Alex’s story (or Zephyr)

Gender:  trans man

Sexuality: panromantic demisexual and polyamorous 

Pronouns:  he/him, sometimes also fae/faer

Current home: Morgantown, West Virginia

From:  Eastern Panhandle, West Virginia

Interests: Law; reading, especially fantasy; Dungeons and Dragons. I am very passionate about LGBT+ rights, gender equality, and the overlap with other intersectionalities.

My gender expression is still growing and changing as I become more comfortable in my body, (currently 22 months on T, but nothing else medical transition wise).  Right now what makes me happiest is a fantasy/fae vibe. The first time I put on the tailcoat in the pictures and sent my partners a picture, one of them responded that I looked like I stepped right out of The Hobbit. And nothing made me happier. This doesn’t surprise me at all. Lord of the Rings is one of my favorite series, and Aragon has been a transition goal since before my egg cracked in 2020. 

Back then, my environment wasn’t the most supportive. Even though some of my siblings and my friends accepted me, my parents and most of my hometown did not, with most of the people in my hometown ignoring my name tag and pronoun pins at work, and the pharmacy never getting T in stock the first time I tried to start HRT.  So, I was afraid to explore too much, because I just wanted to be seen and accepted as the man I am. After moving to Morgantown however, I finally found room to explore. With the freedom of almost no one from my hometown around who might recognize me, I entered college again as a completely new me. New major, new campus, and I was living as Alex full time. Even before I started T, my identity was respected and once I started HRT made me comfortable enough to grow my hair out again and start experimenting with my expression more. I’m now able to go stealth, and do so in most situations, although mostly just because I’m worried about dealing with transphobia and/or misogyny due to being AFAB. Those I trust know I’m trans, it’s just not something I advertise. 

I got my first tailcoat and the dragon wings in April of 2022 and never looked back since. The instant joy of putting on my suit is unmeasurable, and I would wear it every day if I could. (Unfortunately it is too hot, and dress codes exist at work.) This was also around when I started trying out fae/faer pronouns. I’m still not sure if they fit all the time, but I do like them sometimes, especially when I’m all dressed up. 

I appreciate the joy I can feel, the joy I learned to feel from coming out and being accepted as myself by siblings and friends, and the joy I added to that once I felt free to experiment. I want everyone to be able to feel that joy. To be able to experiment and be their full, authentic self without fear of judgment or retaliation, and to be treated with equality and respect regardless of gender identity. I am currently in undergrad studies, but I’m hoping to go to law school in the future to help fight for those rights for everyone. I hope to be able to share a bit of my joy through the photos. This is my first professional shoot especially because I hated having my picture taken for a long time before my egg cracked. I would do anything necessary to hide from cameras, especially my face. So, knowing now that I have the confidence to not only accept having my picture taken, but actively seek it out is a big change for the better. 

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTE: Pulling up Alex’s photos to edit today honestly brought me a lot of joy during a time when I really needed it. At a time when we are only 10 days out from “47’s” inauguration and a flurry of political activity that is attempting to erase and strip away trans rights, my own anxiety and mental health has been challenged over the past week. When I followed up with Alex yesterday, he expressed similar sentiments in the impact on his mental health, but determined to put his head down (or hold his head up?) and keep plowing forward in survival mode to meet his shorter term goals in the next few years. We’re all still here, in all our variations of queerness, and am grateful I can bring visibility to people like Alex, not being afraid to express their unique flavor of gender identity and expression.

October 2024