Blog / 2025 / Celebrating the Babs Siperstein Law

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

This is Babs Siperstein, a political and trans rights activist in New Jersey. I made this drawing and then turned it into a sticker design for Garden State Equality, which is an advocacy and education organization in New Jersey focusing on LGBTQ rights.

Garden State Equality is celebrating twenty years with sticker designs inspired by milestones in their two decades of advancing equality, and this portrait of Siperstein celebrates the Babs Siperstein law, which was vetoed twice by a Republican governor, but was finally signed into law in 2018 by Governor Phil Murphy. The law allows trans and non-binary people born in New Jersey to modify their birth certificates so that it matches their gender identity, and they can do that without having to prove that they’ve had a gender-affirming surgery.

To make this drawing of Siperstein, I combed through all the photos and videos of her that I could find online. I was looking for a reference image that felt candid, while also taking into account how she liked to be seen. We reveal a lot about our preferences in the posed photographs we take, so I wanted an image that was a nod to the photos I was seeing, while also being a bit more dynamic. I ended up using a screenshot from an interview.

And then the drawing began! I wanted the image to be bold and fresh, so I knew I couldn’t overwork it. I ended up making many images. Some of them were even complete drawings in their own right! But only one captures Siperstein.

Join me along with the other artists participating in Garden State Equality’s sticker pack on May 20^th from 6:30 to 8. It’ll be a virtual chat where we talk about our inspiration and process for this beautiful project!