It is through mythical creatures that Equality Ohio represents humanity.
In a series of photo shoots led by the nonprofit's strategic relations adviser, Sérah Jophiel Munroe, trans and nonbinary individuals are being styled and photographed as nonhuman creatures to celebrate their beauty and resilience.
As the project's creative director, Munroe described the metaphors used in the artistic design. Merpeople, she explained, dive into the ocean's depths for safety.
She continued to depict scenes of woodland nymphs and satyrs. Rooted in nature, nymphs stand up for one another through exhaustion, while their counterparts are iconic as a representation of masculine joy.
This magic is the core of Equality Ohio's statewide Trans Tapestry Portrait Project.
The project launched by photographing trans women leaders in Columbus as nymphs in an installment titled "Timeless as Trees," held at Columbus College of Art & Design.
The project then moved to Cleveland to capture nonbinary people as merpeople with "Pearls of Wisdom."
Munroe herself modeled in the Columbus photo shoot, along with five other trans women.
"We ally together. We lift up those who lift us up. We find these needs amongst one another and say, 'What do you need?'" Munroe said.
The third phase of the statewide art project will launch in Cincinnati in September, when trans men will be photographed as satyrs.
Munroe said a goal of the project was to create trans representation using artistry and creativity in the conversation about the trans experience, making it accessible to those who might not understand it.
"You have to make it really pretty and really approachable, and very graspable and timeless. It's the same lesson of love that we're learning over and over again," she said.
"It's crazy that sometimes you have to make people merfolk to point out their humanity."
Equality Ohio's executive director, Dwayne Steward, said he has never seen trans representation in such a large-scale way across the state, noting that he sees those who stepped out to publicly model for the project as heroes.
Mythical heroes of humanity
The nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ people and communities is on track to triple the number of people it serves in 2025 when compared to previous years, according to Steward.
Steward said the increase in demand for the group's legal services, along with increasing suicide rates among transgender individuals, led to the project.
An intergenerational project, models were selected of varying ages to represent trans lives of all ages and show at-risk youth what it looks like to grow old.
"The core memories made with youth to see someone elevated like that, glittering like that, lifted up like that, sparkling like that, in the spotlight smiling like that — that is feeling a sense of representation that doesn't exist anywhere else," Munroe said.
According to a 2024 report from The Trevor Project, 50% of surveyed trans and nonbinary young people in Ohio had seriously considered suicide within the last year.
"How do we uplift the trans voices in a positive way and create joy around the trans experience to shift the narrative around trans communities and all of the many misconceptions that exist out there?" Steward said.
Munroe jumped in to answer the question. It's through making representation accessible, creative and joy-filled, she said.
"How do we uplift trans folks in their voices and create trans joy?" Munroe responded. "Helping trans youth not commit suicide by having people they look up to — by knowing that these people exist."
This article was made possible by support from the Center for HumanKindness at The Columbus Foundation, which has partnered with The Columbus Dispatch to profile those making our community a better place. Help us inspire kindness by suggesting people, initiatives or organizations for Reporter Sophia Veneziano to profile. She can be reached at [email protected]. Learn more at Dispatch.com/Kindness. The Dispatch retains full editorial independence for all content.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Trans lives featured in Equality Ohio’s Portrait Project
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