By Nawal Arjini — 2019
We talked to the writer about his debut memoir How We Fight for Our Lives and his move from poetry to prose.
Read on www.thenation.com
CLEAR ALL
When I told my family I was trans, one of their initial reactions was, “But you’re so hairy! It’s going to be so difficult to remove all your hair to be a woman, so you should just give up.” They were zeroing in on my body hair as the barrier for me to be seen as feminine.
After generations in the shadows, the intersex rights movement has a message for the world: We aren’t disordered and we aren’t ashamed.
The term “Two Spirit” in Native American culture often describes a person possessing both male and female spirits. And they’ve been around well before the Santa Maria or the Mayflower dropped anchor.
Being able to safely affirm one’s gender identity and sexual orientation is crucial to mental and physical well-being. Yet many LGBTQIA+ people face enormous challenges in owning their true identities.
So many of the little rituals I have each day—like my makeup or skincare routine—do help soothe and/or rejuvenate me. For me, any type of solo practiced routine is good. But I’ve learned that self-care does not, and cannot, sustain me. And I believe that this may be the case for many of you.
Who owns your identity, and how can old ways of thinking be replaced?
1
Creating spaces where the need to assimilate, conform, and belong are no longer important
2
Xe/xem, ze/zir, and fae/faer are catching on as alternatives for transgender and nonbinary people
Confusion over why autism is so prevalent among transgender people may be limiting their access to medical care.
A three-time U.S. champion in figure skating, Eliot Halverson is Colombian-born, was adopted and raised by a white Minnesotan family and is transgender non-binary.