Being a young trans man in the deep South, I decided to make my own symbol of hope: the jackalope transmasculine flag. This flag is for transsexual and transgender men. For those who are on the spectrum of transmasculinity. For binary and non-binary men. For those who consider themselves somewhere between a woman and a trans man. For those who are dysphoric and those who are not. For those who wish to medically transition as well as for those who don’t. For those who are in the closet and for those who are out. This is for you, too. The jackalope is a symbol of our masculinity. The antlers of a male buck emerge from the previously “normal” rabbit. The jackalope is sturdy, regardless of those who do not believe in it. It knows itself, and that’s all that is needed. The symbol behind the jackalope is the transmasculine symbol. But alongside that, it is the sun rising behind us. The sun, while also associated with masculinity in many cultures, is a symbol of hope. The two shades of blue in the jackalope and the sun represent the spectrum of masculinity, and how there is no one way to be a man. The brown field is the dirt on our hands and in our fingernails, symbolizing our fight tooth-and-nail to be men.
Published February 2nd, 2025.
