representation Tag

This is a difficult question for many trans people. I’m visiting Kai (37), Roos (20), Max (23) and Mika (31) to listen to their stories.

By integrating art therapy into the tattooing process and emphasizing on offering the most comfortable experience possible, artist Loek tries to offer a safe space for everyone with his own tattoo shop.

Most of my friends are called by their names, while with me something strange occurs: either people call me the way they understand my name, or they call me the way they want.

To learn more about what zines are exactly and what they can mean for people who identify as trans, I had a chat with seasoned zinester James Rae Parnell. Turned out in a conversation about 'community' and 'unlikely allies'.

For a long time, he had been looking forward to the day he would be of age and would no longer need permission from his parents for all sorts of affairs. He barely endured his family situation and was determined to choose his own path as soon as he could. 'They have told me on occasion that ‘transgenders’ deserve the

Like many trans people, I existed mostly in my head, only aware of my body when I was working out in the gym. So being more of a thinker than a feeler, it made sense I lacked the urge to make my body do something with other bodies.

'They call me ‘Mama Barb’. It’s always a full house here. We have lgbtiq+ identifying friends of my kids over daily. They sometimes also come by when my kids aren’t home, to come talk to me.'

‘I used to be a passionate sex worker, and now I am the proud owner of a dog grooming salon in Amsterdam.’ Nayra tells about her history: from working in the streets of Madrid in the eighties to her recent career switch.

'It’s necessary to talk to each other about our needs. I don’t have an all-seeing trans-eye. I don’t have the same experience as a trans woman and I can’t pretend I have.'

Despite all the work I had been putting  into healing my relationship with my body, the years of body dysmorphia and internalised fatphobia hid that what I truly hated deep down was that it was perceived as a woman’s body.

Mavi Veloso's work is shown in the underground scene as well as in museums. Ana Paula Lima talks to Mavi about the background of her comprehensive project Travesti Biológica.

What’s in a name? A lot, especially to trans people. The letting go of the old, ‘dead’ name is to them an important step in self-development. A long process of thinking preceded the choosing of my own, new name.