One of the best pieces of advice I received while still deep within the confines of the Trans Guy Closet was from a piece of art I found online: “I will no longer let my trauma from cis men stop me from embracing my masculinity.” The piece was created by Mars Wright—artist, clothing designer, and champion of trans joy. He was the first transmasculine person I found online who mirrored my own struggle with masculinity, whose euphoria came from his transness, specifically, rather than being seen as cis.
I couldn’t wait to sit down with him to hear more of his story and how he came to design the clothes he does now.
“My art looks the exact same way as it did when I was drawing at 5,” he says, laughing. “I mean, I went to art school, but I just kept it the same. All of it’s about beauty and imperfection, right? The whole point of my art, I think, is to showcase that it can be beautiful, even though it’s definitely not perfect. It’s purposely not perfect.”
Wright’s big turning point was around the time he first moved out to LA. With only $10 in his bank account and no idea how he would pay for food, Mars found himself at the post office, where he snatched a bunch of to-and-from stickers and got to work. “For 10 days straight, I drew 10 of them a day, and I did 100, and I filmed the entire process. And then I was like, ‘I’m gonna sell them in 10 days; everybody get excited.’”
And people were excited. So excited, in fact, that Wright’s work sold out within 30 minutes.
“I was like, ‘This is a real thing that I could do with my life.’ I got on Shopify, and I started really thinking about marketing. I’m lucky enough to have also gotten a job at a marketing agency at the same time, so I’m kind of taking everything that I learned from my 9-to-5 and just bringing it into my brand.”
Several of Wright’s pieces are dedicated to trans joy, with a focus on trans resistance through euphoria rather than dysphoria. “I think the narrative has shifted towards this: I can tell that I’m trans because of the joy and the euphoria I feel when people see me for who I am. I don’t want people to think I’m anything but a trans man. I have trans joy from being a trans man, and I think that trans joy resistance is a really important part of me.
“I’m not forgetting the pain, the way society’s treated me and the laundry list of things we all know, but the only remedy that I’ve personally found in my life is to just experience joy, because at the end of the day, all that is, is (society) trying to tell me that I don’t deserve to take up space or exist. And trans joy is taking up space. Trans joy is existing exactly as who you are.”
A portion of Wright’s proceeds goes directly to the Black, trans community through the Unique Woman’s Coalition, as stated on his website, marswright.com. “Oh my God, my favorite!” he says. “The Unique Woman’s Coalition is one of the longest Black-led, trans organizations in Los Angeles, and it’s part of this larger network of trans community in LA that has been like home to me. Every time I go to an event hosted by them, I’m in tears—I’m laughing; I’m feeling that level of community. Chela and Queen Victoria are, like, I mean, fully just everything to me. They’re huge, huge inspirations, and I love everything they do.”
During our conversation, I confessed to Mars that, while closeted, I used to sneak photos of shirts or even bumper stickers that were trans-friendly. It made me feel hopeful, less alone.
“That’s specifically why I chose to put that message on clothes,” he says. “I want people to know that they don’t have to be trans or queer to wear my art. My art’s for everybody. But really, I wanted to be able to get these meanings and messages out to be seen by as many people as possible. I want people to have conversations because of my clothes. That’s always been the goal, to have conversations and talk about things. And for people to feel less alone.”
Since it is winter here in Colorado, I recently bought a hoodie from Mars’ clothing line, one that says “Trans Joy is Resistance” on the back. I hope that, like me, someone reads the message and feels less alone. I hope that, one day—when they’re out of the closet and thriving—they’re able to wear Wright’s hoodie, too.
Photo courtesy of Mars Wright
