All the Genders Photo Project

06/05/2026

A couple sneak peaks from Chapter 5 - The Mat-Su Valley: More than the Warnings. When I started getting better acquainted with this loudly conservative region, it felt more like MAGA-style politics that dominate many conservative communities in the Lower 48. I heard a lot about the adversity and challenges associated with living here as a q***r person, while also hearing stories of joy, resilience, and community.

My own perspectives and experiences in this chapter share a volatile, transphobic verbal attack from a neighbor and a Pride event bomb threat, amidst many beautiful examples of resilience and community that emerged alongside those challenges.

“Our tour guide for the glacier we walked on pointed out ice beneath our feet that was blacker than the darkest night; it had been compacted over many millions of years by the pressure of the ice layers on top of it. Condensed by many tons of pressure, until its unfathomable black glassy beauty emerged to the surface at the end of its long and slow glacial journey, as something entirely unique and stunning. Since I often connect with my own q***rness through nature, it naturally made me think of the unique beauty and resilience I saw in q***r folks I was meeting in the Mat-Su Valley. Feeling the pressure of disdain and hate all around us can certainly shape us - leaving life altering scars, but often makes us all the more strikingly unfiltered as we mature in our journeys.”
- Jayme Drew, Northern Lights, Northern Lives

There are only 27 days left to pre-order this photographic collection of diverse gender journeys from Alaska and the Yukon! Thank you for being on this journey with us.

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

Partnering with The Calos Coalition

06/04/2026

Cataclysm.Begins… is almost here!
I’m excited to do a cross collaboration/promotion with filmmaker friend, Sarah Beim, who is also pushing their creative work forward with a Pride month fundraiser!

Do I have any connections here in the NYC area? Sarah is hosting a really cool event in NYC highlighting their LGBTQIA+ Dystopian film series Cataclysm.Begins.

Hear the official cast read the first 6 episodes! This will be followed by an exclusive look at their award-winning proof of concept short film Cataclysm.Begins: The Catalyst.

In a dystopian future, a trusted Government Official releases a tell-all, exposing not only the horror of his Government’s oppression but exposing those closest to him as well, putting everyone on a collision course.

Friday June 12th, 2026.
Doors Open: 7pm
Hive Mind Books & Coffee Shop Brooklyn, NY

Learn more and buy Pay-What-You-Want tickets here: https://www.cataclysmbegins.com/

If you can’t attend in person, but still want to support this project, check out the donation link here (all contributions are tax deductible!) https://beimishproductionsllc.allyrafundraising.com/

06/02/2026

On the book’s second day of the Kickstarter campaign, I got a notice today that Northern Lights, Northern Lives was given a “Project We Love” badge from the platform! These badges are pinned to projects that are “compelling, honest and clearly presented.”

Join 16 other early backers supporting the first 30% towards the initial campaign goal - in being a part of this conversation around gender diversity… through books, prints full of stories, photo sessions, workshops and giving back to our q***r communities through Pay It Forward book copies.

As always, thank you all for being on this journey with me!

with The Calos Coalition

06/01/2026

After years of travel, interviews, photography, and relationship-building across Alaska and the Yukon, this book Northern Lights, Northern Lives shares the stories of gender diverse q***r, trans and allied people whose gender journeys are too often overlooked. My own journey also ties these 50 essays and portrait sessions together with vulnerable personal revelations and bizarre, lighter moments on the road visiting remote and urban 2SLGBTQ+ communities.

At its heart, this project is about visibility, connection, starting conversations and the power of seeing ourselves reflected in one another.

Momentum in the first 48 hours of Kickstarter campaigns matters to generate more visibility for this work outside of current networks connected to All the Genders Photo Project. So today (or tomorrow!) is the time to make a pledge!

If you'd like to help bring these stories into the world, you can support the project by pre-ordering a book through this project’s Kickstarter link. Kickstarter accounts are easy to start up (name & email) and opens a world of courageous journeys and sharing in this book.

Every share, comment, and contribution helps amplify these voices and preserve these stories for future generations. Especially during a time of intensifying erasure.

As always, thank you for being part of this journey. 💜

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

*****
Always grateful to everyone spreading the word about this work to include...

The Calos Coalition
Pride Foundation
SEVASH - Southeastern Virginia Atheists, Skeptics, & Humanists
Seward Pride Alliance
The Queen's Guard
TTMOC
Kindred Post
LGBT Life Center
DreamPunk Press
Gilbert Baker Film Festival
RVA Magazine
Hampton Roads Pride
Diverse Hampton Roads
WHRO Public Media
Mac's Fireweed Books
CBC North
Ketchikan Pride Alliance
.. and so many others I'm grateful to have crossed paths with.

**Page designs in photos are still a work in progress!

06/01/2026

Book pre-orders start tomorrow! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

After years of travel, thousands of miles, hundreds of conversations, many thousands of clicks of a camera shutter, and countless hours of writing and editing, Northern Lights, Northern Lives is finally almost here.

Tomorrow morning I'll be launching the Kickstarter campaign to bring this book into the world: a collection of stories, portraits, and reflections from gender-diverse people across Alaska and the Yukon.

If you've been following this journey, and the journeys of the people who have shared stories in this project, tomorrow (June 1st) is the day.

If you know any curious learners, lovers of all things q***r, nature/Alaska/Yukon enthusiasts, photographers, or 2SLGBTQ+ community supporters, I'd be grateful if you'd share this with them.

Keep an eye out for the launch link in the morning to help build early momentum in this campaign. Thank you for being part of this journey with me 💜

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

Partnering with The Calos Coalition

05/29/2026

🏳️‍🌈 Being Seen: Thoughts on the RVA Mag Article 🏳️‍⚧️
Press release from RVA Mag!!

https://rvamag.com/q***r-rva/northern-lights-northern-lives-q***r-life-beyond-the-lower-48.html

Part of my personal journey with embracing the lesser seen parts of me, is also being okay with other people SEEING me. Perhaps in some ways, it has been easier to help other people be seen first - through my camera lens, through conversations, through writing. All as part of my process to bring my invisible inner child to light, who spent so many years hiding in hopes of finding safety.

So I sometimes find myself flipping back and forth between easily sharing things about myself openly, to then simply wanting to hide with a false sense of safety… that in reality isn’t really safe at all - because can often lead to erasure.

So all that to say, it’s an interesting process letting someone ELSE write about me and this project, with their own personal interpretation of the work, my story, and your stories.

But incredibly grateful that the massive amount of outreach I’ve been engaging in lately has resulted in my messages managing to make their way to a few real humans through dozens of flooded inboxes of press organizations and mags. Last week I had a great conversation with one of those writers/reporters (RVA Mag) with a lot of laughs and sharing, resulting in a lovely article covering the book and selected photographs to share.

Photographer Jayme Sojourn Drew documents LGBTQ+ lives across Alaska and the Yukon in Northern Lights, Northern Lives, a self-published photo and essay collection exploring gender, identity, isolation, and community.

05/28/2026

Intrigued by banned books? You really won’t have to look far to find one soon … there are only FOUR days left (really 3.5!) until you can pre-order your (soon to be) banned book, Northern Lights, Northern Lives on June 1st!

Yes, I’m being serious about the soon to be banned part - there’s legislation moving to the U.S. House of Representatives soon that if passed, would place this book and any others mentioning gender dysphoria or gender-q***r people into a federally banned category (H.R. 7661). I wish this were an exaggeration.

Setting the looming possibility of federal book bans aside, Northern Lights, Northern Lives has been THREE YEARS in the making. And it’s a CELEBRATION of diverse gender journeys photographing people and hearing stories - both on the road and in my own backyards of Virginia and Alaska.

Maybe these stories won’t see the inside of public libraries and classrooms anytime soon, but the more we own our stories and hold them in our hands, the less we can be erased and the more we can spread our joy!! It’s the joy we can find in all the different ways we can simply BE, and live in our humanity.

The first THREE DAYS of a Kickstarter campaign are the most important for momentum to generate more visibility for creative advocacy projects. So mark Monday on your calendar: to back this soon to be banned collection of stunning photos and essays - from trans author/military veteran and 50 fellow q***rs and allies of Alaska and the Yukon sharing their stories with courage.

And over the weekend? Please share the launch date, June 1st, with our fellow q***rs, allies and radical Indie bookstores! Thank you all for being on this crazy, beautiful journey with me!

*****
Oh, and the tent? I’m not just being a weirdo testing out the limits of our cozy apartment with a 5 foot wide tent in our largest floor space. The tent just needed a test run getting set up before outdoor Pride events this weekend!

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

The Calos Coalition
Gilbert Baker Film Festival
DreamPunk Press

05/28/2026

Intrigued by banned books? You really won’t have to look far to find one soon … there are only FOUR days left (really 3.5!) until you can pre-order your (soon to be) banned book, Northern Lights, Northern Lives on June 1st!

Yes, I’m being serious about the soon to be banned part - there’s legislation moving to the U.S. House of Representatives soon that if passed, would place this book and any others mentioning gender dysphoria or gender-q***r people into a federally banned category (H.R. 7661). I wish this were an exaggeration.

Setting the looming possibility of federal book bans aside, Northern Lights, Northern Lives has been THREE YEARS in the making. And it’s a CELEBRATION of diverse gender journeys photographing people and hearing stories - both on the road and in my own backyards of Virginia and Alaska.

Maybe these stories won’t see the inside of public libraries and classrooms anytime soon, but the more we own our stories and hold them in our hands, the less we can be erased and the more we can spread our joy!! It’s the joy we can find in all the different ways we can simply BE, and live in our humanity.

The first THREE DAYS of a Kickstarter campaign are the most important for momentum to generate more visibility for creative advocacy projects. So mark Monday on your calendar: to back this soon to be banned collection of stunning photos and essays - from trans author/military veteran and 50 fellow q***rs and allies of Alaska and the Yukon sharing their stories with courage.

And over the weekend? Please share the launch date, June 1st, with our fellow q***rs, allies and radical Indie bookstores! Thank you all for being on this crazy, beautiful journey with me!

*****
Oh, and the tent? I’m not just being a weirdo testing out the limits of our cozy apartment with a 5 foot wide tent in our largest floor space. The tent just needed a test run getting set up before outdoor Pride events this weekend!

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

The Calos Coalition
Gilbert Baker Film Festival
DreamPunk Press

05/27/2026

Excited to be part of Portsmouth Pride this year!

05/26/2026

It’s so hard to pick just one or two lines of so many heartfelt stories to share for book previews! When I met Pillow in Anchorage, they shared the magnitude of the twists and turns in their gender journey from the comfort of their own home with a few furrbabies keeping us company.

For the rest of Pillow’s story and so many others, don’t miss out on pre-ordering the book on June 1st! There are only SIX days left until the Kickstarter campaign begins!

https://kickstarter.com/projects/all-the-genders/northern-lights-northern-lives-all-the-genders

“I've always been kind of “in between” and when this whole nonbinary thing started, I was kind of like, “yeah I like it!” It’s a pain getting people to use they/them though, so I still go by she/her, but in circles where there are “they/thems,” I'll go with they/them. I would prefer to be they/them everywhere, but the world right now is not ready for me to be they/them, because I have so many old relationships that are not in the rainbow spectrum.

Even when I was a bodybuilder, I was very muscular - I was natural. Then drugs became very prevalent in the sport and I felt compelled to use drugs to keep up. It caused me to have to quit because I couldn't stand the hypocrisy. Earlier in my competing, I was deemed too muscular to be female, and then everybody else caught up with me - all these Pl@yboy Bunny physiques started using steroids and getting as big, if not bigger than me. Then, here I was with this androgynous physique, a natural physique that was already deemed too large to be female because of my skeletal structure…”

- Pillow in Anchorage, Alaska

Partnering with The Calos Coalition