see affirming and authentic representations of ourselves in art and storytelling, especially during a time when politicians are trying to erase us.
In college, I began reading comic books. I never had an interest before then because I thought they were mostly about fictitious superheroes. Those never appealed to me. It wasn't until I read Daniel Clowes' “Ghost World” and Craig Thompson's “Blankets” that I realized comics could be about anything and anyone! They could feature characters that were human and relatable. They could be queer! As someone who always felt like an outsider, I finally felt I fit in with the “underground/alternative” comics world and the cartoonists who created these comics.
I quickly learned how to tell stories with images. Perhaps it's because of my interest in non-fiction that I naturally began creating autobiographical comics of my own lived experience as a queer, trans man.
Like those who influenced me, I share stories in my comics about gender and identity. I document my experiences as a trans man. The process of writing and drawing about love, heartbreak, anxiety, and navigating this world as a trans person is also very therapeutic.
I think we create art for ourselves and for each other.”