“Documenting my transition in my art was never calculated. I did it because it was therapeutic.”

United States . Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Erin spent most of his life in Oregon before moving to Portland, where he has spent the past nine years. His interest in drawing developed early in life. As a child, he felt attracted to line work and colours; he felt compelled to imitate what he saw, recalling The Simpsons as one of his earliest influences.

Here, Erin Nations shares the details of his transition from female to male with the IPF, talking in depth about how he has been using his comics and illustration skills to document his journey.

“Eventually, as I got older, I began to hone my own style and create my own [work].”

Erin’s interest in comic books first manifested in college.

“I never had much of an interest in them because I assumed they were all about super heroes. However, that changed when a friend introduced me to comics by Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Ashley Wood etc. I loved them! It inspired me to want to do the same.”

“Documenting my transition in my art was never calculated. I did it because it was therapeutic.”

Growing up Erin was a happy child and never totally conscious about gender dysphoria. He did have distinct memories of wishing to have the same body as a boy, and even tried to pee standing.

“I never told anyone because I was afraid that kind of behaviour, or those thoughts, would be deemed as deviant. It was something I kept repressed. I was proud to be a tomboy and I thought that’s how all tomboys felt.”

However, Erin only opened up to a friend about it at the age of 31. Initially, he was not ready to come out and begin his transition; he needed the time to process it. One year after first coming out, he decided to medically transition and tell his friends and family.

“For me, knowing I spent 32 years feeling uncomfortable in my body and feeling strange when people perceived me as a woman was confirmation that I needed to transition. It was necessary in order to feel like myself, to be happy, confident and to live authentically.”

The fact that Erin has been using comics and illustrations to talk about his experience as a trans person has drawn a lot of support from both outside and inside the LGBTIQ+ community. He receives a large number of messages from young trans people who are thankful and happy to read a comic that they can personally relate to.

“A few have even asked me for advice on transitioning. They want to know how to start HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) and where to go.”

To find out more about Erin Nations and his work, check out his website and follow him on Instagram and Tumblr. You can also pre-order his upcoming comic book, Gumballs (Issue #1), which will be published in December by Top Shelf Productions and feature comics about his transition alongside other illustrations.

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