This story aired in the June 23, 2025 episode of Crosscurrents.
Jojo, Honey, and Donna all grew up in the Bay Area. Each came into their Transness in different ways during different generations. And all three see themselves as connected to a local Trans legacy.
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Story Transcript:
REPORTER: The second floor of the Strut Wellness Center in the Castro is packed with people. Large block prints by young LGBTQ artists cover the walls.
JOJO TY: I know for other Trans folks, you know, being connected to our body has not always been easy. Yeah, finally feeling connected like… finally seeing my body how I want to see it. And maybe that’s also my ancestors rejoicing.
Jojo Ty is here, displaying their work as part of the Queer Ancestors Project where artists honor queer communities in history.
JOJO: For me, like when I'm tapping into like my trans magic, I think about the trans folks in the Philippines, like before colonization, the Babaylans, you know, they were like shamans, like spiritual leaders.
Jojo is 25 and made a series of work about Indigenous Filipino shamans and people in the San Francisco Trans community.
One print features a body tattooed with Filipino designs, another is a bright portrait of a Bay Area Filipina Trans leader.
JOJO: Of course, when the Spanish came, they were viewed as like an enemy because as I said. I feel like people fear Trans folks or fear people who are tapped into themselves. It's like crazy that that magic that we hold and that power that we hold and so many people try to like diminish that, extinguish it.
Jojo has always been drawn to art and community. Transitioning and coming out was hard for him but finding a San Francisco youth program where he met other Trans folks helped him feel more himself.
JOJO: I was in such awe in how unapologetic they were, they were loving their truth, and I feel like their presence and energy was so powerful and so beautiful. I was like, wow, like, I wanna get to that.
Each generation of Trans community builds on the experiences and resources of the previous. Jojo grew up in a time where there were Trans organizations….and X could be a gender marker on a driver’s license. But their generation is innovative partly because of the people like, Honey Mahogany, who paved the way.
Honey is one generation older and also grew up in San Francisco. She didn’t have as many Trans spaces to connect with. But bars and drag shows were the spot where Honey could redefine herself.
HONEY MAHOGANY: I was outed to my parents through photos of me in drag. I was getting like these calls from, you know, my mom, who I have a very close relationship with, but she seemed really distant and seemed very weird. And I just remember getting this like really sinking pit in my stomach.
Honey’s mom was upset and her Dad took it even harder. They sent Honey to live with her grandmother in Ethiopia for a year. Honey came back for grad school and entered the drag scene.
HONEY: There was this drag queen performing. She was singing live and doing this screaming rock and roll vocals. I was hypnotized by her and I was like, Oh my gosh I want to do that.
So she did. And that’s how she named herself.
HONEY: When I first started really doing drag, the two shades of foundations I was using, because you know, as people of color, oftentimes we have different skin tones and colors, and we have to do combinations.
Especially back then, you know, this was like the early aughts. I feel like it really describes how I try to move through the world, which is, you know, kindness and empathy and a little bit of sweetness, but then also, you know, some real strength and pride.
Honey describes her drag style as retro glam with a 1960s vibe.
HONEY: Honey was probably where I felt most myself. I'd always known and I'd always expressed who I was. It was a way for me to play with gender and my presentation and how I felt moving through the world through that presentation that allowed me to really understand who I was and that I am actually having a trans experience.
Now….Honey is leading the ONLY Office of Trans Initiative in the country. And as part of that work, she is making sure that Trans stories and resistance are known.
Like the story of Donna Personna. Donna, is a trans-cestor to both Honey, and JoJo — and experienced a very different Trans San Francisco in her youth.
DONNA PERSONNA: I'll say I am 78 years old. I absolutely love myself. And you know, I always did.
Donna grew up in a large family in San Jose during the 1960s. Her family is Latino and her father was a Baptist minister. As a teen, Donna started taking the Greyhound bus to San Francisco on the weekends.
DONNA: I came to Turk and Taylor and I saw this all night diner. I saw these beautiful women who I thought were a little overdressed and looked too sexy. It turned out they were Transgender sex workers. So I started going there every weekend. That's the only place I knew or wanted to be, and they took me in like a little at that time, like a little brother.
I would sit at the table and I would hear their stories. That was Compton's.
The Compton’s Cafeteria riots happened here in the Tenderloin in 1966. Donna wasn't there that night, but she knew from spending a lot of time at Compton's just how Trans women were treated.
DONNA: They used to get beat up by people, by the police. The police would get sexual favors from them, take their money, and then arrest them. And the first thing they would do is shave their heads and, and put 'em in jail. I, I already knew, like, I'm not that tough and I wasn't that brave. After I left. They, they rioted against police brutality, but you know, they were just wanting to live.
Her experiences at Compton's, and during the 1980s AIDS epidemic showed her the risks and stigma of being openly Trans.
DONNA: I was 59 years old when I came out. Inside I was always a girl. I donned a dress and I never got out of it. (LAUGHS)
It’s because of these experiences that Donna loves sharing her story with younger Trans generations.
DONNA: Right now, one of my activism, things that I want to do… is encourage all LGBTQ and everybody, to know about history.
Annually, they have Trans March Intergenerational Brunch. What I say on the mic is please sit with somebody that's older. Pretend she's your grandmother. Tell her your problems. And so we become a family.
For Jojo, Honey, and Donna, finding community and chosen family is what got them through. It’s part of passing on knowledge and resources to the next generation. Jojo is already thinking about the younger generation.
JOJO: I was thinking to myself, seeing myself as a future ancestor. You know, like, how do I want to be seen? What messages do I want to leave?
One message is clear: Trans leadership and resilient community should always be at the center.
