Today, many artists proudly call themselves transgender. If you google “transgender artist” you get over 38 million results. But before we go on and interview some of them, I want to consider the following: In what way do transgender artists differ from cisgender artists.
Trans artist Sophie Labelle focuses her comics primarily on the queer and trans community and less on educating society. I have been following her on social media for years and was allowed to interview her during her European tour.
‘As a 38 year old -dare to say- cis passable trans woman, who is attracted to cis males, and who has been through many phases of identity (pre and post hormones, pre-op, post-op, stealth, you name it), dating has not been a major issue for me. Finding a reliable man who is also looking for a long-term relationship, that has been the problem.
‘Many people who come into ballroom for the first time are shocked: “Oh my god, there are so many rules and it’s so binary?! And why aren’t the trans women walking the Women’s category?”’
I was diagnosed with a form of autism (PDD-NOS) not long before I started my transition at the Amsterdam UMC. In the peer support group for trans men I started visiting, as well as in online groups I joined, I met many people with the same ‘double diagnoses’.
‘When you think of your gender, your culture, and your religion, where do you draw the line between ’knowing’ your identity and constructing it?
I often struggle with the thought that my Jewishness and gender non-conformity cannot exist all at once.’
