Lately I’ve been puzzled by the number of people who seem to think it’s possible to have a conversation about gender equality and transgender liberation without discussing economic injustice and racialized experiences. One reason this thought is so common is because of mainstream media. While media engaging with certain transgender bodies and experiences has become more … [Read more...]
5 Ways Cis People Can Help Make Life Safer for Trans Folks
Every day, I have to make the decision about whether or not to come out as transgender. There's a good reason why so much of my friend group is composed of trans people. I don't have to explain myself to them, I don't have to worry whether they are seeing me as I truly am, and I don't have to worry about any unintended microaggressions they might say relating to my gender. … [Read more...]
4 Things Cis Folk Are Clueless About Trans Folk
I appreciate all the cis people in my life who have worked hard to learn about trans issues and become better allies to me and people like me. Despite their sincerity and hard work, there are a few habits that are so deeply engrained into our culture that I notice cis people have trouble remembering to step out of them. So I put together a list of a few things I notice my cis … [Read more...]
Anti-Trans “Feminists” Converted My Friend: Here’s Why We Can’t Stay Silent
I was scrolling through my Facebook feed one average day recently, when all of a sudden I was confronted with a post condemning the recent passage of a bill protecting the rights of transgender youth. The same bill all my other friends, primarily queer and trans, were celebrating. The post was by someone I went to graduate school with… for gender studies. I … [Read more...]
Living the Contradictions: How My Disability Changes the Way My Masculinity is Perceived
When I was in the Job Corps and had to choose a trade to learn, I chose the one that most of the male students and the masculine-identified AFAB ones did: construction. It was, to the sensibilities of a bunch of working-class 16-to-24-year-olds, the only trade offered that was macho enough. And I sucked at it. I was clumsy. Motor coordination and balance have always been … [Read more...]
How Your Everyday Language Reinforces Homophobia & Transphobia – Part 2
*The first part of this necessary conversation by Ramona Rio can be found here. Politically and personally, there is a continued conversation about the nuances between cis gender identities and trans identities. Specifically, conversations about words and language used to deconstruct patriarchy and recenter womanhood have simultaneously been conversations about dismantling … [Read more...]
8 Ways Non-Binary People Rock!
Those of us who have genders that leap ecstatically out of the gender binary are stellar beings that disrupt, re-define, and challenge traditional conceptions of gender identity and expression, and there are just about as many ways to express and live a non-binary gender identity as there are stars in the sky. Let's explore some of the ways that non-binary people push … [Read more...]
Who Can and Cannot be Feminine… Without Giving Up Their Safety?
Before being out as feminine, in order to maintain any sense of safety (no matter how fragile), I was always expected and only allowed to express my femininity with certain restrictions, and these restrictions changed depending on who I was with and where I was. This often made things not only confusing, but miserable. It was difficult to keep up with who I was supposed to … [Read more...]
