Real stories. Real People. Real Experiences.
Behind every statistic, headline, and stereotype is a person with a story worth telling.
Real Stories is a space for authentic human experiences – stories of gender identity, transition, masculinity, addiction, recovery, mental health, homelessness, and everything in between.
Some are about self-discovery. Others explore survival, resilience, rebuilding, or learning to live with circumstances that don’t come with easy answers. Not every story has a happy ending, and not every journey follows a straight path. That’s what makes these experiences worth sharing.
These are the stories behind the labels, told through the voices of the people who live them.
A Note About Our Stories
To protect contributors’ privacy, some names, locations, and identifying details may be changed. Stories are presented in a narrative format while preserving the experiences and perspectives shared by their contributors. Any fictionalized or composite narratives are identified as such.
-

Ninety Days, Two Names
-

The Encampment Barber: An unhoused Trans Man’s Powerful Gift
-

Sober Trans Man: The Brave Truth About Dysphoria and Drinking
-

Kathmandu Passport: A Trans Man in Nepal’s “Other” Category
-

Twelve and Sure: A Trans Boy’s First Short Haircut
-

Starting T at Sixty-Two: a Black Trans Man Begins His Journey in His Golden Years
-

Blue Collar Brotherhood: Hank’s Story as a Stealth Trans Man
-

Mom Still Uses My Old Name: A Trans Son’s Story of Love and Acceptance
-

Still Catholic: A Trans Man’s Journey of Faith, Identity, and Belonging
-

Schizophrenia Is Not the Punchline.








