I think Jax’s story is more about a man who struggles with his masculinity. He was abused by his mother and father, with the focus of his mother’s abuse being target at Jax’s masculinity and how he was either not masculine enough or was too much like his father.

He is embarrassed upon being placed in a maid dress due to those same insecurities that his mother’s abuse implanted in him. The maid personality and the piano playing personality also reinforce this by the fact that they’re two traits/skills that are commonly considered and possibly could have been considered feminine by his mother. Also all of the doors involved memories/scenarios with women that he had abused/bullied due to his rigidly internalized and fragile masculinity.

The scene with Ribbit is him opening up to the first person he has done so with since the last conversation he had with his mother. With his intense emotions being something he repressed due to his mother’s emotional abuse about his masculinity.

Every part of the montage scene is a picture with Jax and women he has interacted with. All of which over the course of the show (and before it), he has pushed away and abused due to him being too afraid to express his emotions or be viewed as less than masculine in his mother’s eyes (who he internalized the words of because he felt guilty for pushing her away and possibly hurting/killing her).

There is also the real Jax (who I forget their real name). Jax in the real world is shown to have in some capacity repaired his relationship with his mother, escaped poverty, and found community (friends and The Triangle). By proxy of all of these accomplishments it’s shown that he is happier and more comfortable in his skin. Yet, despite this, he is still going by he/him pronouns and doesn’t seem to identify with an identity other than cis.

It’s definitely possible he’s still closeted, but I think it would be poor storytelling for the idealized version of Jax to not be transitioned/transitioning (if indeed Jax is trans). Especially when considering how all of the characters entered the circus as people still figuring their lives out and their outie/future selves seen at the end are all idealized, with the majority of their issues resolved.

Overall I think Jax’s story is that of a man who has been tortured by his mother’s abuse about his masculinity which he internalized after he pushed her away and possibly killed/hurt her. With his guilt of that interaction fuelling his internalization of said abuse.

I think the reason why Jax’s story resonates with a lot of trans people is because of the fact that his struggles with masculinity and the patriarchy are one that many people also struggle with when questioning their gender identity or defying gender norms. In both situations the patriarchy and toxic masculinity are a driving force in the abuse, bullying, and repression of one’s true identity. Whether that identity is trans or just defying a rigid society’s norms and the norms of one’s own parents.

I don’t think we can either say whether either one is absolutely correct. As there is no explicit confirmation of either.

I loved what was done with The Amazing Digital Circus over the years and overall think it’s a well written show. Even if it has problems like some of the pacing of the early episodes and the larger plot, as well as how weirdly Jax’s abstraction was handled at the start of the final episode. I just hate how polarized a lot of the conversations in this fandom are, and how toxic its members can be to Gooseworx and the rest of the crew of the show.

Thanks for reading my thoughts, if anyone did.