Blog

How many anti-trans laws were proposed last week?
They‘ve been counted, but let’s also reflect on what they mean. We all need to be amplifying the news and the message. Support the trans people and cis allies who are doing the work.

Yet 10 *more* ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Now my list is up to 30. More than one transphobe engages with these ideas. If you read them, you’ll feel the force of the repetition. The message: Trans people shouldn’t exist.

10 *more* ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Truly, there are a lot of ways. Here are items 11–20. Trans people have a relevant perspective here. When we hear anti-transgender statements, we know that the true meaning is ‘trans people shouldn’t exist’.

Trans volta
I didn’t choose the word ‘trans’ to describe my unique life path, nor would I have chosen it, but these days, this word happens to be the umbrella that works in the rain. A word you can use alongside ‘trans’ is ‘volta’.

Assume humanity, then ask about happiness
Trans people‘s say-so is evidence of our happiness. But no one should ask for evidence that trans people are people. Previously, I used Lydia Polgreen’s opinion as an example, and I identified and extracted these writing tips for you. Please note this key distinction.

No one needs ‘evidence’ that transition improves trans people’s humanity
Let’s distinguish scientific uncertainty from value judgment. Anti-trans prejudice doesn’t justify demanding evidence about trans people’s humanity. When we let go of prejudice, some common ‘questions’ dissolve.

Can an identity be true and not true?
On ‘constitutive tension’ in our concepts. Picking apart someone else’s identity? First ask: Why do you want to? What would be gained? And lost? What happens to your own identity in the process?

Gödel is sure Bach, and trans people are sure their gender
Reflections on the Pulitzer-winning ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach’ (1979). Their objection is an infinite regress. They’re laying a trap. If we needed rules about rules about rules, none of us could ever use language at all.

How do we know who we are?
Do we learn it from a crystal ball—or from our guts? How do others state with certainty that they know who they are? Do they have a crystal ball? Of course, we’re jealous. How can we know ourselves, too?