PinnedHere Is How We Do the 2023 ‘Trans Rights Readathon’Read trans books and support trans people — From March 20 to 27, we — “all the cool bookish kids on the internet” — will be reading and discussing books by trans authors and donating to trans organizations. I’ll blog here on Medium about the books I read. I started a little online fundraising pool for the Transgender…Transgender Rights4 min readTransgender Rights4 min read
1 day agoMember-onlyOn ‘A + E’ by Ryszard MereyBook #6 in my Trans Rights Readathon week — When a delicate, long-haired, deep-voiced gay boy, Asher Machnik, shows up at a new high school, bullies declare they’re uncertain of his gender and beat him up in the boy’s bathroom. Ash takes the janitor’s advice and gets a shorter haircut, but insofar as the bullies have already noticed him…Trans Rights Readathon4 min readTrans Rights Readathon4 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyOn ‘This Kid Can Fly’ by Aaron Rose PhilipBook #5 in my Trans Rights Readathon week — When she was 14, Aaron Rose Philip published the memoir This Kid Can Fly: It’s About Ability (Not Disability), co-written with Tanya Bolden. Intimate, informative, and overall upbeat, it’s geared for readers ages 8–12. After the book was published, Philip came out as a trans woman, and…Aaron Rose Philip3 min readAaron Rose Philip3 min read
2 days agoMember-onlyPosie Parker Won’t Tell Us About the BillionairesOn air, she alludes to a conspiracy theory — and then won’t explain it — The journalist Kim Hill admirably managed a difficult interview with the British anti-trans activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, aka Posie Parker. The interview aired yesterday on Radio New Zealand’s Morning Report. The 12-minute audio: “Anti-transgender activist on stoush around her entering NZ.” Hill asked Parker why Nazis attended one of her recent…Posie Parker6 min readPosie Parker6 min read
3 days agoMember-onlyDoes ‘Woke’ Mean Saying — or Not Saying — Certain Words?In any case, careful speech—including refraining from speaking — can build trust — When the right wing refers to “woke,” sometimes they want to prevent people from saying certain words. This year, at the University of Central Florida, for example, professors have removed certain words that the government tells them are too “woke.” Human rights, social justice, dictatorship — the far-right governor won’t…Woke10 min readWoke10 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyOn ‘Short Film Starring My Beloved’s Red Bronco’ by K. IverBook #4 in my Trans Rights Readathon week — I appreciate reading poetry, but I’m always challenged to write about it. An excellent poem speaks itself, and though the poem may mean something different each time it is read or spoken, I don’t believe it needs to be reinterpreted with different words by someone else. So here are five…Trans Rights Readathon4 min readTrans Rights Readathon4 min read
4 days agoMember-onlyOn ‘Hall of Waters’ by Camellia-Berry GrassBook #3 in my Trans Rights Readathon week — In Hall of Waters, Camellia-Berry Grass writes linked essays about her hometown of Excelsior Springs, Missouri, where the sculptor Donald Judd was born in 1928. The Hall of Waters is the name of a building at the site of the first mineral spring the settlers discovered. Of course, “the idea…Trans Rights Readathon4 min readTrans Rights Readathon4 min read
5 days agoMember-onlyDeSantis Expands ‘Don’t Say Gay’High school teachers in Florida can’t say it — In early 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis banned classroom instruction relating to sexual orientation and gender identity — essentially, any mention thereof — in Grades K–3. It was officially called the “Parental Rights in Education Act” and informally known as “Don’t Say Gay.” It took effect over the summer. A…Dont Say Gay4 min readDont Say Gay4 min read
5 days agoMember-onlyOn ‘Transexualidades’ by Miquel MisséBook #2 in my Trans Rights Readathon week — For the #TransRightsReadathon, I want to tell you about Miquel Missé’s 2013 book Transexualidades: Otras miradas posibles, of which I have the 2014 second edition in Spanish. Travesti, Transexual, Transgénero Missé, who was born in Barcelona in the mid-1980s, is especially interested in the word transexualidad [transsexuality]. It’s a word that operates along…Trans Rights Readathon4 min readTrans Rights Readathon4 min read
Mar 21Member-onlyOn ‘Cistem Failure’ by Marquis BeyBook #1 in my 2023 Trans Rights Readathon week — For the #TransRightsReadathon, I want to tell you about Marquis Bey’s 2022 book Cistem Failure: Essays on Blackness and Cisgender. What Is Cis? What Is Trans? On one definition, cisgender simply means not transgender. But as with all words, inevitably the meaning is broadened. A typical understanding of cisgender, as Bey writes, is that it implies…Trans Rights Readathon8 min readTrans Rights Readathon8 min read
