Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonah Welch.
Hi Jonah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started making visual art and writing poetry when I was 18. It was a critical (read: life-saving) habit that helped me make sense of coming out and beginning to live openly as a trans person at a time when the subject was still relatively underground. When I saw the world couldn’t fit me in it, I would create my own homes through my creative practice. I am now 34 and still making work that is primarily oriented towards cultivating spiritual uplift for the trans community, but also retains some of its original journalistic bent. Over time, new practices have entered the fold as well. For the last 6 years I have been running a rosary prayer circle for queer and trans people, and in 2025 I graduated with a 4-year master’s degree in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. I have lectured at a variety of institutions on histories of trans-specific spiritual practices, have been interviewed on podcasts, and featured in an array of visual art shows. All of these works orbit around the same aim – to create a more just world where people are invited to change, heal, and self-actualize without shame. All of these approaches – art, prayer, medicine, are ways that I can personally contribute to the liberation of all people from wider systems of oppression.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
While I experienced some harsh material struggles my early adulthood, I have always felt fully supported by the universe and my community in continuing to pursue my work without compromising its integrity. I am very grateful for all the opportunities I have been given and have learned to trust that when I pursue a life that is authentic to me, things always wind up working out (sometimes in mystical and unexpected ways).
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
After 4 years of grad school and 8 months of examinations, I have just been granted my Acupuncture license from the Texas Medical Board. I am chomping at the bit to offer this medicine to anyone who may need it in the Austin and wider Texas community. My background coming into this field of work is quite unique. I was moved to study this medicine after learning that Chinese doctors were the ones treating patients who were not welcome in the hospitals, and reading about how the Black Panthers created an acupuncture clinic to treat addiction in the black community. I see Chinese Medicine as a revolutionary medicine being that it is accessible, and that it can successfully treat many ailments that Western Medicine cannot touch especially in the realms of gynecology and chronic, functional illnesses. The history of this medicine is one of compassion towards the poor and the socially marginalized. Being that I already hold a deep connection to those that live on the outskirts of society, my medical vision is focused on how to alleviate pain and cultivate health for people who are often forgotten and left behind, or seen as disposable.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
To live is already a risk. I learned this from my undergraduate studies in queer, trans, and feminist history. Look at the AIDS crisis for example – to love was a risk to life itself. These days, to be out as a transsexual is increasingly dangerous. Being born how I was, I have always known that me living freely as I am inherently agitates and puts into question the values espoused by the wider Empire. I have sacrificed social mobility, money, and even having access to food and housing at times, so as not to bend myself away from my work. I know many people who are far less fortunate than I am, but I firmly believe that “the rising tide lifts all boats.” As each of us find increasing joy and freedom, all of us benefit. For me this has always been worth sacrificing for.
Pricing:
- $100 / acupuncture treatment
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jonahwelch.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonahwelch/
- Other: https://jonahwelch.janeapp.com
