Trans Masculine Voices, TikTok Creativity, and Empowering Stories Through Music

The clip episode explores the significant impact of TikTok as a platform for transmasc artists, highlighting their visibility and the collaborative nature of musical expression within the community. 

Through personal stories and aspirations, the conversation emphasizes the importance of representation and the collective journey toward acceptance and equality.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Trans Masculine Visibility on TikTok
• 4:45 Queer Music Video Collaboration and Visibility
• 9:41 Empowering Trans Music Video Collaboration

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

And I think TikTok is a really great platform for trans masculine people. The content I see on there is just really really amazing, and y'all got a bigger following than I do. I only have 4,553 followers on my tarot astrology TikTok, but then on my political TikTok, which I just started, I have 61 followers, but the viewership is a little bit more on there, so they're really horrible at shadow banning. I think you know black content creators, some of the trans content creators, trans masculine folks, and so you know to have that platform on TikTok is a really, really big deal and I think TikTok is that platform that really is taking over the world to be honest, big, big bitch.

Speaker 3: 0:40

I love the sound effects Shout out to Solomon in the building. For that that's awesome. And you know, just to add on to that, I feel like TikTok has been kind of a great equalizer, especially for transmasc folks the kind of a massive following.

Speaker 3: 0:54

There's been so many trans influencers, especially transmasc, that have kind of popped up in the last couple of years, like there's Sasha that's on there, there's Ezra that's on there, there's all these other folks that are kind of coming in and coming to that space. What does that mean for you as a trans man to see that visibility come into space? Because I mean, I know you're a little bit younger than me, but I still feel like our representation isn't quite where it could be and I think that this is kind of heading in the right direction.

Speaker 2: 1:23

Yeah, I think so too. I definitely like it has been really really nice to see how much more like accessible it is now for trans people to put themselves out there. Like TikTok really is the great equalizer, because when I started making videos, I was kind of like I don't know if it's going to go anywhere. But like I think TikTok is one of those platforms that like if you just kind of really stay committed to trying to make content, something's going to stick and something's going to gain traction, which will, in turn, gain traction for everything else on your page. So I was just kind of in this mindset of if I just keep throwing stuff at the wall, something's going to work, something's going to stick with somebody and for a good while, like it's funny, because it was the song that kind of propelled me to get more like just traction on the app. Yes, ma'am, is that what we're talking about? I'm actually talking about trans rights, oh, actually yeah, that one did hit too the radar.

Speaker 3: 2:22

Yeah, yeah, that was the first song I ever released Trending through like cis platforms and all of these different platforms. That is amazing In good ways, and in bad ways. Yeah, yeah, true.

Speaker 2: 2:34

Whenever my content, especially like the ones where I'm aggressively like trans rights, trans people, I'm a trans person Sometimes it'll hit that wrong side of TikTok and then, you know, my comments will get kind of flooded with like you're a woman.

Speaker 3: 2:47

We know all about comments, the lives of TikTok, from what I hear.

Speaker 2: 2:51

Yeah, I'm like it's a pain in the ass to deal with, but I mean social media. What can you do? There's always kind of people who are going to be terrible.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Yeah, what made you want to get started in music in the first place?

Speaker 2: 3:06

Oh, I've always had a really big musical background, back from like when I was a child. My dad has always been like a big like music guy. I grew up a lot with him like buying CDs and like showing me like different artists. He was really big on like giving me like a music education, like music has always been something, especially on my dad's side of the family, that's always been really important to us. So like, for example, my aunt is like a church singer in the Dominican Republic. So like I spent a lot of time around like gospel singing but also just a lot of jazz. My dad's a real big smooth jazz fan, so I grew up listening to a lot of Count Basie and stuff like that and I can hear that actually in your sound, because the hip-hop style that you kind of touch has that nuance of jazz to it.

Speaker 2: 3:54

Yeah, it's just, I grew up listening to so much jazz and I don't look it, but I actually have a really big classical background. I have a really big background in like wind instruments, particularly like brass instruments. Trombone is my instrument of choice, yeah, but I can play tuba, I can play baritone. I can play euphonium. I can play trumpet Not the euphonium, oh my God. It's not that much different from baritone, it's just bigger. Yeah, more tubing.

Speaker 1: 4:37

A lot more air. I got the lung capacity yeah, I was a little flute girl and the little triangle and the tambourine. We love, we love a percussion queen the biggest one was a drum set. Because every year my mom would get me a drum set because by the next year I would have ripped it and torn it apart. And then she lied and said santa claus bought me one again because I brought my other one. No, no, shade to lying or whatever, santa.

Speaker 2: 5:02

Claus is real.

Speaker 1: 5:03

But oh, let me take it back. Allegedly, Allegedly, let me take it back.

Speaker 3: 5:06

No, shade, it was Santa.

Speaker 1: 5:07

Yeah, but you know, I always loved making beats. Like in high school I was the beat girl and like they would freestyle oh baby, I can make beats, honey, and it's just like and I think my brother got into, I think my brother had like a trumpet and then my youngest sister, I think, played an instrument or whatever. But yeah, music is so fruitful for the soul and it just tells so much. It tells the stories of our experience and I love that you are using your platform and that you're using your gifts to be able to do that. You know, in 10 years, where would you like to see yourself?

Speaker 2: 5:51

rich, not necessarily rich, but definitely no, we're manifesting rich okay.

Speaker 3: 5:58

Listen I learned that lesson as a young trans man, to kind of put myself in this position, where I didn't feel like finances were important. But rich is definitely something, a goal, because money does create, like this cushion for you.

Speaker 2: 6:10

Yeah, a cushion to be able to comfortably do the things you want to do Exactly. Yeah, that's where I want to be. Millions of dollars. I want to be at the point where well one, I would love to establish myself as one of the faces you think of when you think of, like trans artists. I really want to like push for that visibility, because I know that that was something that was really really important to me.

Speaker 1: 6:35

Oh, is this you Okay? Oh yeah, that is me.

Speaker 2: 6:39

Yeah, and so, like I and I grew up listening to, um, hip hop has always, like, taken a big part of my life as well. Like I grew up listening to it, um, through all of my childhood because of my dad and because of my older brother. So it's a genre that's always been a big part of my life and something that I wanted to when I started making music, like something I really wanted to express. But, at the same time, you know, like I, my forefront with all the music that I make is that I want to be visible for people so that the next generation of trans artists can push the envelope even further than I could have. That's right and you know. But while I'm here, I'm going to try to push it as much as I can by being fun and sexy and silly, because I feel, like you know, a lot of my music has comedic elements to it. Yeah, and like I, don't know.

Speaker 3: 7:34

Yes, ma'am, when you're like, like when you talk about your dick, that was a double wet, right, right, I lost my shit.

Speaker 3: 7:43

The first time I heard that because, like, the truth and the matter is is like there's this toxic idea of how to be masculine or performing in that space or whatever that is. But you're breaking those barriers but kind of just stepping in and being like, yeah, I'm a trans man and still. And the other thing that I also found was amazing was the quality of the music video that you made it and it was also a T for T love story. I don't know if you know that.

Speaker 1: 8:09

Oh, we love T for T.

Speaker 3: 8:10

Your music video. How did that concept even come into fruition and what was the inspiration on that? And again, I love that you used a lot of community in that video.

Speaker 2: 8:20

Yeah, the entirety of the team who helped make that music video come to life. All queer people. Like everybody was queer A lot of trans people present in the room as well.

Speaker 3: 8:32

Like you were getting like whipped and chained. I was like what?

Speaker 1: 8:35

Ooh, I have to go take it out.

Speaker 2: 8:38

I'm like please go check out my music video. We put a lot of. We put a lot of heart and soul into that thing. Um, that music video was actually born from. Uh, if you guys are, are you guys familiar with the app Lex? Yes, so that was born off of me responding to an ad that my director made. That was like hey, I'm looking for queer artists to like maybe collaborate with on a potential music video. I want to build my portfolio and like if you send me your music, you know like I'll reach out to you.

Speaker 2: 9:07

So I was like at this point I was still pretty early in my career Like yes, ma'am had just come out. Like, yes, ma'am had just come out. So I was like I don't know if you know, I don't know if my music's good enough to be able to pitch my music to a director for a music video, but I was kind of like you know what shot in the dark, like you might as well, like what do you have to lose this person just being like no. So I was kind of like let's do it. So I sent over like a really I'd spent like an hour trying to write this email of being like hello, hello, my name is Boy Bowser. I'm a trans artist and I'd love to work with you. Here's some of my work. I'd love to make a music video for this specific song and like my whole message is about, you know, trying to uplift like trans people and like as, like a person of color, trying to write from my own experiences and that type of thing, talk about it.

Speaker 2: 10:00

And the next day they responded and they were like dude, I checked out your music and I fucking love it, let's make a music video. And from there we just kind of started brainstorming. But I have to give all the credit for a lot of the scenes and the writing just to my director Tree. They're amazing to work with and they were just so stellar throughout all of it and like they kind of came up with like the concept and like a lot of the designs and I helped with a lot of the set design but like everything about like the ankles and like these different set designs and everything that was all just their creation. So I really have to give all of them the credit on that. I was I was just the, the dude who made the song and provided the face. You.