By james art 
A photo of a lesbian transgender couple kissing in front of hate preachers at a South Carolina pride has gone viral.
The photo of Jessica May and Josie Saint, which was posted by May on the “pics” subreddit, shows the two holding each other in front of people holding signs that say “Homosexuality is a sin.”
The couple from Columbia were walking through the Pride Festival in Columbia, South Carolina, when they noticed Christian protesters with homophobic signs standing on a street corner.
May 30 said a man held a microphone and preached about how queer people should turn from their sins and face God’s eternal wrath in hell.
“He said things like trans people are ‘mutilated deformities’ and that ‘gay love is disgusting.’ So many people were just walking around trying to enjoy the festival and were scared and upset by the protesters,” May said Newsweek.
Not wanting to let the hate go unchallenged, May and Saint decided to kiss in front of the hatemongers and have their friend, Ali Strehl (@potatecreates on Instagram), take a photo.
Ali Strel/@potatecreates
“The hatemongers just looked away awkwardly. They don’t know how to react when they see queer and trans love, but the best part was that other people started doing it too and also taking pictures in front of the hate preachers,” said May.
The photo carries a deeper meaning for the couple, both of whom are trans women who transitioned later in life.
The 33-year-old saint said Newsweek that both she and May put off their transitions for years due to fear, even though they knew they were trans.
“We were afraid of what people would say about us, whether people would still love us, and also fear that we would go to hell, as we had both been Christians for most of our lives. “We both almost took our own lives because of For us, transitioning was a necessity and if we hadn’t decided to transition, none of us would be alive today,” she said.
This commitment to self-acceptance and living authentically transformed their lives and inspired them to become advocates for trans joy by creating content on TikTok, where they met.
“We both realized that the most powerful weapon we have against the hate that trans people face is true love and authentic joy,” said Saint Newsweek.
Their decision to kiss in front of the preachers was not just an act of defiance, but a message to the world. “The most important thing that people like us need to see in the world today is that our love is stronger than their hate,” Saint said.
Strel’s photo went viral on Reddit. As of writing, May’s post has received 52,000 upvotes and over 6,000 comments – both supportive and hateful.
“Some people hate it and have been very vocal about it,” May said, adding that she believes most of the comments are from other Reddit users who write homophobic or transphobic things.
“But also the people were really lovely. People thought it was beautiful, brave [and] inspiring, and the most popular comments were the positive ones. I think more people liked it than disliked it, but the haters are always louder,” she said.
Saint agreed and said the online hate hasn’t fazed the couple. Although the unfiltered nature of Reddit made moderating hateful comments nearly impossible, both were grateful to share the moment.
“Whether people loved it or hated it, it resonated with them and made them think. And knowing that the love that Jess and I share has so much power is amazing,” Saint said.