Joss Jaycoff on Hacking The Cistem

The fight for trans rights has never been more important - especially in some TERF-laden corners of the internet. This is why we need people like Joss Jaycoff more than ever. Joss is a Visual artist and LGBTQ+ Rights Activist from Spain. You might even recognise them from an ARCA music video.

Joss has appeared on Spanish national television fighting the fight for Non-Binary Identities and to talk about the violence that trans folk are subjected to on a daily basis but was only met with slurs and people that just wanted to discredit the queer experience. But Joss is committed to the cause and isn’t giving up anytime soon! They've also campaigned and worked with the Spanish government to change legislation on self-identification in Spain. Polyester editor Eden sat down with Joss to talk activism, the queerness of Cronenberg films and ‘hacking the cistem’.

Polyester collaborator and, winner of our Queer Creative Fund 2021, Megane Mercury also shot Joss in this futuristic, punky editorial, decked out in latex and metal-inspired makeup ready to batter all the transphobes.

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How are you! What’s new for you this month

September wakes up dreams that were asleep, left behind before summer - said dreams include artistic projects of vindication and basically regaining passion to keep rocking society. September is always a mix of excitement and feeling overwhelmed for what's to be done and achieved.

What’s new is the perspective, not losing myself or my health in the process, taking life one day at a time and finding time to recharge. When you're passionate about an artistic or communicative project it can take all your energy and thought, so I’m just making sure I give myself some time to be chill and calm this month.

I saw your tweet about Crimes of the Future. A lot of David Cronenberg’s work revolves around the changing of the body and transcending the binary human form. Do you think horror films are innately queer?

What a movie...! I resonated with it because I believe in the transformation of our bodies, beyond the concept of binary transness, and just for the expansion of our consciousness and emotional depth. These kinds of movies always connect with gender variant people because they celebrate transmutation through a poetic lens. Let's not forget, gender is a performance, can't think of a better portrait of filmmaking than "performing art". So I'd say yes, queerness and transness can be coded in futuristic horror narratives. I like to speak about the psychology of monsters around transness in my work, the way we are perceived by society, as these aliens, as the otherness. Bless the monsters and all beautiful creatures captured on film who are shaped and exist beyond the binary.

You’ve been working closely with the Spanish Government to create new legislation that recognizes Non-Binary people. That’s amazing! How is that going?

Let's say that the pushback is real. We seem to be moving forward with new legislation that recognizes binary trans people, but us non-binary trans people we're still in the shadows. We've made it so the Ministry of Equality has had conversations with us, so the vocabulary and inclusive terms are appearing in those governmental institutions. It's a step, but we're still a joke in the eyes of the population. More and more non-binary people are becoming public in the country, and of course that's good, it's a reflection of the urgency for change, and we both know the influence and impact visible folks have on the media. Representation matters.

Does the fight for Trans rights in Spain feel different to the UK?

At first I'd say YES. But I cannot speak for the current chaos the UK is experiencing, I know things have changed and my fellow gender non-conforming sisters there are having a hard time with the current attacks on trans+ folks. I was in London 2015-2018 and it definitely felt way more inclusive at the time. Biggest difference for me was that people knew the terms, the conversation was vibrant, so people were very familiar with the concepts non-binary, genderfluid or agender.

In Spain I still find myself explaining it, because it's perceived as "a new thing". We've recently started having conversations in the media, I've appeared on national tv a few times to explain what non-binary identities are and have received huge backlash and tons of death threats because Spain is incredibly traditional and old-minded. Of course there's an ongoing gender revolution amongst youth, a lot of people feeling more comfortable coming out as trans+, but that doesn't necessarily translate to safety and understanding when navigating society.

Trans rights are a hot topic for the mainstream media at the moment, and not always for the right reasons. I feel like the mainstream UK press is extremely transphobic and LGBTQ+ discourse is constantly being sensationalised and manipulated for views. Do you think we’ll ever move on from this media frenzy?

Yes we will, I strongly believe in it. We're facing a pretty hostile energy -globally- and that's because if love pushes hard, hate pushes harder. We're in the midst of an actual revolution. Rejecting hegemonic body impositions, reclaiming knowledge that once was erased from indigenous lands and cultures that cultivated a vast understanding of self and expression. We'll move on from this media hell because we're putting knowledge out there. We're working collectively to educate the current and upcoming generations. We're providing society with the tools that other institutions haven't bothered to provide. Knowledge truly is power. And with power comes systemic change.

“I'm just realising we as trans+ folks deserve more joy, more community-care, as in collective self-care.”

What does the future hold for you and your activism?

More educational content, but also more art. I have been experiencing burnout from doing activism in Spain, so I'm coming to London for a couple days to record a podcast with someone I love and admire. I think I can speak for every activist in this fight when I say it's exhausting to keep hitting a wall, when all we're trying to do is protect people who are invisible to the cistem. So the future will come with less hitting walls and more art, which is the reason I'm still standing honestly.

There are so many ways to communicate a message, and I've been able to move more people through theatre, acting and film. I'm just realising I don't have to get that bruised in the process, I'm just realising we as trans+ folks deserve more joy, more community-care, as in collective self-care. More joy means more strength to keep on going, we're all tired and depressed...! It's about time we change the way we generate change. More love, let tenderness lead the way and change sh*t.

To end on a positive - who or what inspires you to keep on fighting the fight? Could be anyone or anything past or present.

I always find this question f*cking fantastic, and I love that you asked. I get inspired by those around me living the same realities, I get strength from trans+ folks with different intersections of identity, and I definitely have some names that have paved the way in my head to start this journey of self-deconstruction, names like Genesis Breyer P. Orridge, Imma Asher, Munroe Bergdorf, Alok or Lewis G. Burton. I'm lucky enough to get to know some of them and call them my friends.

Any closing notes?

I just hope the world gets to understand that liberation for trans+ people means liberation for all. Liberation from the chains of a gender binary that has been oppressing us all with outdated gender roles and power hierarchies. It's time we demolish that, and we're on it, trust me.

Words: Eden Young

Photography: @meganemercury | Stylism: @proborjativo | Makeup: @hijxdelfuego | Hair: @lookingoodasfuck | Postproduction/edit: @gore.papi @hugoakagore