“People say followers are just a number, but for me, that number is a representation of people who are ready to uplift someone like me.”
A couple years back, Alex Jenny was a drag artist and therapist living two separate lives. She would be taking clients and Keynote speaking by day, then tearing the stage down at Berlin Nightclub by night. However, Jenny hit a wall of frustration when she realized there was essentially no world in which she could be her authentic self, to clients or in general, without navigating some sort of crossover. With the help of her supervisors and colleagues, Jenny took action by embracing their role in the “scene” and reclaiming it as an asset. To serve the LGBTQIA+ community, she has to be a part of it.
Now, by openly, proudly, and publicly being herself, Alex Jenny coins herself The Drag Therapist, influencing hundreds of thousands of people every day with educational content, affirmations and mental health guidance, and her own unapologetic art and story.
I wouldn’t say they blew up over night, but the viral nature of the internet did indeed do its thing with Alex Jenny. Perhaps her proudest moment so far was having THEM publish her piece: Trans Girls with Bulges Belong at the Beach. In this essay, Jenny offers sacred insight, alongside her 4 trans femme friends, on the frustration, danger, and anxiety trans people deal with at the beach. Jenny wrote, “I dream of a day when bottom surgery is no longer viewed — both within and outside the trans community — as the final step of one’s transition.”
“Showing my trans girl bulge on the internet was truly a full circle moment for me”
Alex hilariously describes their content as “the art of oversharing.” From sharing her journey with facial surgery, to slideshows about queer and trans stages of development, to pictures of her serving iconic looks, Jenny’s “oversharing” is a tangible lifeline to many, where every post is so drenched with thoughtfulness, it feels odd to call them posts at all.
~Reminders and Tips from Alex Jenny~
When it comes to drag, Alex has always dreamt of the stage. “My drag, I like to say, is my most mentally ill self… My most delusional, wrapped up in my own fantasy, self. {When I’m on stage} I want to move with confidence and I want to sell the fantasy in a way that allows everyone that same sense of self and empowerment.” Jenny moves and everyone feels a little safer, a little closer to being okay, and hopefully, a little more powerful.
“What are your hopes and dreams for your community?” I asked.
“Short answer? We need our simple needs met and we need to stop dying at disproportionate rates. We can talk about pronouns all day long, but if I can’t get access to healthcare, what do I care if someone uses my right pronouns? {On an even grander sense} I hope queer and trans people can see that they aren’t going to be deprived…being trans- it’s not a handicap, it’s not something to account for, it’s a gift.”
Follow Alex Jenny and all of their power on Instagram.