The New York Times is insisting on using the deadnames of trans journalists

The union representing New York Times writers said they “aren’t budging on the issue,” but the newspaper finds it “unacceptable” that the name of a writer might not match their print archives.

Management at the New York Times is continuing to refuse requests that they change policy to allow journalists to update their published names, or bylines, on articles after they come out as transgender.

07/29/21

Been busy the past few days getting my youngest ready to start high school. Time really does fly so quickly it can take my breath away.

Anyway, the point is, I really haven’t had time to dig through my news feeds to find anything worth sharing. I don’t expect tomorrow to be as hectic, so hopefully I can post something interesting.

Replication of Previous Findings? Comparing Gray Matter Volumes in Transgender Individuals with Gender Incongruence and Cisgender Individuals

Gender identity development is a complex process involving multifactorial interactions among genetic, hormonal, social, and psychological factors. As a result of this complex process, there are different gender identities, including, among others, female, male, nonbinary, agender, gender nonconforming, gender fluid, intersex, pangender, genderqueer, or androgynous. Whereas biological sex (i.e., the sex assigned to an individual at birth on the basis of the anatomy of the reproductive system) and gender identity (i.e., the subjective identification of an individual as male, female, or one of the other gender identities) coincide in most people, there are individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. The phenomenon of gender incongruence (GI) is more widespread and relevant than often thought.

07/27/21

Let me apologize first if this reads as messed up as my thoughts have been today.

For much of this year I have fallen into a state of numbness I haven’t experienced for a very long time. More often than not it seems as though I haven’t had any drive to do more than survive one day to the next. This is something which happened every other time questions regarding my gender arose. I would spend days, sometimes weeks, wondering what it would be like to live my life as female. What it mean to be able to simply walk out the door as the person I felt myself to truly be under the mask I had learned to live with. As my true self, free of the costume I felt compelled to wear in a world I knew would never understand nor accept the truth.

Then I would carefully pack everything away until it faded from consciousness, returning to survival mode until it would unexpectedly rise up and once more leave me reeling with thoughts and fears I didn’t know how to face or reconcile.

It was a cycle which repeated itself over the years until I reached a breaking point I couldn’t recover from.

That was many years ago now. Time and again I have thought I had finally reached a point where going back was impossible, not only because I simply couldn’t but also because I wouldn’t want to.

If only things were so simple.

Today I find myself in a place where I just can’t push past, a place of numbness tinged with a hopelessness I can almost taste. It might be I simply cannot break free of a lifetime of doubt and fear and I will forever be bound by the chains which have bound me for so long.

And That’s Ok

The Heroines of My Life: Interview with Juliana

Interview with Juliana

This blog is about transgender women that are my everyday inspirations. I interviewed over 550 transgender women that radiate with wisdom, beauty, intelligence and love. The blog is about transgender women that proved to me that there is hope for me and it is better to be hated for who you are than to be loved for who you are not.

“I’m Not Into That:” The Difference Between Genital Preference and Bigotry.

Dating exclusion and genital preferences are a broad and controversial topic, so get yourself a drink and get comfortable because we’re going to get real uncomfortable. It seems like folks are doing a lot of hand-wringing about whether it’s more or less obligatory to include trans folks in your dating pool or if excluding us makes you a bad person.

And to that, I say, “wrong question.” We keep having this argument in comments sections and blogs. If we’re going to talk about genital preferences and trans-exclusionary attitudes in dating, we can’t do this halfway. This isn’t as simple a topic as it gets made out to be on the internet. Our mantras about trans women being women and trans men being men aren’t there to help make anything better.

Can we be honest, cis folks? Have you ever said “trans women are women” in the comments section and had a person turn around and go, “wow, I never thought of it like that?” No. Because you’re not saying that to help trans people. If we’re honest, you’re saying that to help you. It’s a performance you put on. So, here’s the deal. If you want to keep doing that song and dance, you can. Have at it. If you’re interested in understanding and thinking about this conversation differently, let’s talk.

The transition language we share

To transition, going from one side to another. We talk about gender transition as a grand narrative, a journey undertaken moving out of the discomfort of the assigned into the hopeful ease of the chosen. There is a lyrical quality to this, indeed the English vocabulary built up over decades has moved from the clinical into the personally abstract. What is transgender anyhow if not to set up apart as sojourners of our own personal truth? If the antonym of trans is cis, then why not play and embrace the language we use?

07/22/21

I’ve been racking my brain for hours now trying to write something which isn’t full of negative news, even with so much going on here in the states, and at this point I’m just overwhelmed.

I think I need to take some time to do something completely removed from anything dealing with trans issues or any of the other things which requires critical thought and just find something completely mindless so I can try to unwind and catch my breath.

~Kira

First Virtual Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference 2021

First Virtual Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference.

Mazzoni Center’s Philadelphia Trans Wellness Conference (PTWC) is the largest transgender health conference in the world. PTWC was founded by Charlene Arcila who was aided by countless community members, to bring the conference to life, year after year. The mission of the PTWC is to educate and empower trans individuals on issues of health and wellness, recognizing the need for expertise surrounding trans health & wellness to rise from within the community.