ORLANDO | “Unapologetically Trans,” a new web series filmed in Central Florida and featuring four local transgender community leaders, was announced via social media on May 11.
Jordyn Victoria Laos, Holly Gramm, Ashley Figueroa and Nikole Parker will host the series “about life through trans eyes while in the pursuit of happiness.” The show will feature candid conversations with community members and allies about various topics.
“Transgender people are often talked about, but rarely understood. Everyone has a different experience and perspective on what happiness means to them. What makes this web series especially unique is the diverse cast and guests who bring important perspectives to the table,” read the show’s first official Facebook post. The post also asks future viewers to submit questions they have wanted to ask a transgender person about the trans experience.
The page also revealed the first official photos of the series—photographed by “The Drag Photographer” Erika Wagner— with all four hosts nude and draped in the transgender flag. Several of the show’s hosts took to their personal Facebook pages to make the announcement.
“So excited to finally announce this project,” Parker wrote. “These conversations will include members of the transgender community and allies. We will talk about the good, the bad and the ugly. Communication and action are the keys to creating change.”
Parker, who is also the Events & Community Outreach Coordinator for onePULSE Foundation, was named one of Watermark’s 2018 Most Remarkable People.
“Nikole’s journey to the woman she is today is what makes her remarkable,” wrote onePULSE Foundation founder Barbara Poma of Parker’s recognition in 2018. “I have sat and watched her listen with genuine compassion and empathy to family members, survivors and first responders. She always tries to see people’s stories from their lens.”
Laos expressed the emotion she was feeling when taking the photos for the new series on her own Facebook page, saying she never thought she would see the day that she can look at a photo of herself and “finally see the woman I truly am looking back at me.”
“It’s difficult to find a genuine support system nowadays. Why is that? Why can’t we all just support one another,” Laos wrote in another post.”This web series will show how four different life experiences come together to share their journey on their pursuit of happiness. I never expected to be able to have so much in common with many people you will see featured in this web series. Friends having genuine conversations about life. Different perceptions bring different solutions.”
Figueroa, who also works with Bliss Healthcare, took to social media saying that the words “vulnerability, transparency and Unapologetically Trans” are words she uses to describe the new series and the photo session for the project.
“To our fellow transgender, [gender nonconforming], [gender nonbinary] individuals, your lives matter, your voices matter, your stories matter,” Figueroa wrote.
“Unapologetically Trans” is scheduled for release this fall.
