Nyala Moon’s short movie How Not to Date While Trans (2022) offers a disenchanted and ironic glance over the sentimental experiences of a black trans woman, between rejection and acceptance, empathy and marginalization. In a game of mirrors that directly calls the viewer into question by breaking down the fourth wall of cinema, the artist uses the gaze and behavior of the other to reflect on the profound implications of sexual identity and understand first-hand experiences. The film uses the language of comedy, in an attempt to reclaim the right to tell one’s own story as an active subject, freeing oneself from mainstream stories lacking nuance and depth. The passionate quest for love and acceptance, seen here through the lens of a trans woman, ultimately surfaces as a universal experience, the common ground of every single individual part of a diversified community in search of relationships and affection.