Tú no existes para ser usada. Desmantelando conceptos de productividad como propósito vital July 7, 2019 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment Mi infancia fue marcada por mi discapacidad. A edad muy temprana fui diagnosticada con ADHD, pérdida de audición, enfermedad neuromuscular que más tarde fue identificada como miastenia gravis. Desde luego fue especialmente en la escuela donde experimenté las mayores dificultades, porque precisamente era el centro de productividad. Aunque yo era todavía capaz de asistir a clase, … [Read more...]
“You Do Not Exist To Be Used”: Why Your Life Purpose Is Bigger Than Capitalist Productivity May 20, 2019 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment My childhood was colored by my experiences navigating my disabilities. At an early age I was diagnosed with ADHD, hearing loss, and dealt with a neuromuscular disease that was later in life diagnosed as myasthenia gravis. Ever since the age I was able to attend school, academia has been a primary source of stress and poor self-worth for me. The school system was by far the … [Read more...]
Young and Chronically Ill: How I Love My Body When I Feel Betrayed by My Body April 18, 2019 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment There is a specific horror in being young and chronically ill. When you are young you are told your body is indestructible. Your body is at its peak. You’ll never again be at this peak. Youth are painted as the picture of health. So when I was 16 and diagnosed with a chronic autoimmune disease, I was faced with a sort of paradox; at the height of my youth, at the time I was … [Read more...]
Why Policy Matters in the Fight Against Transphobia November 20, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment If you're reading this, you may be aware that November is Transgender Awareness Month. It's a month for centering the rights and visibility of trans women, men, and non-binary people. From November 13 (today!) to November 19th is Transgender Awareness Week, or #Transweek, and then on November 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR, pronounced "TEE-door"). TDoR is for … [Read more...]
10 Everyday Ways We Shame Neurodivergence October 1, 2018 by Gillian Giles 2 Comments Shame is a hard emotion to tease out, it synonymous with emotions like embarrassment or humiliation but it's not the same- it targets the core of a person's being. Similarly shaming and even more so the experience of being ashamed in result is even harder to tease out in our everyday actions. I grew up with ADHD that I didn’t really understand that later in life … [Read more...]
The Myth of the Super Black Woman September 27, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment I like to write, because I can state my opinion without using my voice. It's got a slight tremble at times, my voice; slurred, a certain softness due to illness that gives me away. In my mind it has and will always indicate imperfection, vulnerability. A strangeness that has always meant I immediately and inevitably fall below a threshold of normalcy, fall below gendered … [Read more...]
What Happens if We Lose Roe v. Wade: An Interview With the Abortion Doulas August 31, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment Currently, while I write this, the looming threat of a Roe v. Wade overturn, the future of our rights to bodily autonomy and those whose bodies are most affected by white supremacist patriarchy are on the mind of many. When the most basic rights and needs are attack, it's hard to remember the liberation we truly deserve. With such overwhelming white supremacist violence, a … [Read more...]
3 Ways to Create Safer Space for Black Women in a Misogynoir World April 28, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment The phrase “Safe Space” was by far one of conservative media's favorite phrases of the past year. Post election, particularly in the context of colleges creating them, safe spaces have been accused of aiding the creation of intolerant students, censoring opinions of others and most of all absurdly coddling those who are over-sensitive to the world. On the other end of the … [Read more...]
Yes, That’s Hair & Yes, I’m Ok: Loving ALL of Your Hair While Being Black and Femme April 16, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment For black people hair is a really big deal, especially for black femmes. From an early age having beautiful hair or ‘good hair’ has always been illustrated as having straightened or permed strands. Socially, I was very much made aware that as a black child my braids, twists and puffs were inferior to a white girl’s long straight strands. At that age I had a strong desire to be … [Read more...]
It’s Okay If The Only Thing You Did Today Was Breathe March 2, 2018 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment At the beginning of my depressive episode, I had this distinct memory right of surrender. Of feeling this tug that drew me down into my bed and of feeling this mental shift of, disaster, defeat and general disappointment. A sort of hopelessness slipped in. An illusion of control broke down and any confidence I felt in my ability to control my body, my mind and the ways of which … [Read more...]
Loving My Body For What It Is And Not For What It Produces December 3, 2017 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment I’ve hit this paradox where I can imagine my life in 20 years but I can’t really imagine me living the next four. I can imagine myself in the future, graduated with two degrees, perhaps working as a full-time social scientist, researcher, or maybe a lawyer, living as an activist, archivist, writer, or maybe all three. I can dream up stability, I can dream up security, I can … [Read more...]
Blue Lives Matter?: When Police Policy Protects the Wrong Person October 16, 2016 by Gillian Giles Leave a Comment On July 7th 2016 protesters in Dallas, Texas peacefully rallied against the killings of black people at the hand of the police. It was in this week that Alton Sterling had been shot dead by the police in Baton Rouge. Philando Castile's death immediately following just days after upon being shot by the police in the front seat of his car, his girlfriend watching in horror. The … [Read more...]
