“Boy To Girl” Gender Transition Through 15 Honest Comic Strips

Julia Kaye is a cartoonist from Los Angeles and is the creator of ‘Up and Out’. A series of illustrations that shed light on Julia’s journey of gender transition from a boy to a girl. They capture her emotions, her struggle and self-doubt. With the support of her family and friends, Julia started documenting these special moments of her life on paper and she told Bored Panda,

“It got me to set aside time at the end of my day to reflect on how I was feeling. And because I was making the comics for myself, I allowed myself to be more honest than I might have been otherwise.”

Julia shares her amazing illustrations on her Instagram and Tumblr account so that she can help and encourage all those going through a transition and tell them, that they are not alone. We have picked out 15 such illustrations for you. Take a look.

1. The first step is the toughest!

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨 This strip has NOTHING to do with how I currently look. I'd only been on hormones for four months at the time and still looked VERY MUCH MALE. Hormones take upwards of a year to really change your body, please take that into account. May 22nd, 2016: Being around other women my age was a painful reminder of how far removed I was from where I desperately needed to be. Also, the idea of wearing a woman's swimsuit made me incredibly uncomfortable early on while still looking like a man.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 2, 2016 at 11:19am PDT

 

2. You will eventually get there!

View this post on Instagram

PLEASE READ: this is part of a serious autobio series I started months back to document my gender transition. I'd only been on hormones for 4 months at this point. It was very early days. May 23rd, 2016 the point at which I started feeling noticeably weaker.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 3, 2016 at 12:03pm PDT

 

3. Yes, no pants are the best pants!

View this post on Instagram

PLEASE READ 🚨This is part of a serious autobio series I started months back to document my gender transition. I'd only been on hormones for 4 months at this point. It was very early days. ✨May 30th & 31st, 2016✨ These two seemed to go together, so here they are. No pants is the best pants.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 7, 2016 at 9:05am PST

 

4. Cos no one loves you more than family!

View this post on Instagram

PLEASE READ 🚨This is part of a serious autobio series I started months back to document my gender transition. I'd only been on hormones for 4 months at this point. It was very early days. ✨May 29th, 2016✨ A good day. I'm extremely fortunate to have supportive parents. (I don't like the nickname Jules though, don't call me that). Honestly, if I hadn't been living at home at the time, I wouldn't have been able to afford getting as far as I have. Between therapy, doctor appointments, bloodwork, etc etc I'm many thousands in the hole from transitioning. It's incredibly expensive.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 6, 2016 at 9:58am PST

 

5. You go, girl, nothing should stop you from overcoming this hurdle…

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨This is part of a serious autobio series I started months back to document my gender transition. I'd only been on hormones for 5 months at this point. ✨June 11th, 2016✨First time for everything. Getting over my fears of being thought of as a man in the lady's room was a very big hurdle. I'm over it.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 14, 2016 at 9:58am PST

 

6. You are beautiful, Julia and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨 July 21st, 2016. Self-love. A good day. I've come so far.❤ If you enjoy this series, maybe consider supporting my transition on Patreon? Link is in bio. 🙂

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Jan 19, 2017 at 10:04am PST

 

7. Friends love and accept you for who you are.

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨This event happened months ago. ✨July 12th, 2016✨I was already out to those close to me, but now I was going to tell everyone else. Acquaintances, extended family, readers. I'd written my coming out message for Facebook some 8 months prior, now I was finally ready to send it. It seemed like it took ages for anyone to reply or hit the like button. But people eventually did. I never expected such an overwhelmingly positive response. I lost some readers, but it didn't matter. I was out. (If you scroll back to July 12th, you can see my coming out comic.) If you enjoy this series and would like to help support my transition, please check out the Patreon link in my bio. Thanks!

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Dec 28, 2016 at 10:33am PST

 

8. You are definitely not the sum of your parts…

View this post on Instagram

Here's an oldie I skipped from a year ago when I was still early on in transition- Jun 7th, 2016. Happy Pride y'all. 🏳️‍🌈

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Jun 9, 2017 at 10:47am PDT

 

9. Be strong and brave, Julia!

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨July 30th, 2016. A new element had entered my life since coming out online: transphobic messages. Most often they slide right off me, but if I’m having a low day they can hit pretty hard, like this one did. I mostly get less than I’d have thought I would, but I’m kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop with every comic I post. If you enjoy this series, maybe consider supporting my transition on Patreon? Link is in bio. 🙂

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Feb 20, 2017 at 9:44am PST

 

10. Trust is the first step of getting by anything in life.

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ. THIS HAPPENED AGES AGO🚨August 1st, 2016. Insecurities about my outward gender expression. It's taken me a long time but I've gotten better about it. If you enjoy this series, maybe consider supporting my transition on Patreon? Link is in bio. 🙂

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Feb 27, 2017 at 9:28am PST

11. Acceptance is the biggest gift we can give anyone.

View this post on Instagram

Part 3 of the sister series. A night out.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Mar 19, 2017 at 9:10am PDT

 

12. Perfect eyeliner= Great things!

View this post on Instagram

SWIPE!! Sometimes I make quick journal comics during lunch and post them to twitter. Go follow me there (it's @upandoutcomic) for more comics??

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Mar 24, 2017 at 1:09pm PDT

 

13.  Whatever makes you happy, do it!

View this post on Instagram

🚨PLEASE READ🚨This is part of a serious autobio series I started months back to document my gender transition. I'd only been on hormones for 5 months at this point. ✨June 6th, 2016✨ At 5 months into hrt, I'd only recently started wearing more overtly feminine clothing. I still had a lot of shame to move past. My parents were supportive to the best of their ability, but it didn't stop their obvious discomfort at first. But as these things go, everything normalized in time.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Nov 11, 2016 at 10:08am PST

 

14. *wipes tears*

View this post on Instagram

May 20th, 2016. I'd been out to my family for months, but my transition was sorta this unspoken, almost uncomfortable thing to talk about. I decided it was time to let more people in, starting wth my lil sister.

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Oct 31, 2016 at 11:26am PDT

 

15. You be you, Julia!

View this post on Instagram

August 22nd, 2016. I was just so Done with Everything. If you enjoy my work and would like to help support my transition, maybe check out my Patreon? The link is in my bio. 🙂

A post shared by Julia Kaye (@upandoutcomic) on Jun 5, 2017 at 10:25am PDT

What Julia has done, very few people have the courage to do so. Accepting oneself is never easy and especially for the Queer. They need love and support not only from family and friends but even from the society. Let’s give them our acceptance and give them the greatest gift of their life. Because change starts from you and me.

Source: Julia’s Instagram

h/t: Bored Panda