MMRP: Jay P. Profile (2022)

Jay Porcelli, a SUNY New Paltz Senior majoring in English and minoring in Philosophy and Computer Science, is a non-binary trans student and an avid fan of Supergiant’s Hades, a rogue-like dungeon crawler. With its colorful cast of (numerous queer) characters, Porcelli felt validated and seen - making the game a fast favorite. However, they initially viewed the video gaming space as a boys’ club, feeling out of place. As they progressed through their gender identity journey, though, they viewed video games differently, saying, “As I got older and started questioning my own gender and the gender binary itself, I kind of realized that saying guys can be gamers and girls can’t is just really dumb. I can be non-binary and also a gamer.”

Porcelli’s medical transition through hormone therapy and top surgery became one of their defining moments in their gender identity. Having constant bouts with gender dysphoria pre-surgery, they experienced improvements in both mental and physical health. In fact, they were on their feet soon after their surgery, saying, “After I had the surgery, I was ready to get on with my life and do stuff. Two months afterwards, I was playing basketball and jumping over fences and doing things I wasn’t really supposed to be doing.”

Aside from playing video games, Porcelli enjoys the outdoors and athletics, working out, and attending athletic events like Spartan Races. They also noticed a shift in their performance when they attended their second Spartan Race compared to their first attempt in high school, pre-surgery. “I did the 5k obstacle race on my own and I really loved it. Just last year, I decided to go back and do it again. I did another one of the 5K’s and it was a lot easier because I’ve been training more, working out more and I’m on hormones.”

“Seeing how far I’ve come in terms of athletic ability always gives me a lot of gender euphoria. I remember being in the school gym as a kid and always looking at all the other guys in my high school and thinking, ‘Oh, I’m never going to be able to look like them.’ But now I’m starting to look like them and perform like them,” said Porcelli

As they approaches graduation, they hope to work as an editor - but not before hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia.