Dreaming Together, Waking Into a New World
Living real life with other beautiful and functional dreamers
You've likely heard the phrase "I think, therefore I am." It comes from the philosopher René Descartes who began using it in 1637. People tracing
Sex, Gender, and Magic
Our greatest change is born from the spaces between
Last week, I attended Paganicon 2025. As a gathering for Pagan practitioners and those seeking to explore their spiritual practice, Paganicon drew magical practitioners from
Distinguishing Gender by Utility to Humans
Moments to allow "cis" and "trans" into my vocabulary
Long before I posted video content on YouTube or TikTok, I wrote an article explaining my distaste for the words "trans" and "transgender." The former
When someone’s feminism doesn’t speak for you
A new book about anti-trans feminism
After reading (and writing about) Sophie Lewis’s article in the Fall 2024 issue of Lux Magazine, I got a hold, via NetGalley, of an
Damming the River of Wisdom
The current of the Universe: swim or go extinct
Survival.
Since the first spark of life flickered tentatively on planet Earth, its history has been utterly of survival.
Some species adapted to changing conditions,
Morons Playing at Monarchy
Donald Trump's lasting legacy of hate
This week, the United States watched the first convicted felon inaugurated as President of the United States. Every American should be in a fit of
Language, Our Story, and Identity
How the words we use change our lives
I love language, the way it evolves, the way it changes. I used to, and still do occasionally, peruse the dictionary, looking up the roots
Transgender Ambivalence
Acceptance, be it internal or external is something we all struggle with in the trans community.
Many decades ago, I devoured every small fragment of information I could about my 'condition.' I was a crossdresser in isolation, without any connection.
10 Points of Anti-Trans Bias You Can Call Out (More or Less Gently)
Philip N. Cohen calls out anti-trans bias in 10 different ways in his recent essay discussing public reaction to gender-affirming care for youth.
Philip N. Cohen, a sociologist at the University of Maryland, wrote a great essay several days ago. It's called "Are too many children transitioning? That’
And I am telling you: LGBTQ+ people are not going back
How's this for clear, brave, balanced authenticity: We won't support politicians who don't represent us.
When people praise us for being trans, they praise us for our authenticity: Our vision of who we truly are, our courage to live it
Pushing Through a Hard Time
When I think of my gender identity, I think of a Jell-O blob. It's a mass, so it exists, but it's not exactly a 'thing.'
We're pushing through some heavy space-time right now.
I take that metaphor from a new book by Kyla Wazana Tompkins called Deviant Matter: Ferment, Intoxicants,
Gender-Affirming Care Is the New Scopes Monkey Trial
After a hundred years, we should certainly know better
On 04 December 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments in United States vs. Skrmetti, which challenges a 2023 Tennessee
The Power of the Liminal Other
The magic and benefits of being transgender
The Universe knows I am different. I was marked Other from birth.
Perhaps in innocent eyes, I would appear as a white hound with red
From Flower Maiden to Owl Face: A Transgender Allegory
The lesson Welsh myth teaches about identity
The Collective Unconscious is Carl Jung's best-known contribution to psychology. Symbols particular to human understanding of the Universe are stored there, waiting to be tapped
The Unexpected Peace of Gender-Affirming Surgery
How losing small parts of myself helped me gain vast insight into humanity
On 11 July 2024, I received gender-affirming surgery at Yanhee International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.
Although I never wanted to go to Thailand for surgery,
Choosing What You Won't Regret
Ask 'Will I regret not taking this step?' and feel confident you're making the best choice for yourself.
Thirteen years ago, as entry #71 for The Rumpus's advice column "DEAR SUGAR," Cheryl Strayed wrote "The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us." That
The Last Self-Help Advice I Ever Needed
What would you pay to have a life with all your dreams unfulfilled?
My psychiatrist shook my hand as I left his office for the last time. Within two years of scoffing "people like [me] don't get off
People have been mad about 'cisgender' since at least 2007
If someone wants a world where no one is marked as cis, they must simultaneously fight for a world where no one is marked as trans.
The word transsexual first appeared in the 1920s in German, then the 1940s in English. It was coined by male sexologists who weren't themselves trans.
Trans Exiteration
I hear an -iteration with an ex- on it. I'm bad at moving forward. I'm a hanger-on to the past.
More than once, I've written my way through a narrow, thorny place.
I've narrated a life shift on the printed page. I continue to do
Finding My Femininity Only to Lose It
Humans must balance the masculine and feminine - or suffer the consequences
Who are we, really?
Is identity based in our job? Our clothes? Our hair? Is identity derived from our family's legacy - noble or otherwise?