The Flowering Side

I am a trans woman.

I would be happy for that fact to not really matter. When I discovered my transgender identity, my goal and hope was that I would live my life more authentic to myself but otherwise the “transness” of my gender would be nothing more than a fun fact. I endeavored to tell my story, but in my opinion “my story” has more to do with other events in my life rather than my transgender identity.

Unfortunately, the world (and by which I mean President Donald Trump, Republicans, and all associated with them) is insistent on reducing my existence to just Trans and then erasing me entirely. As I am writing this, just 2.5 weeks into Trump’s second term, he has signed another EO in a long list of EOs - this time banning trans women from sports and endeavoring to ban us not just in the US, but across the globe.

I find myself desperate to do something, anything. Guidance I’ve found online says to just “do what we can” and I’ve been informed that “just existing” and “staying with us” is “sufficient” which is nice, but I want to do more. I don’t want to struggle to survive and make it through to the end of whatever this is as a bystander, one of a faceless number of trans victims, or someone who let things happen. So what to do?

I can tell my story. That’s all I can think to do right now. Trump and, effectively, the United States of America wants to erase me? I’ll get loud the only way I know how and the only way I can imagine. I’ll write words. I’ll tell my story. I’ll share my perspective. I will not comply in advance, I will not go quiet into that bad night.

So what about you? Why should you listen? Why should you subscribe to this newsletter and read my writing? I don’t know that I have a compelling argument for you. There are lots of voices out there (and hopefully more to come) speaking out against this administration and the actions being taken by Trump and his minions. Many of them are professional journalists or lawyers - people with training and experience to educate and organize a wide audience. I hope you’re listening to them.

So if you choose to also listen to me, I suppose my hope is that you’ll get a more day to day perspective. A “normal person” view of the current times and events as they impact the transgender community. If you don’t know a transgender person (or if you don’t know that you know a transgender person), I hope you’ll see that we’re not what they say we are. And, knowing that, I hope you feel more inclined to stand by and support us (and the other communities endangered by this administration) instead of standing by and letting it happen.

Worst case: I hope that whatever happens to me, my people, this country, and the world, some part of this story, my words, will have made it through. My goal at the least is that I spoke up and spoke out in whatever ways I could.

More to come.