This week (and every week before this one) trans women have spent a lot of time teaching cis people about power, privilege, and gendered experiences. While much of what has been published this week is specifically in response to an author’s statements, these are conversations that I think all non-trans people should learn from. I also learned a lot from #ProtectTransWomen on twitter this week, and recommend checking it out. Raquel Willis responds directly to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s comments, and notes that as a Black feminist, Adichie is held to very high standards. Morgan M. Page reminds us that womanhood is never a single story, and in another article explains the anti-trans history of feminism.
“Ultimately, ending violence against trans people requires those who are not transgender to listen to and respect the needs of transgender people, and for each of us to unearth in ourselves a lifelong commitment to advocating on behalf of each other.” The TGI Justice Project has written an open letter on Black trans safety.
you guys male privilege is a term invented by cis people to describe something experienced by cis people
— Megan Birnie (@imogenbinnie) March 15, 2017
You may have missed the parade, but here’s a Welcome To The Anti-Racism Movement . This is a must-read for my fellow white people thinking about white supremacy and racial injustice.
Alice Sparkly Kat is a decolonial astrologer who uses the stars to think outside of white epistemologies.
Fuck the nuclear family: from Mask Magazine, three people write about how they do and think about queer parenting, labour, and family building.
Hannah Black on gossips.
Poet and writer Derek Walcott passed away on Friday.
A very cool conversation between some of the women of Jane, a group that provided abortions for people who needed them in Chicago between 1968 and 1972.
If you’ve ever dreamed of reading a comic about bingo and Black queer women in love, there’s a kickstarter for you.
Lambda Literary award finalists have been announced (congrats!) and you can check them out here.
On the topic of queer literature: Writers! Metonymy Press has put out a special call for submissions. Have your pitch read by guest jurors (literary geniuses who might give you substantive feedback on your work) Gwen Benaway, Helen Chau Bradley, jia qing wilson-yang, and Kama La Mackerel, and have the chance of winning $500 dollars and a book deal.
We’ve been reminded often over the last year that the literary world is fraught with sexual assault and harassment; read some of your favourite authors discussing their own experiences.
Sexual assault survivors invoice Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Wynne because surviving rape and assault is expensive and survivors shouldn’t have to shoulder those costs on their own.
Beisan Zubi lists the reasons she never reported the sexual harassment she experienced while working in Parliament.
Interested in creating brilliant memes in the long-form intersectional feminist form? Hot tips from meme legends Ka5sh and Goth Shakira.
Thinx period underwear brands themselves as a feminist company, but their business practices don’t reflect it.
6 Black, queer, muslim people on faith, self-care, and identity.
If you can, consider supporting two spirit elder Marjorie Beaucage so that she can continue her community activism and art work.