Ah, the trans urge to take control of your body via tattoos! JOCKBUNS is here to share his personal story of the transformative power of body art! When my body feels so fundamentally unrepresentative of me, it can be a huge relief to hang artwork in this strange fleshy home I inhabit to try to make it feel more comfortable and more mine. It took me years to access gender-affirming medical care, but there are more tattoo shops than grocery stores in my neighborhood here in Portland.

Thanks so much for sharing your story, JOCKBUNS! Maybe I’ll pick up some flash on my way home from getting oat milk…

Matt Note – Dipping into the end of today’s JOCKBUNS/Ziggy post to remind you all that… OJST is in need of YOUR support! Come and peek behind the curtain, get extra comics, and BTS-wips (as well as interviews and all sorts), while ALSO keeping us in the sex-positive comic making business! the Patreon.

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↓ Transcript Of Today's Comic
Today's autobiographical comic is written and drawn by JOCKBUNS, who described himself for today's transcription as; male with he/him pronouns, of a short, chubby tattooed, hairy, trans man body with top surgery scars; a shape similar to that of a Bear! This transcriber (me, Matthew, hi-hello!) will add that he appears white, with brown hair, and wears thin white round glasses. The comic is colored in oranges, browns, and teals with big white breaks in between panels, which helps give the narration nice beats and pauses. The vibe lends the comic an air of intimacy and friendliness


Page 1
Opens with JOCKBUNS (whose professional name is capitalized, but I don't want text-to-speech to shout-it-out so will refer to him as JB going forward) in bed, half nude, wearing a beanie, as he gesticulates towards an old wire TV. His left arm is all wrapped up in a bandage.

JB - I just got tattooed!
And my arm is all wrapped up, so I can’t draw much.

JB pulls out his Nintendo Switch. He takes a moment to think to himself, and the camera pulls in on his face.

We see JB standing in front of a mirror, wearing a neckerchief and tight underwear. His tummy and body are on display as if being seen in a mirror.
JB - The downtime got me thinking… about the relationship between my body confidence in my tattoos.


Page 2

JB is now on display as a nude life model, flexing his muscles in front of all the students, narration supports the visual.
JB - My tattoos have been a transformative tool for my self-confidence.

The camera zooms in on jocks arms, thick and heavy with tattoos abound.
JB - Allowing me to replace the negative energy I felt toward my body with positive.

He closes his eyes, and emanating from him is the words 'I love myself' with sparkles as the students continue their studies.

Next, we see JB lying on a bed in a tattoo artist shop with shorts and socks on he’s lifting his hand up in a thumbs up. A word balloon creeps away from him in a skull and crossbones shape, inside it is the words 'Worth it.'


Page 3.

We're somewhere else again, a more abstract place - on the wall is a flyer with an illustration of JB's chest without the surgery he's since had. Next to it is the words 'For Sale, Titties: No Longer Wanted'
JB supports the visual with some narration: Gender-affirming medical care isn’t always available.

JB - And can take a long time to access even when it is
We see a calendar with '732 days' on it next to the words 'without a mustache' and a sad face emoji.

JB - I see my tattoos as a sort of additional or alternative therapy. A way of molding my body that I am in control of.
He's back in front of a mirror, using a sharpie to draw onto the glass, so the drawings appear on his body. He’s got a devious grin on him, as he says, 'Perfect!'

We’re back in the tattoo artist's parlor. The walls are littered with beautiful little illustrations as a burly artist leans over and continues his trade on JB.
Tattoo Artist - Looks rad!

JB gets up and looks at the new tattoo on his ankle, in a mirror, giving himself a thumbs up with sparkles.


Page 4
We're shown a full wall of the tattoo artist parlor, as JB looks at the art. Every inch of the wall is framed illustrations, some of horses, others of hearts and suns and moons, and even swords and cats; all kinds of amazing stuff.
Underneath this is some narration from JB
JB - I used to struggle with body image issues a lot. My dysphoria made me feel like my body wasn’t mine. It was always against me. I didn’t find it beautiful.

We see three rapid panels back to back.
Jock shows us his left forearm with a big horseshoe tattoo on top of which is a banner, saying 'Stay Lucky', the tattooed looks imagined and not-yet-real, or a work-in-progress.
The neckerchief, half nude JB continues to study himself in the mirror, holding up a phone with an illustration on it to his body he considers the art.
Then we see him scrolling through an artist's portfolio on their Instagram with the words Flash Sale.
Underneath these panels is some narration:
JB - The realization I could get colors, artwork, and imagery I love permanently slapped on my body was a game changer!

JB goes to work on his tablet, behind him are floating tattoo ideas one of a snake and another of a dragon, the ideas floating around.


Page 5
JB - My tattoos have helped radically transform my view of my body...
JB leans back from his tablet, with a contended look about him. The next few word balloons come from him as he talks.
JB - turning it into a walking art gallery… a scrapbook of memories… and a point of inspiration in my professional life.

A T-pose, half-nude JB stands in front of us, as mouse icons from a desktop computer drag and drop tattoo art onto his body.
JB - I feel more like myself with tattoos than without them. Each one makes me feel more in alignment with the person I was always supposed to be.

The final panel of the comic shows JB back in bed playing games as his arm heals, Sneaking out from under the bandages is a reveal-popup of the final tattoo design; an intricate and beautiful horseshoe, with the words 'Stay Lucky' printed on a banner in front of it. Behind that are some flowers - it looks great!
JB - They've helped me gain that confidence in my body that I lacked for so, so long.


Today's comic about owning one’s body and customizing it to reflect who you are, is by JOCKBUNS who can be found at https://twitter.com/JOCKBUNS
The comic was then transcribed by Matthew Nolan on 2/26/24.
Oh Joy Sex Toy is paid for and supported by Patreon, and we'd ask for any and all support you can give us there, so we can keep these comics and transcriptions going for another year or ten! We have bonus comics and Behind the Scenes stuff there too, so don't miss out - https://www.patreon.com/OhJoySexToy