“There’s pure joy”: Photography project celebrates trans and queer rescue pet owners
A photography project that is making its way through Canada’s Pet Valu stores celebrates queer and trans joy through connections with their pets.
Don’t You Want Me is a project created by pet photographer Jack Jackson and portrait photographer Deb Klein. The project shows the bonds between queer and trans people and the pets they’ve rescued.
Jackson himself got a rescue dog soon after a horrific transphobic experience that left him reeling. He was teetering on the edge when a friend suggested he make a call about a boxer puppy. This friend told Jackson to call like his life depended on it.
“It did and I did. I collected Jet Jackson a week later — she saved my life,” Jackson told Daily Hive.
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Perhaps it was Jackson’s optimism that helped launch this nationwide tour, but even when he first threw himself into this project he didn’t expect Pet Valu to sign on as a partner and take it mainstream.
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“I knew I had to reach a mainstream audience with this work and I think coming out of the pandemic, people have far more awareness of how isolation impacts people so these stories are even more relatable,” he said.
The project shines a light on exactly what happens when people are given unconditional love and support. Hint: it creates happiness. A scroll through the project’s website or Instagram is enough to see the joy trans and queer people experience when they’re loved and not judged by their identities. The pets seem pretty happy, too!
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The project is more than just happy photos of people and their pets. It tells their stories and how their rescue pets, in a way, rescued them too.
“Essentially, these are stories of resilience and survival, these people are inspirational and exceptional, and I feel lucky to have met every single one of them, so it’s not hard to see why people are drawn in,” Jackson said.
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Not shockingly, the project has been well received by those who have had a chance to see it. Whether they’re a part of the project or seeing themselves reflected in it, Jackson said that most tears shed over the project have been tears of joy. Many people who’ve been subjects of the project have returned to volunteer for it.
“[Don’t You Want Me] draws on compassion and empathy, authenticity and strength, something I think as a society we are in need of now more than ever,” he said.
He said that while common themes experienced by queer and trans people in Canada can skew negative, things like addiction, isolation, and poverty disproportionately impact the trans community, there are positives.
“That sounds pretty intense, but on the flip side there’s pure joy; joy at being able to live authentically, joy at finding connection, joy of not only surviving but flourishing,” he said.
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He’s also had the chance to work with refugees, which has driven him to carry on with the project and make sure other people bear witness to their stories.
“I’m in awe of the people (and dogs) that have taken part in this project — some of them have had far worse experiences than mine, faced far greater injustices and challenges, but they’ve survived, and in so many cases are now thriving,” he said. “But it’s the stories that didn’t get told because those people didn’t make it, that’s what drives me to work on this project the way that I do.”
For Jackson, the project had always intended to strip away gender, sexuality, and identity and show the humanity of the people in the photos. He wants people to look at these photos and read the stories and see that without support, whether it be financial, political, or emotional, people become vulnerable.
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“Alongside the raw and often uncomfortable truth that homophobia or transphobia expose, we also watch individuals turn their lives around once a dog (that wasn’t wanted) comes into their lives,” he said. “Sometimes solutions don’t need to be expensive, they just need to be loved.”
March 31 is the Transgender Day of Visibility, a day dedicated to celebrating trans people. What better way than to visit the Don’t You Want Me project in New Westminster. Jackson himself will be there in the afternoon. Check out other tour dates here.
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