Extinction

This show started very differently. I have the greatest respect for animals and the sanctity of their lives. I was going to paint extinct animals with something missing. No amount of documentation fills the holes in our knowledge and experience of the living once they are gone. So I started painting. I got 6 pieces done but something had been tugging at me. The feeling that was crawling around in the recesses decided it was bigger than what I was working on. 

Executive order after executive order poured out into the US filled with such hate directed at a very marginalized sliver of the population. I couldn’t fail to address it. I was witnessing an attempt at extinction. Trans people are such a small portion of the population that many people don’t know a trans person or think they don’t. They are barely represented anywhere. And yet they are being demonized for basic aspects of anyone’s existence. They were told in these orders that they don’t exist, can’t exist, shouldn’t exist. Due to society’s challenges trans people have statistically much higher suicide rates and the heavy, public demonizing of them would surely increase the number of good people lost. That was the point. Extinction.

I have a trans daughter. I know a fair amount of trans people due to my pursuit of information to help my daughter become who she knows she is. They are kind, sharing people who don’t want to stir up the world but instead live in it peacefully and authentically. 

My name is Samantha
Being trans has been a pretty difficult thing. I remember when I was smaller, people wouldn’t make fun of me for wearing a costume, I’d go to the YMCA in costumes a lot and have fun on the playground. We’d play with all the other kids and we’d always have fun adventures. When I wore those costumes it was pretty fun and great. Now when I wasn’t in costume, I was being myself and that was normal to everybody for a long time. Then after I got to middle school and showed who I wanted to be, people had issues with that. If I was wearing a costume I wouldn’t have been ridiculed as bad. It would have been more fun to be wearing a costume but I have to be myself and show who I am. A lot of people didn’t like that or just found it funny. Which do you think they’d find funnier, a trans woman or a person in a Halloween costume? They must have thought what I was doing was putting on a costume, when I was just being myself. I like everybody but don’t trust as many people as I did before. Be weary of people. Ignore the idiots. Don’t be too closed off though because you could miss a chance to meet sweet people who care.

My name is Scott
“Celebrating Trans Joy is the focus of my life”, declares Scott. I thrive on laughter, deep conversations, participating in Heart Circles (ask me about it), spending time with my husband, Kurt, and playing with our 3 greyhounds. Being passionate about self-expression and living authentically seems to have always guided me from a young age. I am a writer, a therapist, and a LGBTQ+ advocate. Transgender is only one aspect of who I am. My hairstyle and tattoos might make me stand out from other 65-year-olds, but I am proud that I choose to live out loud. I hope to inspire others to reach for their authentic life too.

My name is Mason
A 6 year old little girl stood on their dad’s feet dancing around the living room. A moment of love and bonding as she tells him that they’re going to grow up to marry a Prince Charming of their own one day.

Turns out that little girl grew up to be the Prince Charming in their own story.

This life is no fairy tale. There’s nothing easy about it. It can be a roller coaster ride but you get to choose to throw your hands in the air and choose where it takes you.

At the end of the day beautiful things aren’t meant to stay hidden. Be yourself, and never let anyone tear you down.

I’m proud to be the trans man I am! In a world of basic humans I’m here to stand up and stand out!

My name is Andrea
July 2015 - July 2025
10 Years since I first Came Out  
9 Years since my Best Friend told me he knew I was trans, then 8 years previous; Now 17 Years Ago
7 Years having the diagnoses of 47XXY/Intersex
7 Years of reaching out to supportive parent figures – My own weren’t supportive
5 Years of needing to come out to every job I’ve started – 11 Jobs 
5 Years since I entirely left the church
4 Years as Jaimee Andrea, legally
3.5 Years of needing to wear a bra
3 Years of locking my car door immediately upon entering
3 Years of making sure I’m not followed
3 Years of laying low in the Women’s bathroom
2 Years of being correctly gendered over the phone
2 Years of looking in the mirror and liking most of my parts
2 Years of Electrolysis and Laser Hair Removal
.5 Years of having a face that aligns better with my soul 

But…

10 Years since I started introducing myself as Jaimee - being out on Facebook
11 Years since I first tried to take my own life – 8 Times Since
11 Years since I thought it would just be crossdressing
12 Years since I was a trans kid
13 Years of having strangers giving me strange looks
14 Years of having long hair
14 Years of coming off as androgynous 
14 Years of wanting to change my name, but what name?
16 Years of feeling extremely uncomfortable changing in school locker rooms
17 and 14 Years since having my first two “gay” experiences, running away just as quick
18 Years since I began my male puberty, knowing my development was off, and it wasn’t correct  
19 Years of having mainly female friends
 …Any male friends, including my college roommate have cameout as trans
19 Years of looking in the mirror and knowing something was off, but what?
20 Years since I began getting teased/bullied for not being masculine enough 
30 Years of Life

My name is Emma

My name is Shep
Being trans for me has felt like making your clothes fit. You spend your whole life with shirts that hang past your waist, belts that are a little too loose, shoes that slip around when you walk. Everyone tells you that their clothes fit them, so yours must too, right? It's normal to be a little uncomfortable with your clothing. One day you find out your friends are getting their clothes tailored because theirs don't fit them either, and you feel like a new world has been opened. That was an option the whole time? I didn't have to wear clothes that didn't fit me? The tailor is expensive though, so your friends recommend trying safety pins and such to try to make your outfit closer to fitting right. It feels amazing when your clothes do fit just a little better. Some people stare at the pins in your shirt and judge you for thinking your outfit isn't right, but it feels too perfect for you to quit for other people. You get better at hiding the safety pins and people compliment your outfit more. It's amazing. You've never felt so comfortable in something you've worn your whole life. It feels more like you than the loose and unflattering fabric you wore before. You just hope that one day you can afford the tailor to lessen the effort you have to put into feeling the way everyone else does. You never know something was truly wrong for you until you learn what was right for you. 

My name is Jennifer

My name is Atticus
Ever since I was a child, I knew there was something fundamentally different about me. I can still remember the days in preschool, desperately trying to pick out outfits that would “make me look like a boy.” I hated wearing skirts, dresses, or anything that felt overly feminine. I wanted to be Spider-Man(Tobey Maguire’s version, to be exact). Growing up, I always felt more masculine, even though I didn’t have the words for it. I had no idea what “transgender” meant until middle school, when social media introduced me to the possibility of an authentic me. But, in a world that didn’t understand, I continued to suppress my feelings, fearful of what would happen if I embraced my true identity. Throughout most of high school, I wore the mask society expected of me, trying to conform to the feminine ideals around me. However, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2019, everything changed. With the world suddenly in lockdown, I was forced into solitude, away from the noise of expectations and judgments. I found the space to reflect, to finally hear my own voice beneath the weight of all the outside pressures. And in that silence, I had a realization. I wasn’t meant to be a female, and I could no longer hide from that truth. I was soon diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and it was a pivotal moment in my life. For the first time, I felt seen and understood. By the time I returned to school for my senior year, I was armed with a new name and identity, but I waited until I was 18 before starting hormone therapy. Before my transition, I was battling severe depression and anxiety, feeling like I was suffocating under the weight of pretending to be someone I wasn’t. But as I began to change, not just physically but emotionally, all of those symptoms began to dissipate. It was as if I had been hiding in a shadow my whole life, and for the first time, I was stepping into the sunlight. The world didn’t suddenly become perfect, and I still have surgeries to undergo, but I’ve already legally changed my name and gender. That alone felt like a monumental victory. 

Up until now, I’ve been relatively open about my transition, but this write-up marks the first time I’m speaking publicly about it. I’ve hidden for long enough, out of fear, out of self-doubt. But now, I refuse to stay silent. I am proud of who I am, and I no longer want to shrink myself to make others feel comfortable. My gender identity doesn’t define me in its entirety, but it is a core part of who I am. And what’s in anyone else’s pants? That’s nobody’s business. The controversy that surrounds trans people has always seemed trivial to me. Why is it so difficult for others to simply let people live their lives authentically? The only things that have changed about me are my appearance, my confidence, and my overall happiness. If that threatens someone else’s sense of reality, that’s not my problem. Since transitioning, I’ve graduated from Black Hawk College with an Associate’s in Fine Arts, started my own business hosting intuitive painting classes, and traveled across the country to immerse myself in nature and music festivals (including a solo trip!). I met my beautiful girlfriend, someone who sees me, loves me, and supports me in ways I never thought possible. But most importantly, I’ve dedicated myself to being a beacon of hope for other LGBTQ+ individuals, especially youth. I want them to know that they don’t have to hide, that they don’t have to pretend, and that they are worthy of love just as they are. I am beyond grateful for the unwavering support of my family, friends, and the community that has surrounded me on this journey. But I know not everyone is as lucky as I’ve been. The world is a difficult place for LGBTQ+ individuals right now, and we must stay united, stay strong. So, I ask everyone to be kind, to spread love, and to give back where you can. We will rise above the hate and the obstacles that stand in our way, together.

My name is Rachael
The world has always had its crazy moments. The kind where everything is bad and it’s hard to see any hope at all. I’ve lived through plenty of those moments on the journey of my life. Back then I saw it with eyes that were not my own. With those eyes it was hard to see any hope even during the good times and even worse in the bad times. That’s what happens when you carry the burden of trying to be someone you are not. Eventually my knees buckled under that weight. I knew I couldn’t continue carrying this weight, one that so few others had to carry. So, I chose to set it down. That’s when I began my transition to be the person I’ve always been. The journey of life got easier, lighter now that I no longer carry the unnecessary burden. And while it was good for a while, the world has gone crazy again. But this time I’m seeing things with new eyes. My eyes. Now the world has gotten crazy again, but as bad as things are I can now see hope. And I know that hope will always light my way forward.

My name is Jiya
I began living openly as a transgender woman in 2024 but was aware I was different from around the age of six (1974). So many years were spent trying to figure out why I was never comfortable being someone that so many people told me I was supposed to be. Even as I began to understand more about who I was, the idea of living an authentic life was hard to comprehend as I had never really experienced that fully.

There were plenty of wonderful and positive experiences with friends and family, including an amazing wife and the births of our children, but always there was a sense of something missing from myself.

There is a joy in accepting myself as transgender that lights me up from the inside out. Beginning hormone therapy was truly therapeutic because it allowed both my body and my brain to let go of those aspects of myself that were not authentic. After so many years of trying to fit into a role that has never been mine, it has been euphoric to release all the artifice and pretense of being someone I never really was and allow myself to be who I am! There have been many moments of happiness in my past, but I am living an even more fulfilled life now.

Deny Me And Be Doomed
This phrase is a concept from the bible. It is supposed to represent the doom coming if you deny the father. To me it is a reminder to never deny yourself. Who you are meant to be. The voice inside that KNOWS and knows deeply who you are and where you should be going. Deny Me And Be Doomed. Deny yourself and live an unfulfilled life. If there is a master builder they want you to be happy. They want you to have a sense of self that feels right. They WANT you to be the best you possible. In nature there are innumerable examples of life that changes gender to fit the schema and bring it to coupling or continued life or community. We are only whole when we are undeniably ourselves. Denying yourself and what you feel is denying the beauty of nature and the joy of transformation and completion. There is no creator who would want you to live unfulfilled. Why would there be so much transformation in nature if it was wrong? Trust yourself, be your true self, love yourself, and in doing so love the power the universe has given you to know who you are.