Biden did not “erase” women but those who claim he did, are trying to erase trans people. — On this first day in office, President Biden signed an Executive Order promising to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination under federal law. …

Here is what is happening in state legislatures while we turn our attention elsewhere. — In the coming week much of our national attention will be focused on Super Tuesday primary voting and the domestic and global responses to COVID-19. But while these stories dominate our time, attention and resources, systemic attacks on trans lives will continue in many state legislatures. …

A short primer on the branches of government — I didn’t learn much about how government works at various levels until I was several years into being a lawyer. We are strategically withheld information about how laws operate on our lives to prevent us from advocating for change and maintaining agency over our bodies and our survival. …

Remarks given at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park on Monday, June 17, 2019 as part of The Public Theater’s Public Forum: QUEER & NOW event. — Good evening. I heard that this year is an anniversary. 50 years since the Stonewall riots as they are sometimes called. And because of this anniversary, we are told, we should pause longer, pride harder, remember differently. But what is an anniversary if we mark time through historical narrative that…

There is something unique about the rejection of our existence that contributes to our pain. — One of the traumas of existing in this world can be the dismissal of our emotional pain. For trans people, this is a common theme in our lives: the insistence that we are responsible for our own pain — as if we chose it. But we did not choose to…

On Saturday morning, MSNBC host Joy Reid addressed the anti-LGBTQ language that she had tweeted in the past and which appeared on her old blog between 2006 and 2009. I was a guest on the panel of “LGBT activists” brought in to engage with Joy about the blog and tweets…

Thank you for seeing me, for honoring my work, and for devoting yourself to our beautiful community. — Below are the written remarks I delivered on November 13, 2017 at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Awards where I was humbled to be recognized. A modified version of these were spoken that evening. Good evening, everyone. Thank you all so much for being here to honor this incredible, life-saving, organization…

It is so easy to celebrate and revere white people, but it is important to remember that our platforms are the product of white supremacy. — I love award shows. I always have. Last night, watching the Emmy’s, I was struck again by how many white people are present on screen at any given moment, validating the centrality of whiteness (often mediocre whiteness) in our society. Growing up queer and trans, I was keenly aware of…

Your demons don’t leave you but you find strength and beauty because of them. — I could not look away from the smiling images of the fourteen year-old trans boy who seemed to exude promise and joy — even if that joy was somewhat tempered by a familiar pain. He was perfect. And he was gone. The images were recurring on my Facebook timeline because…