Celene’s Story

Gender: intersex, transgender, Maui otokonoko 

Pronouns: he/she

Home:  Chinatown, Seattle, Washington 

Cultural identity: hafu Japanese American

Sup, my name is Celene Davis. I am a hafu Japanese American civil rights activist and the reason the portraits are being done here (in Chinatown) is because this is the only place we were allowed to rent.  By we, I mean Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Hawaiian and anyone that looked Asian. Black people have always been here too and have always been a part of Chinatown International District.  They defended our rights to our homes post Japanese Interment and that deserves respect. 

We made this block, this neighborhood ours. Lots of crazy violent dangerous shit has happened to me in my life. That’s the life of an openly transgender intersexed person right now. But I have also done absolutely incredible shit for my community, and that is what I am most proud of.  I am proud of Chinatown International District and I am proud of being a Maui otokonoko. 

Activism is a team sport and I thrive behind the scenes and yelling at city council in ASL. That’s right. I don’t have a voice box because of a crooked landlord spraying pesticides. So, I learned ASL for two years from free classes in bars and I fought my own civil rights cases with free lawyers all the way up to the attorney general’s office. I fought for the right of people who can’t speak to use text and be given an ASL interpreter for working with social workers.  

Through all of this, Seattle Deaf and Queer community has had my back. “Visually Speaking,” a Gay, Deaf owned school has given me free ASL classes in the leather bar. Seattle Queer Exchange exchanged seeds when I had stage 4 cancer that took my voice box.  My language interpreter agency That! Deaf Blind Interpreters has educated me on my civil rights and fought along side me. 

The trans community, the gay community, the Asian community – we have raised rent for each other. We boarded up all of Chinatown International District for free and put Black Lives Matter Murals up.

I want you to know that being transgender and intersexed is a gift. My gods are trans and intersexed. I am Shinto Buddhist and to see who I am as holy, as powerful, and as a gift has reframed my transness. I know that we are facing a fight, but I know that you reading this have a fire inside you. You may not be a front liner. You may be a behind the scener like me who makes a thousand emails, writes grants, and flounces around being social as fuck.  But whatever it is, who you are, is a gift. You can create beauty from the ugly. Trust me on this. It’s a Buddhist thing.

See Celene’s webpage at Witch 4 Hire

PHOTOGRAPHER’S NOTE: Celene met me at the historic Chinatown Gate as the last few rays of sun hit the gate over the top of Seattle’s buildings.  I asked her for an address to the gate a couple times so I could find her, and Celene didn’t have one – it was just the heart of the neighborhood … everyone knew where it was.   I had been to Seattle at least 4-5 times on leisure trips, and never once had I been to Chinatown.   Maybe it says something about other places I tend to gravitate towards, or this might speak to Chinatown of Seattle being a gem entirely overlooked as a tourist destination; one of America’s most endangered neighborhoods is not high on the TripAdvisor lists or “Instagram” worthy shots, making it go more unnoticed.  

The joy and love for community that radiated from Celene as he gave me a walking tour made this neighborhood an unforgettable visit though.   As I started shooting, Celene requested that I highlight his voicelessness with a few skyward shots, while capturing the intricacies of the Gate in the background.  Like a lot of other adversity he’s faced in his life, it’s clear that he approaches his loss of a voicebox as a superpower rather than a loss, using it to connect with different corners of his community and fight for himself along with everyone else here.   Thank you Celene, for trusting me to share your story and giving me a tour of your special home!  

August 2024