21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Joni - a southern, trans woman, and woodworker - showing her wooden sword sheath

Joni is a trans woman in her 40s who grew up in the southern United States and has some conservative political views. She is combining traditional Southern viewpoints with a yearning to get gender-confirming surgery. In North Carolina, a trans person can not be prescribed hormones or have gender-confirming surgery without a year of therapy. Joni was adopted by a Southern Baptist family and spent her life feeling unexcepted by her parents. Joni is a carpenter and woodworker. She made a sword sheath out of wood.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 02.2022
Date Uploaded: 10.2023
Photo Location: Winston Salem, North Carolina, United States of America
Copyright: © Shannon Wolfe