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2 TIGE voices deserve to be heard. Reclaim your power,. Take Back the Narrative

Learn More About Take Back the Narrative

Question: What does visibility mean to you?

Question: What advice would you give your younger 2TIGE self or to 2TIGE youth today?

What has brought you gender euphoria?

Image shows a solid purple background with a floral banner which reads: I feel powerful. I remember before I transitioned I'd always see these women in media who just absolutely kicked ass and I'd feel so inexplicably jealous for reasons I couldn't understand. I was such a scared boy for most of my life. I had no confidence in myself, I didn't want to be seen, I never stood up for myself, and I got manipulated and hurt a lot. But now I feel confident, I feel powerful, almost radiant. I look in the mirror and I see one those badass women I used to look up to. I take charge when people don't know what to do, I stare down nosy people on the subway, and I scare away creeps who try to catcall me or my friends. Some might balk at the idea of a trans woman being confident, scary and assertive (and those perceived traits are definitely being used to demonize us even now), but for me all of those things have always been associated with femininity and specifically the women I've always looked up to. I am powerful, I am frightening and I am so goddamn alive I can hardly believe it.

My Gender Euphoria-Gillian Knightingale

My Transition Euphoria-JS

Graphic shows a solid pink background with the following story left by an anonymous storyteller for TEP. Story reads: The part of my gender journey that has brought me the most joy was the feeling of being at home in my own body a few months into starting my hormone therapy. I had never felt foreign in my body per se but there was certainly a disconnect in it. I had come to terms my body as-is in my 20s and in retrospect, that was me wanting to cope with feelings of body dysphoria; I don’t think I was as accepting of my body as I had led myself to believe. A few months into GAHT, I started to notice the physical changes begin. But it wasn’t the external changes that made a big impact on me (of course they did make an impact on me), it was the sensation I felt within. I felt different IN my body. I moved differently throughout the world. There was a lightness to my step, a sway in my hip, not exaggerated but authentic. I began to feel the full breadth of my womanhood, one that was not necessarily reliant on what physical traits I had. This happened in tandem with quarantine and me beginning to wear less and less makeup. Where I once felt “manly” without makeup, I began to feel beautiful in my natural state. I’m so thankful for starting hormone therapy. I began presenting at 21 but did not start therapy until 34 and, though I would have definitely seen a bigger difference if I started younger, I feel like a good example that it’s never too late to start.

TBN-GenderEuphoria-Response-01

Read and share community stories:

I Escaped Female Genital Mutilation

[Trigger warning: The story below addresses the very real violent experiences that our Trans siblings across Africa have been faced with. This story is emotionally intense and at times, graphic. We urge you to put any discomfort you have into action so that no one is...

Black Poetry Day 2023 – Mo Viviane

Happy Black Poetry Day! This day means so much to me. As a teenager growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I was given the opportunity to attend the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts back in 2011. I was accepted into the Creative Writing program, where most of...

Black Poetry Day 2023 – Jacquii Cooke

In 1827, the English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian Samuel Taylor Coleridge defined poetry as “the best words in the best order.” He further wrote, “When we write, we string words together like beads, ever mindful of color and shape, the powerful...

Black Poetry Day 2023 – Jack Knoxville

Jack Knoxville is the founder and Executive Director of Trans Empowerment Project. In addition to his activism, Jack is also a prolific writer and poet. In celebration of Black Poetry Day, here is a sampling of some of Jack’s work. I’m too Angry I’m too angry...

Take Back the Narrative: The Work of K Pontuti

A narrative on identity and art by artist, filmmaker, and professor K Pontuti I grew up in a small farm town in Ohio at a time where there wasn’t any language around queerness or transness—at least nothing positive. It was also a time without the internet so...

Take Back the Narrative: El & Elliott – A Love Story

In the burgeoning digital age, it is not uncommon for couples to meet online, and this is exactly how El and Elliott first connected. Elliott submitted a personals ad looking for friendship and dates, and El excitedly answered the call. During their first in-person...

Take Back the Narrative: Alicia Arballo Expresses Trans* Grief Through Poetry

As an older trans woman, out of my myriad of experiences over the years, some of which includes working with veterans, I have found there is much healing through accessing and processing grief. I believe that much of what is going on with our current climate of...

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