
Alexandria Webb
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
How do you identify: Indigenous trans Black femme
“Having your body policed happens to all of us; we all go through the same things. The policing of women’s bodies is unilateral. It’s an experience that every woman has. And I think that cis woman should have a little bit more empathy.”

Kori Hennessey
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
How do you identify: Transmasculine nonbinary
“It’s a journey. Just give yourself patience. Give yourself grace. And, you know, really just talk it out with people and find your community.”

Tori Grace Nichols
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
How do you identify: Genderqueer and nonbinary
“I certainly have always been genderqueer, but never had the language for it. I didn’t really start identifying that way until I was like 27, and I just turned 34 yesterday.”

Audria
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs and She/Her/Hers
How do you identify: Transfeminine
“Gender is a weird and wonderful ethereal thing. I find trans people to be divine. We deserve love, we deserve care, we deserve resources. And I find a lot of freedom in my gender.”

AJ Williams
Pronouns: He/Him/His and They/Them/Theirs
How do you identify: Masculine-of-center, genderqueer, trans man
“I have learned to see the sacredness in holding both masculine and feminine energy. The way I want to navigate the world is being the full expression of that and who I am.”

Sterling Bentley
Pronouns: He/Him/His
How do you identify: Queer transgender man
“A lot of cis gender folks think that [transness or gender nonconformity] is new. Even folks who are questioning their own gender identities think it’s new, when in fact, we go back millennia—and in a lot of cultures prior to colonization, gender nonconformity was actually celebrated.”

Hawthorne
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
How do you identify: Trans nonbinary
“There’s this core humanness that I think trans people especially are connected to because we’ve had to grapple with gender in a way that cis folks might not have. I think there’s just a really deep capacity for love, and trans folks deserve to be seen in that.”
.jpg?resize=1600%2C1067)
Dolores Chandler
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
How do you identify: Mixed race, Black, transmasculine and gender nonconforming person
“Identifying as trans or [with] a trans experience is by no means a monolith. And I think that when we force people into choosing certain categories, ultimately, it limits who a person can be in the world.”
Follow Staff Photographer Jade Wilson on Instagram or send an email to [email protected].
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.


You must be logged in to post a comment.