Fairy-tales have long been a part of childhood. But for AJ Clementine, fairy tales and imaginative worlds were all she had to hold on to when she was growing up — the only place she could truly be herself. “Without a doubt, the biggest curveball I’ve ever had to deal with came in the womb — being born trans,” writes 25-year-old AJ in Girl, Transcending. “Every night I’d go to sleep praying I would wake up in a girl’s body.”
AJ began her social transition at age 18 and underwent gender confirmation surgery when she was 20. She woke up from surgery with her new “designer coochie”, as she fondly recalls, and spent the day in a trance-like state watching the live-action Cinderella film on repeat. It was this moment that really solidified AJ’s infatuation with the ethereal fairy-tale aesthetic she has become known for. “It allowed me to protect a part of myself, because if I could create this Disney princess aesthetic, then I could protect myself from my anxieties,” she says.
Living in her own
