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[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

My biggest takeaway from the Trans Activism unit is a couple things, from how trans poc are treated in the prison systems and how homeless trans people are treated when they seek shelter. I feel as human beings we can do so much better than this. We can raise awareness about what is actually like to be trans and in the prison system and how broken and messed up that system is. Or how discriminatory homeless shelters can be for trans people. Just because people fall on hard times or may make mistakes that can lead to incarceration, doesn't mean that they are any less human. I think a lot of people forget or don't realize that it could happen to any of us. The unacceptable part is the broken system and the treatment. Trans lives matter, Black trans lives matter, we are all human beings and we should all look towards progress and becoming equal.

As for my picture above, these are a few things that stuck with me as well as a drawing I created of a black trans woman named Mia Green. Mia was unfortunately shot and killed in Philadelphia, PA, of a hate crime. Mia was only 29 years old. May she rest in peace.

*More than 10,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm each year, which equates to more than 28 each day, according to a report from HRC, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Giffords Law Center and Equality Florida titled “Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns Are Taking Lives of Countless LGBTQ People.” 

*information found in article on site: https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-mia-green-black-trans-woman-killed-in-philadelphia

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

My biggest takeaway from the conversation around trans voting, is that trans people have the right to vote like any other American however there are so many things that can prevent trans people to vote. Things like their ID card matching what they look like or how they may not pass as the gender they're trying to perceive. Meanwhile there are voting poll workers that laugh, gawk and stare, eventually humiliating that trans person to either leave and not vote out of fear of humiliation or they sadly out themselves to these people when coming out should be a precious, passionate, and intimately important part of trans lives. The discrimination and harassment needs to stop, especially for the sake of pushing hateful messages that further discriminate trans people as an election tactic. I did however find that there is a hotline trans voters can call: The National Election Protection hotline at 866-687-8683

As Americans that live together in the U.S. we need to do better. Trans people are people that deserve their right to vote.

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

Wasn't expecting the ending but I'm glad it happened this way ♡

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

And that's the tea sis!

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

When watching Susannah Temko's TED talk I recorded these doodles. When listening to Temko I felt their emotions come out as they spoke which told me to begin with how passionately they feel and needed to tell me of their experience being Intersex. I feel I've learned that being Intersex for some or most people can mean that they are abused medically or not, on a physical, mental/emotional level. An important question Temko raised that stuck with me was how I would feel having been born Intersex and my parents had given me surgery to put me in one of the binary boxes as they've stated. I would feel hurt mostly among other emotions. I think it's important we read literature like Malentino's Intersexuality and Coloniality to understand how these all fall into place of sex being a binary system and perhaps what we can do to change it to better fit and understand everyone's identity.

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

I've had a lot of information to process and think about these first four weeks. What were my biggest takeaways from this course? I know I won't be able to cover everything as my.mind is full of weeds currently, however, one of my biggest takeaways was about what exactly cisgender privilege is and how I've always taken it for granted thus far without even realizing. I never knew or understood what exactly this was or knew it existed in the first place! This is something I definitely am making myself more aware of and how I interact with people I don't know. I would never mean to intentionally hurt anyone by saying something that does not identify with them. It may hurt someone's feelings and everyone's feelings are important! Simple as that. I think moving toward this objective to using gender neutral terms and not to assume is a step in the right direction. Among other things that have stuck with me is the wheel of my own demographics, personality, and how and what I identify myself by. I think it's a tool I could use again in the future or even explain to another what it is and how they could discover more about themselves as well. Quite interesting, all the material read thus far, my favorite being The Gender Book at the beginning. Overall I love this class, my classmates, and my professor I truly feel that if I come out of this to remember and have learned anything it's that we should have and show more human compassion for others and their identities. ♡

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

Ruth Bader Ginsberg portrait drawn on an aged dictionary page containing the term “justice.”  8.5x11-ish inches. black ink.

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

I decided to do a quote that felt prevalent in what is happening recently (technically it’s been happening for a long while but uh-). Growing up with the privileges that I have, being white, straight passing, etc- I always knew that I had better chances of succeeding. It was never a question of IF I was going to college, but which college it would be. Never did I question if I would get hired, or if I should hide a side of me in school growing up. It was always a given that I never took a second to be thankful for. Even now, I’m still learning to recognize my own success as something that did come from talent but also was given to me a lot easier than it does to others. Something that should be said- equality does not involve taking white people and making them on that lower level of minorities/the underprivileged- but rather bringing them to the same level we are already on (yes that last sentence is targeted at my dad). (Also also- this is a drawing I did a while back at the beginning of quarantine!)

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

I chose to complete to create my diversity wheel. I decided to do this because I felt that as there is only one of me and I am an individual. Based off the topic of privilege, I mean this by saying to better understand our privileges, we first have to look within our selves and try to see what we may forget or be blind to. The parts of us that are privileged. Privilege being something that I can have or gain that I’ve done absolutely nothing for. I think this wheel is to keep a reminder to myself who I am, what I may not see day to day, and what might be changing years from now. I’d actually find it interesting to see myself compared to the person I will be years from this point. However this a good point to start, a stepping stone into a better me. We can always grow and change as people. These are just a few short ways that I’ve been able to think about identity, privilege and marginality. 

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

Coming Out While Being Christian | Pansexual & Demigender 

I chose to focus on Demigender. I found this video to be very wonderful! They talk about their experience to come out as a pansexual demigirl and what it was like talking through it in a way that also lets them share their religious views. Although I am personally more spiritual than I am religious, I still found this to be interesting. I love at the end when they say they say their identity is in god as a display of how truly close they are to Christianity. I understand that typically (although not always) when people come out to their parents there is always that chance of negativity, hate, bias (being afraid of something they are unfamiliar with) risk. Overall I am glad this person was able to come out so beautifully and to make this beautifully edited video to share to the public. Amazing.  

[overthinkingandalwayshungry]

Sex. Gender. Gender Identity. Gender Expression. The words I kept in my mind drawing this doodle. What I chose to draw: Me (as best as I can) Why did I choose to draw myself with these words and thoughts in mind? I chose to draw myself because I am the only one in control of my gender/gender identity/expression. I would never imagine to tell someone else how they should express their gender, as I would never expect someone else to tell me. In my adulthood anyhow. That’s the beauty I find in gender expression. This is what I feel I look like on a daily basis. Casual. Nothing super feminine nor super masculine. I dress for myself and my own comfort. That’s what’s it’s all about right? Being comfortable with myself. I can genuinely say that I am. I definitely have days where I have moments with low self esteem/confidence. I know that the first thing I have to know is that I love myself. BECAUSE how can you love anybody, if you don’t love yourself? Amen. I’ve reclaimed my own beauty and I’ve taken it for myself. Some days I dress myself up with makeup and blouses and dresses and other days I dress tee shirt, leggings, no makeup. I’m still me. Still how I express myself. Still beautiful. Still worthy. -Meg