A Platform of Power: Launching TransLash Wire to Amplify Trans Voices

In the face of growing anti-trans sentiment and policy, TransLash is launching as a bold new platform to amplify trans voices and stories from across the U.S., especially in often-overlooked regions. Rooted in the belief that sharing authentic trans experiences is a powerful act of resistance, this initiative builds on TransLash’s legacy of narrative-driven journalism. Hear from Imara Jones, our CEO, on how the platform aims to spotlight those most affected by discrimination, offering both visibility and connection in challenging times.

Letter from the Editor

Perilous times necessitate bold action. When the federal government declares that trans people aren’t real, state governments ban LGBTQ+ books, and local governments fire teachers for respecting their trans students, there is nothing bolder than a trans person telling their own story. 

I started TransLash in 2018 because I wanted to tell the world what it was like to be trans during the first Trump Administration. Using the tools I developed throughout my career as a journalist, I assembled a film crew who traveled with me across the country to shoot a docu-series. Telling my story was not only personally liberating — it also helped others understand the stakes of the moment.

From that initial series, TransLash has grown to produce award-winning podcasts, investigations, documentaries, and animated shorts. Our essential goal has always been to deploy narratives that expand the understanding of who trans people are and why we matter.

That’s why we’re launching TransLash Wire, our new digital journalism platform. Because trans people need more — not less — ways to tell the world about the realities of our existence. Sharing who we really are is essential to building a better society. 

As TransLash Wire comes into being, it does so with a straightforward premise. We can only rise above the grinding pain and fear of this world if we leave no one behind. 

Trans people are everywhere, and the health of our community at large is determined by the degree to which we lift all of us up. This means hearing from those across the full spectrum of our community who bear the brunt of discriminatory policies, and who are increasingly marginalized as a result. 

The goal of Christian nationalists and their authoritarian allies is to push trans people into the shadows — especially people living between the East and West Coasts. TransLash Wire is going to shine a light on trans stories from parts of the country that are often overlooked, caricatured, and misunderstood. We will report what’s happening on the ground and learn about the ways trans people in every corner of the country are enduring — and finding joy — in the face of tremendous challenges.

Our inaugural article features five profiles of trans people across the U.S. From the Great Plains to the Midwest and the South, we followed the voices, perspectives, and insights of trans people who are organizing and thriving despite the odds. We spoke with leaders like Miss B Haven and her partner, Wilson, who advocate for drag performers and incarcerated trans people in North Carolina despite growing threats, and Morgan Peterson, who returned to their home state of South Dakota to help LGBTQ+ kids navigate an increasingly hostile world. 

TransLash Wire is both an innovation and a natural extension of the work we have been doing since our inception. I hope that you will celebrate this new chapter with us, and share the news, profiles, and investigations that we will regularly produce on this platform. But more than that, I hope that TransLash Wire informs and inspires you when things seem to be at their darkest.   

Imara Jones

Editor-in-Chief