Apr 21wishing death on a cis woman reeks of a dangerous misogynistic narrative no much better than the…11AMinLondonIf you think anybody in the context of this essay about a months-old and forgotten twitter hashtag…If you think anybody in the context of this essay about a months-old and forgotten twitter hashtag wished physical harm of any kind upon JK Rowling, your poor reading comprehension skills are either highly concerning for an adult human -- or -- more likely, you aren't here in good faith…1 min read1 min read
Feb 24Member-only“Getting older feels odd because I expected to be dead by now”Later this year I will become 35 years old. I came out as trans during pride season several years ago when I was about 27, and before that, I came out as generically queer when I was about 17. It seems that in just a few more years after I…Suicide10 min readSuicide10 min read
Feb 13Member-onlyWhy didn’t more of us see Rowling’s bigotry coming?I recently had a commenter on one of my JK Rowling-related essays ask me: “[…] didn’t you fans ever notice no queer characters? None. In — what? — seven books? And people are ambushed by her being transphobic? I’d have been astonished if she weren’t.” There’s kind of a lot…Harry Potter11 min readHarry Potter11 min read
Jan 153 Reasons Autism Gets Worse After You Learn You’re Autistic1.3K16Jackie SchuldI once had a trauma-specialized therapist tell me that he was hesitant of me embracing my autism…I once had a trauma-specialized therapist tell me that he was hesitant of me embracing my autism diagnosis because, and this is a direct quote, "Sometimes diagnosis makes people exhibit more autistic symptoms." He posed this as a negative and a reason why I should avoid digging too deep into…2 min read2 min read
Sep 29, 2022What does “assigned sex at birth” mean?2267Anna B.When I first encountered these terms, Assigned sex" applied more to intersex people, while…When I first encountered these terms, Assigned sex" applied more to intersex people, while "assigned gender" applied more to transgender people. Recently I've seen intersex individuals use the term "Coercively assigned _gender/sex_ at birth" to alleviate any confusion between the terms, given that there is a pretty big difference between…3 min read3 min read
Aug 12, 2022Member-onlyAddiction Recovery Spaces & the Trans CommunityI’m coming up on the two-year anniversary of a friend’s death due to overdose. For the purpose of this essay, I’ll call her Bailey. We had come to know each other through trans therapy spaces and were part of each other's lives, in some capacity, for roughly four years. …Addiction Recovery5 min readAddiction Recovery5 min read
Jul 27, 2022Should Straight People Write From a Queer Perspective?85420Elle Beau ❇︎Drag was, in fact, created by trans women of color and continues to be an art form that features…Drag was, in fact, created by trans women of color and continues to be an art form that features tons of trans and nonbinary performers. By virtue of there simply being more cis people in existence, more of them do drag, but they often learn of their craft from trans…2 min read2 min read
Jul 6, 2022Member-onlyThe Politics & Privilege of “Passing”Why cis-assuming privilege is the golden standard of transition for so many — For many trans people, passing (or cis-assuming privilege) is the golden standard. That is to say, passing as cisgender rather than being seen as a person transitioning from “one gender to the other.” Effectively, it means to become not visibly trans. The term was first used similarly by Black American…Transgender14 min readTransgender14 min read
Jun 24, 2022Member-onlyThe War on Body Rights Has Just BegunConservatives and the Fostering of an American Dystopia — As indicated in May, the US Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a sweeping decision that immediately impacts abortion rights across the country that has dangerous implications for the future of same-sex and interracial marriage. In the decades since Roe v. …Abortion5 min readAbortion5 min read
Jun 22, 2022Member-onlyMy Five Years of PrideMusings on what I’ve learned in the last 1825 days since coming out trans — I came out about my trans identity around this time in 2017. It was nearing the end of Pride month and I was living in New York with my ex-boyfriend in a small apartment in Astoria. We’ll call him Phil. We had a tumultuous relationship, founded upon mutual anxiety and…Pride17 min readPride17 min read