My mother came up to me and said, "You know what happens when you are too hard on yourself? Doubt begins to tear you away from the spaces love has provided. You owe it to yourself to revel in the love you have. Isn't it one of the many reasons why you exist? To be better at love?
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TEXAS ISAIAH
@TexasIsaiah
Texas Isaiah | Visual Narrator | 
Los Angeles | Originally from Brooklyn | He/They | #TransMascAgenda
Los Angeles | Originally from Brooklyn | He/They | #TransMascAgendaTEXAS ISAIAH’s Tweets
Please be mindful of how you speak of reproductive justice because it’s for everyone — not just cis women.
I recall a peer telling me that they applied for a thing directed toward Black women AND non-binary folks, and they got denied because folks perceived him as 'masculine'/'male' and didn't believe they were non-binary.
It's fun to imagine more Black Trans people on the cover of magazines. It's even more fun to think of magazines hiring Black trans and gender-expansive visual narrators to do the work. #VogueChallenge
Tashan Lovemore on the left. Dash and Devin N. on the right.
Lena Waithe and Lil Nas X by me + and the crew for Entertainment Weekly’s Pride covers.
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Mind you ~ this person is trans masculine/non-binary. That tells me that most people don't know what non-binary really means. So, before you reach out to the community, it's wise to be very specific about who you want to support with the resources you offer.
I want to specify that genuine friendships involve investment, shared values, reciprocality, accountability, radical communication, and honesty. This world is dangerous, and we should all have proximity to safe and expansive relationships. 🤞🏾
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One thing is clear: no matter what age you are, developing genuine friendships is difficult. 
I imaged Keke Palmer () for the cover of Grazia USA (@graziatweets)
Thankful for the team. Check below for more credits.
It’s a shame folks were mostly lensed by white people.
Things are shifting now but I hope we continue to prioritize how important it is for Black trans people to be imaged by other Black, trans / non-binary, gender expansive folk.
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Photographer: 
Diane Arbus
Look black transgender women in 1959

Diane Arbus
Look black transgender women in 1959
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It'd also be helpful for you to access some educational resources re: trans and non-binary folks. I understand and support resources more directed toward femme folks, but if that is your interest please remember femme is not automatically tethered to cis-centric womanhood
I wish people would extend friendship to trans masculine people like they do with cis men. Sometimes, I feel like I’m on the outskirts with folks unless they want to date me, and that can be fine. But, friendship matters too.
Love can be humbling because it offers a constant reminder that you *still* have work and healing to do.
The queer and trans elders in this world need their flowers too. They’ve gone through so much to arrive at themselves, and without them we wouldn’t be as young and free as we are now. 💐
A lot of you refuse to acknowledge who and what informs your taste re: attraction. So, you choose to be entangled in anti-Blackness, colorism, homophobia, fatphobia, transphobia, etc. — then get upset when people point it out.
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My mother's graceful way of saying, "Don't fuck it up." Ha. I'm thankful she always knows the right thing to say to get my inner children together when they run amuck.
Trans masculine folks do not need to be thin, have muscles, be on mones, have facial hair, be 6’2, or obtain any “features” related to your toxic aesthetic belief concerning how we should be in the world. We are already beautiful.
📸 : Kerry Washington for L’Officiel Italia
I had the honor of photographing and for the cover of / #TIME100. What a force. This was a special one. Thank you both. ✊🏿
Assist by Zac | pablocirca.com
Retouching by Dom of Dom Studios.
Please do not refer to me as POC. I am Black. In the morning, throughout the day, and into the night. BLACK.
- Management
I’m looking forward to fully witnessing trans masculine people being loved and cherished outside of fetishization and society’s toxic infatuation with cis masculinity.
My mother saw me shirtless for the first time since surgery and said, ”I can't believe I created such a beautiful man to carry on my legacy.” 😭
If you are afraid to show me affection or love me then I will meet you with distance because your fear isn’t mine to hold. I wish you luck and ease with that journey.
I am featured in ‘Sources of Self-Regard: Self-Portraits from Black Photographers Reflecting on America’ in (a big dream of mine) alongside some incredible visual narrators. Thanks to my love, , for sitting, breathing, and revealing with me.
I repeat: a conversation about redefining masculinity will never be well-informed if cis men (straight, gay, or queer!) are the only ones allowed to be in the conversation.
My partner reminded me today that when you hit new levels — you’ll have to deal with new devils.
I feel sorry for the person who told me I was beautiful last night and then proceeded to ask me if I am a “boy or a girl.” I wish y’all didn’t allow gender to dissolve your ability to simply bask in someone’s beauty.
My first official story for The New York Times. Words and reflections by the amazing
Thank you to everyone involved.
nytimes.com/2020/08/29/sty
What a beautiful opening day. I’m grateful for my parents who continue to remind me that I come from a beautiful and powerful lineage of workers who cater to dreams and matters of the heart.
My second cover. 🙏🏿✨ I had the honor of photographing Janelle on my birthday, and I got to work with a fantastic team.
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THANK YOU @Cultured_Mag for a whimsical day.
Photos: @TexasIsaiah
Sculptures: #RoganGregory #RandCompanyNYC
Text: @DarnellJamal2
Styling: @amandelkorn
Photo assistant: @TrevellAnderson
We need to normalize experiencing jealousy instead of forcing people to be humble on sight. We live in a world that doesn’t provide us safety, and that’s what most of us would like to experience. We can’t run away from our emotions. We have to deal with them.
RETURNING TO OUR FLOWERS, 2019 ♾️
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photographers: what was the photo where you knew as you were taking it that you got The Shot
??
??I am preparing to continue Flowers at Your Feet for the following year. If you are a Black trans masculine individual in Los Angeles or NYC (for now) // please email flwrsatyourfeet@gmail.com
You can't pull Black trans women into your visions without caring, compensating, and accommodating them properly.
DMX pulled some of us off the edge of the cliff because he was stunningly vulnerable about his experiences and applied those truths to his music. 🌹I hope he can finally find the rest and ease he deserves.
Black trans men / Black trans-masculine people continue to make massive and pioneering contributions to science, arts, entertainment, technology, activism, gender/sexuality studies, sociology, agriculture, and so much more.
It seems like folks always forget to think about trans people and gender expansive folks within your conversations regarding abortion. It’s not only disappointing but NEGLIGENT.
I am feeling very fucking hollow and angry this morning. Three Black trans women have been murdered within the last few days, and it feels like we are screaming into a void and no one is listening. I'm sick to my stomach.
Grand rising. I had to share because this is 🔥. A cover image I captured of and for the cover on TIME on a sweater made by nyrva.us/shop / 😤
i’m fucking sick 💔💔💔 please donate if you can. this is so heartbreaking.
what a beautiful thing it is to be loved by someone who sees you and holds absolutely no limitations on who you choose to be in the world. and, what a dream it is to love them back.
I’m typically very bad at posting stuff, but I enjoyed photographing Kemp Powers (), co-director of “Soul” and screenwriter of “One Night in Miami,” for in November.
If I see a dude imposing on a woman/femme’s space on the street, I ask him for directions to distract him and give her/them enough time to walk away.
I’ve been privately writing about this, but the way y’all fetishize trans masculine people is yuck. Some of y’all are like this behind closed doors.
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If y’all say shit like this I’m blocking you pic.twitter.com/t4o72xpVDKpic.twitter.com/t4o72xpVDK
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whether you are a non-binary person, transmasculine, a trans woman, etc., etc, etc doesn’t mean you can’t cause harm or hurt people. i see too many people believing they are exempt from causing impact. please stop.
It can be a big blessing to distance yourself from people who don’t contain the best emotional terrain. Everyone’s emotional landscape is shaped differently, but it’s helpful to understand your own needs and where someone can or can not meet you.
I can not wait for people to look back on my archives in 50-60 years to witness Black trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive imagination and innovation. The retrospective is going to be something else.
the first question that popped into my mind this morning at 5 am was, “are you ready for the blessings you manifested? because they are coming.” we must make space to receive. i’m learning this every day.
I wear masks because we are STILL in a pandemic but don’t get it twisted. I still got a beautiful face — and I got some cheeks and jaw!
I am thinking of the people who told me I couldn't exhibit at galleries/museums or sustain a career without a degree from a credible institution. This isn't to stunt, but its to say that I never felt like I needed a degree to be an artist, and neither should you.
I felt compelled to love on my partner, , who brings me so much joy. A talented lioness who graciously shares their talent, fierceness, and wisdom with us. I am blessed and lucky to call this amazing person, my Love.
📸 for "Every Image is an Offering."
It's weird when people make you believe they want a friendship when they actually want access to information/data. The latter can be acceptable, but there is no need to conflate both motives.
I will be featuring 12 new works at MoMA PS1 on Thursday, November 18th. I will be present from 4PM-7:30PM EST. Come by! ✨
“New World In My View”, 2021. Taken in Minneapolis, MN. Archival pigment print, 45x55.8 in.
Sitter: Bearboi (Bear)
I want to remind folks that critique and asking questions doesn't always equate to being a hater. I hope we can be adults and engage in challenging and necessary conversations.
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thanks for this because it takes a lot of work to arrive and sustain the acknowledgment that you are a bad bitch/nigga for no other reason than who you are. (character/personhood)
My first billboard (and, campaign!) on La Cienega Blvd and Melrose with for One Future #CKOne featuring Jawn Davis, a young talented individual from Compton. 🖤 More soon!
[Video taken by Jawn + co]
Please remember to tag the writers who write about you and the photographers who image you. Y’all gotta remember how important it is to credit people.
I went to my first ball yesterday, and I enjoyed myself. Tanay (sp?) did a lot for me!
Okay, artists shouldn't sell their work for $100, but maybe let's take some time to name why this happens in the first place instead?
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Yearning for so much love in your own lives when in actuality you hate who you are and not only project, but scrutinize others for how they look. Yet, you don’t get chosen by the light skin + Eurocentric adjacent people you desire. What a slippery slope.
I miss viewing art at galleries and museums, but I don't miss the social settings of art openings. At all.
bell hooks not only introduced me to black feminist thought but has allowed me to reshape what trans masculinity can mean for myself and the world i desire to build with others. i’m eternally grateful for her and her work. 🕊
writing myself into my own world.
writing myself into my own world.
writing myself into my own world.
writing myself in.
writing myself in.
writing myself in.
Black women and girls deserve so much more. Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau was 19 years old. She should be alive, safe, protected. 💔
I love saying no to gigs that are not for me and passing them along to other photographers who may be a great fit. Pay it forward, always.
I photographed for her new book and it’s a New York Times bestseller. I’m grateful.
Congrats and thank you to the entire team. 🙏🏾
Pat Manuel is the first visibly known Black Trans male professional boxer and CHAMPION! 🌹 *Black Trans folks photographed by Black Trans folks*
PSA: there are black trans, non binary, photographers that you can hire to photograph black trans non-binary people 👋🏿👋🏿
Tonight’s question: To go to Dick appointment or be THE dick appointment?
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One thing is clear: no matter what age you are, developing genuine friendships is difficult. 😭
i’m very grateful for black non-binary and trans folks. i appreciate the ways we hold space for the WORLD, how we exhibit love for each other, and how we continuously hold the visions of our ancestors close to our hearts. damn, we are powerful.
It may be a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes you need to sit your ass down and listen to how you had someone all the way fucked up.
I wish we would allow Black kids to experience their childhoods without creating content around their early accomplishments. Let them be young and brilliant.
W Magazine 2022 V5 “New Originals” story featuring Steve Lacy (including an outtake).
I am in Palm Springs for Pat Manuel who is the first (or at least known) Black Trans male athlete to fight professionally in the US. His historic debut is tonight. It's a deep ancestral honor to photograph him. Love you, man!
“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”
― Gwendolyn Brooks.
Please donate if you can. Spread this around. Thank you. 🙏🏿
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The Whitney Museum "acquired" works unsigned and without artist permission - on top of that didn't seek approval from an acquisition committee? What? Really? Bet.
It isn’t Thursday, but I wanted to remind y’all on this beautiful Sunday afternoon that Black trans masculine folks are beautiful embodiments of possibilities.
Imaged below: Texas Isaiah Horatio-Valenzuela, Wazi Maret, and Tashan Lovemore.
white neighbor knocked on my door to ask me to turn the volume down on Nina Simone's 'Sinnerman,' and it's only 12:14PM, and we live Downtown? My volume has been the same for months now. The way I gently closed the door in his face.
I love this image taken at Papi Juice by Elle Pérez. It reminds me of when spirit hits you in the middle of the dance floor.
I somewhat understand if folks decide to no longer wear a mask if they are fully vaxxed, but please don’t think it’s okay to run up in someone’s face / personal space without consent. I feel you should ask about people’s comfort regarding hugs, closer proximity, etc.
Every Image is an Offering
Thank you to , , & the sitters.
vsco.co/vsco/journal/e
Words by Jess Arndt
kingtexas.net/every-image-is
Pictured below:
Taj, Davia and Star, Tre’vell, and Vanessa 💙🦋
