jimbo-transed-my-gender

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

American Boys

In the American Boys project, photographer Soraya Zaman traveled to 21 states to photograph and interview trans men.

From top:

Jimi (@sir.santiago), age 27, Richmond, Virginia. Jimi says: “Being African American and being Dominican as well, knowing that struggle coming into my own struggle within me, instead of being scared, I decided to stand up and fight for what rights I have as a human being. My parents and grandma always taught me to treat people equally and I stand up for the LGBTQ community of all colors.”

Aodhàn (@aodhancrawford), Boises, Idaho. Soraya writes: “Aodhàn identifies as a trans-man and also as “Two Spirit” within the Native American culture and comes from the Cherokee.  He taught me that before colonization there was no labels for gender non-conforming indigenous people . The term “Two Spirit” is an umbrella term for all the different words (120+ documented words), each tribe came up with when colonists asked, “What are they?”. Aodhàn believed that within Cherokee tribe, “Two Spirit” means “It’s not about me” and his role is to help the people. Often a two spirit person would take a vital role within the community because they were allowed to blend both the masculine and feminine roles in life, ceremony and art, that are usually seperate.  He put it so beautifully…. ‘Women are the moon and men are the sun, so the moon is feminine and the sun is masculine. The two spirit people are the sunrise and the sunset that brings these two together”. I love that.’“

Kaleb Murray (@heykaleb), Los Angeles, California. Soraya writes: “Kaleb came to my Apt in Brooklyn and we ran around the streets together chatting and taking pics. I didn’t realize at the time, but this candid, loose style of photography set in motion my process for American Boys.”

Sam Jungwoo (@samjwc), Seattle, Washington. Soraya writes: “Sam has smiles for days.  When we were taking his photographs I kept asking him so give me a serious look… 3 seconds later he just burst out smiling again!  So we rolled with it the whole day ‘cause why stop smiling! 😁😁😁”

Jei (@thetransviking). Soraya writes: “He’s truly a Viking! Just look at that firey red hair and beard. We shot on the mountains of Colorado Springs, where he was so at home amongst nature. Jei has come up against a lot of hardships, especially in his teen years.  As a victim of violence, Jei spoke to me about hatred towards the trans community.  This notion that trans people are in someway deceiving or tricking others and their perceptions. How often this can result in discrimination and violence.  The time is now to collectively change this narrative of trans-ness.  To let people know who express hatred that being trans and trans bodies, might not totally align with their expectations and that this is not threatening, it is not scary and it doesn’t invade their privacy, or their sense of self.“

The project has its own account on Instagram, with loads of great photos.

The project resulted in a book with photos and interviews. For the leaunch of the book, The Guardian published a great article.

You can see more of Soraya Zaman’s work here.

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

Among many other wonders of being trans, is the wonder of being More You.

One of the worries for trans people, friends, and family can be "will this be the same person?" I remember worrying about how I might change, who I was becoming, especially after it seemed like I had finally settled who I was.

And the wonderful thing is trans doesn't change you drastically. It might sometimes look that way, but it just makes you more of who you are. Seeing myself and others feeling that development gives me a sense of peace.

Being trans doesn't change you, it just unmutes you, takes the baffles off who you are, turns up the volume. Anyway I think that's great.

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

Upped my dose from .25ml to .4ml last week and hoooooo boy the changes are really starting to come in. My voice is very noticeably different, the fat on my body sits differently, my sex drive is through the goddamn roof, and I have the energy to workout just about every day.

I honestly have not been this happy since I was a little kid. I used to be super fun/rambunctious/crazy as a kiddo, but once I hit puberty I fell into a horribly deep depression that has affected me since. Once I started transitioning, though, I’m starting to get back some of that energy - it feels like I’m fixing something that went wrong. I’ve never been happier with myself and my life as I am right now.

I’m working out a lot and I’m seeing crazy jumps in muscle mass already. My biceps are coming in very nicely, as is my six pack! I’ve been kicking anorexia to the curb and actually eating more than 1200 calories a day so that I can see even further changes. Transitioning has already changed my life so much for the better and I’m only 3 months in. I can’t wait to see what my life will be like at 1 year - or even 5!

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

Found a book called Reinventing Masculinity by Edward Adams and Ed Fraunheim. Great book so far that deconstructs toxic modern masculinity, explains why it doesn’t work anymore, and offers healthy alternatives. I’d highly recommend it to trans men seeking positive role models and hope for their masculine futures.

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

3 months on T and counting!

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

he makes a good point

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

It’s hard to be excited about transitioning when it feels like I’ll just get more annoying and toxic. I have no blueprint for what kind of man I should be and I’m surrounded by negativity about men. I feel worthless. Need to find some books to read about this.

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

I wanna up my dose so bad! I’m starting to see a few changes, but I’m so excited for the big ones. Here’s what I’ve experienced so far (I just did my 5th shot at .25ml):

Definitely hungrier

Less cold

Libido increase - I’m horny for the same amount of time, but it’s WAY more intense

Increased confidence

Higher energy

I feel stronger

I just wanna LIFT HEAVY SHIT FOR NO REASON

I get angry rather than sad most of the time

Starting to see some minor fat redistribution

Smellier

Slight increase in acne (though I can’t tell if it’s just because I’m wearing a mask all the time now)

Overall, I just feel more like a man. It’s been so much easier for me to see my body as a man’s body lately, which cuts down on the dysphoria a ton. I’m really thrilled to begin seeing a dip in my voice, thicker hair, and some bottom growth. Gonna be a full on boy!

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

being in your 20s is like (unlocks repressed memory of being transgender at age 6) (unlocks repressed memory of being transgender at age 8) (unlocks repressed memory of being transgender at age 4) (unlocks repressed memory of being transgender at age 10)

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

Video #1! This was recorded just after taking my 3rd shot.

[jimbo-transed-my-gender]

I cannot reccommend this service enough to people stuck in shitty towns or places where trans-affirming is hard to access.

They are understanding, don’t gatekeep care, and you don’t need insurance or a primary care provider. It’s all done remotely, so it’s COVID-safe, and it’s very quick and inexpensive.