Women’s History Month Spotlight: Kylie Wu

This Women’s History Month Spotlight features the creator of the webcomic Trans Girl Next Door (@transgirlnextdoor), Kylie Wu. Kylie documents her experience as a trans woman through her hilarious and informative illustrations. We couldn’t be more excited to celebrate Kylie and our entire trans community on International Transgender Day of Visibility by highlighting this incredible artist. Now, on to her interview.

Tell us a little bit about yourself? Who do we have the pleasure of speaking to?

Hi! My name is Kylie, and I’m the creator, CEO, momager, and self-influencing influencer of the Trans Girl Next Door comic series. I’m also trans (the title didn’t give that off at all), and I didn’t always know about it. I started making comics about my transition in 2014, and I absolutely loved making them. I took a break for about a year and a half, but now I’m back at it, still as #brokeArtist as before, so I’m gonna plug my Patreon real quick before you even notice! (ed. note: we notice, and we’re here for this kind of promotion). I reside in Southern California with no loving cat or dog or even a plant, but I’m actively searching for one. I like to surf, go on short road trips, eat super healthy and then very junky. And my favorite thing to do is nothing.

Every trans person is different when it comes to documenting their experiences. How did your blog @transgirlnextdoor start?

I love drawing and reading wacky comics. My childhood dream was to have a weekly comic column in a magazine or newspaper. I also kept a written journal for a long time. Plus I’m an artist (read that in a pretentious and obnoxious accent), and I always need to express myself in an artistic way. So I thought I’d just combine all of those desires and wants into a neat little package like the Marie Kondo I never was and never could be haha. And Tumblr was the most popular and user-friendly comic/art-sharing online community when I started drawing these comics, so I decided to put them on here.

Comics are a great way to bring humor to but also a great opportunity to educate people. What has been one of your favorite comics that you’ve created? 

My favorite comic to make was the one about transphobic dumbasses identifying as attack helicopters trying to prove a point. Dude, you’re literally no different than the dipshits a decade ago who said “Oh, well, if you wanna marry someone of the same gender then what’s next, marrying a goat?!” See how stupid that sounds right now? Yeah, that’s you and your attack helicopter bs. Just the same old shit in a new layer of shit. It’s like the best #10yearChallenge. And I was totally gonna make a shorter version of this comic and put that hashtag on!

International Transgender Day of Visibility is to honor and celebrate the lives of trans people. How can others continue to be allies to the trans community?

I really dig how more and more tv and movie studios are making trans stories and shining a spotlight on our community. I really think the best way to be an ally is to listen and also let us speak for ourselves when it’s possible. I think it’s great that Tumblr is celebrating International Transgender Day of Visibility and gave me a microphone, even though I’m just a li’l artist who makes goofy comics. I hope other major social media and platforms are doing something today as well (and on other days!). I will be watching them on my spiritual lawn.

Thanks, Kylie! Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility, Tumblr. ❤️