Monika: You are also very outspoken about the political climate and the attacks on transgender people. Do you ever get tired of being an activist? Have you ever wished you could simply be Jynx the woman and musician, without having to defend your existence?
Jynx: I will always be outspoken about defending marginalized communities and fighting back against systems that want to harm us, especially trans people. But yes, I get tired. I get tired of sometimes being the only one doing it in my area. I get tired of the apathy from people with passing privilege. I get so damn tired of the pick-me members of our community who side with the very people who would sooner see them lynched than sit at a table with them. I get tired of those who can’t be bothered to stand up for themselves. I get tired that our community can’t ever agree on a single message or platform. I’m tired of petty infighting over symptoms while the root of the problem festers. I get tired of politicians from every party throwing us under the bus each election cycle, and we all just sit online and complain. I get tired of community “leaders” breaking bread with literal Nazis and pretending civil discourse matters to people who think memes are news.
I’ve been quoted as saying, “The biggest problem with the trans community is it’s full of trans people.” So yeah, there are plenty of days I want to go stealth and just live my life.
Monika: I think many of us have experienced that tension. We want to be seen simply as women, yet at the same time we know that somebody has to speak when our community is being attacked. How do you personally find that balance?
Jynx: Therapy, lol, and the occasional day where I turn off my phone, put on a ridiculous outfit, and refuse to be a symbol. You have to learn when to put down the megaphone and just exist.
Monika: What are your thoughts about the current situation for transgender people in the United States? Are you frightened by what is happening, angry about it, hopeful that things will change, or perhaps all three at once?
Jynx: All three, honestly. What’s happening to trans people in the United States and Europe is terrifying. The sharp rise of white supremacist fascism shouldn’t have surprised anyone. It’s been building, quietly and deliberately, for over fifty-five years. My military training gave me a way to read the trends, tactics, and history. I own a pile of field manuals that teach how to destabilize local governments and seize tactical control. I know what those playbooks look like.
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| "The catalyst was Barack Obama’s election." |
Jynx: The catalyst was Barack Obama’s election. That was a landmark moment. The vast majority of the country elected a person of color, twice. Honestly, outside of my children being born, it was the happiest day of my life. But it also woke a disease that had been gathering strength since the Nixon administration: the Confederacy.
MAGA is the Confederacy rebranded. It never died; it waited. It rebranded in the late 1920s and early 1930s as the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the Nazis. When the Axis fell, they went quiet again. They built a new enemy called “communism,” manufactured the Red Scare, changed the Pledge of Allegiance, and slapped “In God We Trust” on federal and state buildings. They got Reagan elected and began systematically dismantling the economy for the next forty-seven years. So when people finally had enough and elected Obama, the Confederacy rebranded again, as MAGA.
Monika: When you look at where all of this is heading, what worries you most about what could come next?
Jynx: None of this should surprise us. The writing has been on the wall in plain sight for a very long time. The same tactics used in the 1860s South and 1930s–40s Germany are being used right now, before our eyes. Modern-day slave patrols are rounding up undesirables, and as always, they’re starting with the queer community (especially trans people) then the disabled, people of color, immigrants, socialists, liberals, and so on.
I am hopeful things will get better, because that’s how human progress works. But I’m also a realist. This is going to get so much worse before it does.
Monika: Your album is quite deliberately political, but there is also a strong message of solidarity within it. Do you think the LGBTQIA+ community sometimes forgets how much stronger we are when we stand together rather than allowing ourselves to be divided?
Jynx: Yes. I think we forget, all the time, how much we can accomplish when we have one unified voice and stand together. When we let ourselves be divided, by respectability politics, by gatekeeping, by fear, it sets us all back. I wanted my album to be a unifying force for the entire community, because life is better together.
Monika: You have also lived through marriage, motherhood, military service, transition and now a musical career. Has your understanding of love changed as you have become more comfortable with yourself?
Jynx: Sort of, yes. I now know I can love more than one person at the same time, which I struggled with when I was masc-presenting. More importantly, I learned how I want to be loved. Transition gave me the strength to set boundaries and expectations before a relationship can even form. That weeds out the people I have no business loving. I’ve also learned to love myself and to be okay, even happy, alone.
Monika: For many trans women, loneliness can become an unexpected part of transition. We may finally become ourselves, but suddenly discover that some of the people around us are no longer there. Did loneliness play a role in your journey? And did you eventually find your people?
Jynx: After my wife left, I felt horribly alone even in a room full of people, even during a live broadcast with three thousand viewers. I was isolated and untethered. It took a long time to find my people. It started with my volunteer work with SPARTA and Veterans for Equality, and with my good friends Becca and Phoenix. We had some insane adventures together, and those adventures definitely taught my new friends the meaning behind my name.
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| "I think this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. " |
Jynx: Yes, profoundly. Raising my kids to be responsible, kind, intelligent adults has made me notice how many other children aren’t so lucky. I remember how much I suffered when I was young, how I cried myself to sleep wishing I’d wake up as a girl. Those two things together shape how hard I fight for future generations of trans people, especially trans kids. The world has become increasingly hostile to gender-nonconforming youth, and the death toll keeps rising.
I work every day with my local community to make sure those kids know they are protected, loved, and seen. I want to be a positive presence and proof that it’s okay to be exactly who you are. You shouldn’t have to hide it.
Monika: You have described yourself as simply "a trans woman finding my voice." I love that phrase because it seems to describe both your transition and your music. Do you feel that you have finally found your voice, or are you still discovering it?
Jynx: I think this journey is a marathon, not a sprint. I have a powerful voice now, but there’s still so much more I can do with it. So I’d say it’s still evolving.
Monika: After everything you have experienced, what do you think you understand about yourself today that the younger Jynx could never have understood?
Jynx: I lived. My younger self never expected to make it past twenty five. Now I understand that surviving isn’t the same as living and I finally get to do both.
Monika: And if you could sit down with that younger version of yourself, the kid with the guitar and all those feelings she couldn't quite explain, what would you tell her?
Jynx: I’ve thought about this so many times. I’d probably say:
“Hey, kiddo. I know you’re never going to believe this, but I’m you, and yes, we made it. All those feelings you carry are real. What you dream about every night when you cry yourself to sleep. That’s real, too. I remember how hard life is for you right now and how awful everyone makes you feel at home and at school. I know the abuse feels like it’s crushing you.
I wish I could tell you it gets easier soon, but I’m not a fan of lying to kids. Your road is going to be brutal. You are going to lose so much, and you are going to suffer. You’ll watch people die horribly. You’ll bury innocent children. You’ll bury friends. You’ll bury family members. You’ll fall in love and have your heart torn out. You’ll be abused, beaten, and raped. You’ll be homeless, sleep in your car for a year and shower at truck stops. People will take advantage of you and steal everything you have. You’ll get so low you can’t see a way out. You’ll taste the metal of your pistol barrel. You’ll try to overdose on pain meds.
But you will live.
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| "I don’t think there are limits anymore." |
You’ll hold your own babies in your arms (five times) and feel their tiny hands wrap around your finger. You’ll watch those children grow into their own people. You’ll feel the warm Caribbean sun on your face. You’ll meet the most wonderful person on earth, and you will fall madly in love with each other, and she’ll teach you how to love yourself. She’ll give you three of those beautiful children. You’ll retire from the military. You’ll make incredible friends. You’ll buy your own brand new custom home. You’ll release an album, and thousands of people will know who you are and look to you for hope.
And yes, you will become the woman you always knew you were. You’ll do it unapologetically and on your own terms. Life is going to feel impossible, and the wait will feel endless. But you are going to live, and you are going to make it. Whether we like it or not, we have to earn it first.”
Monika: Finally, what is next for Jynx? You have conquered the military, transition, vocal surgery and an album that doctors once told you was impossible. What dream is still sitting there waiting for you to chase?
Jynx: I’ve always wanted to get into screen acting. I’d love to play an anti-hero in the Marvel Universe, or do a bit in Supernatural encore season (I’m totally Team Dean). I want to test myself on screen and see how far this talent can stretch.
I’ve also thought about trolling every conservative in the United States by running for president as a joke. It’s hilarious how quickly they combust when a spotlight lands on a trans woman.
Honestly? I don’t think there are limits anymore.
END OF PART 3
All photos: courtesy of Jynx Geneviève de Lygh.
© 2026 - Monika Kowalska
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