Just made a donation for the sake of all my LGBTQ+ friends and acquaintances. We have friends with trans children who live with such terrible anxiety. My heart breaks for them all.
As we were characterized back in the day, my husband and I are straight but not narrow. I was not aware of all the damage done in the Nazi book burnings. Thanks for educating me on that subject.
I don’t have words. But you have my compassion and empathy.
There are other countries where you would be safe, but I understand not wanting to leave your country, and you shouldn’t have to. I can’t fathom what’s happening to the USA, it’s absolutely frightening to watch it unfold.
Thanks, Amy. This is an incredibly trying time in global history, not just here in the US. I'm not sure whether it's better to stand our ground or flee to keep ourselves alive and able to tell our stories. Maybe both? I know for a fact that not all queer people will make it to safety, and we should not have to flee from our homes. But for those who do find safer communities, we need a pathway to get news, information, and stories out to them so that the truth can be known and remembered.
Canada ran an Underground Railroad once before and we can do it again.
Many countries in Europe are also safe. I think safety would be my primary focus if I were in that position. But who’s to say what I would do, in actuality. It’s a complex situation.
Thank you for publishing the stories of trans people. I'm not leaving - I'm going to fight for all of the people that don't have a voice. Peaceful, non-violent resistance and continuing to build bridges with allies. We have common cause with women and immigrants, with other LGBTQ people, with Black and brown bodies, with millions of cis, white allies. That's not a plan but a helpful observation. I can help build the bridges and hopefully we can make a plan before we lose the country to chaos.
Oh Robin I am sending you so much love. And thanks for this post. We don’t have a plan. One of my biggest frustrations in the falling out and disagreement within the community and within allies which expends so much wasted energy.
These stories must be preserved. As a parent I needed to learn, to read, ti research to understand. It has opened up such a rich seam in my life and brought me huge admiration and love for my daughter and all the trans+ people I have the pleasure of knowing.
Jacqui, you are so right about this. We shouldn't let our differences or disagreements hinder the progress our community so desperately needs. We might not always like the stories someone else tells, but those stories still matter, and they still belong as part of a broader discourse. And this is how we grow together.
Well the flip side of planning is that they say stuff like: folx make a plan and [insert cosmic force here] laughs!
I don't know, I think I'm actually femme-ish but I have no clue what I'm doing or how to be "bog witch" gender if that's even right for me? In fact a year ago I was (supposedly) a guy and oblivious to things! Kind of the worst possible time for me to be in gender exploration mode in the USA, of course. Don't know how safe it is even to be writing on here about it all.
BUT I sense somehow (and of course I have no idea what's going on if it even makes sense) nature and spirituality need to be part of the plan, like when people fail us Sister Water and Sister Mother Earth will still take care of us if we respect them and ask?
Anyway maybe that's a piece of it and others can put together more "practical" stuff.
I think bog witch is actually a really lovely gender! I think the gender we each get to grow into is the right one for us, and in a perfect world we would all have that opportunity, even and especially as it changes over the course of our lives.
Trusting in the wilds around us feels like a very natural part of things, and we should ask them for their support. It's so hard to step into that space willingly, and I hope others will join us there.
Heart-breaking and eloquent. Books matter so much, preserving the stories. This terror hanging over people is unspeakable, but has to be spoken of. I was in the UK the day of the 'Unite the Kingdom' march -- the marchers told me they want to be more like the US and 'have their country back' -- chilling code for no trans folx, no one of colour... -- my trans daughter and her partner are considering a move to Ireland after multiple assaults on the streets of London and new repressions. But moves to resources -- emotional and financial. So many are simply trapped and living in fear. It's pernicious and wholly unnecessary.
Oh Jan, I'm so sorry this is hitting us everywhere all at once. I often wonder if there are any truly safe spaces left to go to, but I do know Ireland very well, and I think there's a possibility of peace and protection there. They've got a pretty damn long history of oppression, so maybe it's good company.
Thank you, Robin -- we are living in very strange times and yes -- is anywhere safe is an urgent question. We also know Ireland well, and though it's not without problems the law there is onside and there are good places. xx
I'm hoping some of the elders might have thoughts and helpful ideas. There's people alive still who lived through WW2 and know from oral histories how networks like the French resistance worked, keeping people safe and hidden and alive. Elders who remember when being gay was illegal and everything was underground and how we survived and connected in the face of it. I'm also hoping alliances and information and bonds can grow between trans communities and those who have ancestral memories of resisting plantation economies, (yes and some people are embodied at the intersection of both histories of oppression). The rhizomes and the connections are nascent - if we all put what we can into that system, we might find that, while there's no *strategy* for dealing with this moment, there are at least some *tactics* that help. (Nerd ref to De Certeau, the practice of everyday life).
Yes, definitely this. We've got collective knowledge, and we need to create the pathways to share it. We have so much to gain by engaging with our intersectionality.
Ugh, that's a gut punch. If we disappear, who will know? I want to say that I will know, but even that rings a little hollow. I won't know unless you can tell me, and... well that wouldn't work, would it. I wonder how many of us are facing that possibility.
But listen, I WANT to know. I want to be connected to as many in our trans/queer community as I possibly can. You're part of that big, gorgeous family, and I care deeply about your safety and your future.
Just made a donation for the sake of all my LGBTQ+ friends and acquaintances. We have friends with trans children who live with such terrible anxiety. My heart breaks for them all.
As we were characterized back in the day, my husband and I are straight but not narrow. I was not aware of all the damage done in the Nazi book burnings. Thanks for educating me on that subject.
Hollyanna, thank you. You make an enormous difference, and I'm so grateful to have you here.
I don’t have words. But you have my compassion and empathy.
There are other countries where you would be safe, but I understand not wanting to leave your country, and you shouldn’t have to. I can’t fathom what’s happening to the USA, it’s absolutely frightening to watch it unfold.
Thanks, Amy. This is an incredibly trying time in global history, not just here in the US. I'm not sure whether it's better to stand our ground or flee to keep ourselves alive and able to tell our stories. Maybe both? I know for a fact that not all queer people will make it to safety, and we should not have to flee from our homes. But for those who do find safer communities, we need a pathway to get news, information, and stories out to them so that the truth can be known and remembered.
Canada ran an Underground Railroad once before and we can do it again.
Many countries in Europe are also safe. I think safety would be my primary focus if I were in that position. But who’s to say what I would do, in actuality. It’s a complex situation.
Thank you for publishing the stories of trans people. I'm not leaving - I'm going to fight for all of the people that don't have a voice. Peaceful, non-violent resistance and continuing to build bridges with allies. We have common cause with women and immigrants, with other LGBTQ people, with Black and brown bodies, with millions of cis, white allies. That's not a plan but a helpful observation. I can help build the bridges and hopefully we can make a plan before we lose the country to chaos.
Love this, Robin. Thank you...helps to hear you articulate the interiority of my experience and the history of our trancestors so clearly. 🩵🩷🤍💔
Oh Robin I am sending you so much love. And thanks for this post. We don’t have a plan. One of my biggest frustrations in the falling out and disagreement within the community and within allies which expends so much wasted energy.
These stories must be preserved. As a parent I needed to learn, to read, ti research to understand. It has opened up such a rich seam in my life and brought me huge admiration and love for my daughter and all the trans+ people I have the pleasure of knowing.
Take care xx
Jacqui, you are so right about this. We shouldn't let our differences or disagreements hinder the progress our community so desperately needs. We might not always like the stories someone else tells, but those stories still matter, and they still belong as part of a broader discourse. And this is how we grow together.
Hi Robin!
Well the flip side of planning is that they say stuff like: folx make a plan and [insert cosmic force here] laughs!
I don't know, I think I'm actually femme-ish but I have no clue what I'm doing or how to be "bog witch" gender if that's even right for me? In fact a year ago I was (supposedly) a guy and oblivious to things! Kind of the worst possible time for me to be in gender exploration mode in the USA, of course. Don't know how safe it is even to be writing on here about it all.
BUT I sense somehow (and of course I have no idea what's going on if it even makes sense) nature and spirituality need to be part of the plan, like when people fail us Sister Water and Sister Mother Earth will still take care of us if we respect them and ask?
Anyway maybe that's a piece of it and others can put together more "practical" stuff.
I think bog witch is actually a really lovely gender! I think the gender we each get to grow into is the right one for us, and in a perfect world we would all have that opportunity, even and especially as it changes over the course of our lives.
Trusting in the wilds around us feels like a very natural part of things, and we should ask them for their support. It's so hard to step into that space willingly, and I hope others will join us there.
Heart-breaking and eloquent. Books matter so much, preserving the stories. This terror hanging over people is unspeakable, but has to be spoken of. I was in the UK the day of the 'Unite the Kingdom' march -- the marchers told me they want to be more like the US and 'have their country back' -- chilling code for no trans folx, no one of colour... -- my trans daughter and her partner are considering a move to Ireland after multiple assaults on the streets of London and new repressions. But moves to resources -- emotional and financial. So many are simply trapped and living in fear. It's pernicious and wholly unnecessary.
Oh Jan, I'm so sorry this is hitting us everywhere all at once. I often wonder if there are any truly safe spaces left to go to, but I do know Ireland very well, and I think there's a possibility of peace and protection there. They've got a pretty damn long history of oppression, so maybe it's good company.
Thank you, Robin -- we are living in very strange times and yes -- is anywhere safe is an urgent question. We also know Ireland well, and though it's not without problems the law there is onside and there are good places. xx
I'm hoping some of the elders might have thoughts and helpful ideas. There's people alive still who lived through WW2 and know from oral histories how networks like the French resistance worked, keeping people safe and hidden and alive. Elders who remember when being gay was illegal and everything was underground and how we survived and connected in the face of it. I'm also hoping alliances and information and bonds can grow between trans communities and those who have ancestral memories of resisting plantation economies, (yes and some people are embodied at the intersection of both histories of oppression). The rhizomes and the connections are nascent - if we all put what we can into that system, we might find that, while there's no *strategy* for dealing with this moment, there are at least some *tactics* that help. (Nerd ref to De Certeau, the practice of everyday life).
Yes, definitely this. We've got collective knowledge, and we need to create the pathways to share it. We have so much to gain by engaging with our intersectionality.
Ugh, that's a gut punch. If we disappear, who will know? I want to say that I will know, but even that rings a little hollow. I won't know unless you can tell me, and... well that wouldn't work, would it. I wonder how many of us are facing that possibility.
But listen, I WANT to know. I want to be connected to as many in our trans/queer community as I possibly can. You're part of that big, gorgeous family, and I care deeply about your safety and your future.