Decidedly Obscure Human Complaints.

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day observed annually around the world to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia - the hatred or fear of transgender and gender non-conforming people. It's a day of mixed feelings for me. Sadness that transphobia is so rampant that a startling number of beautiful lives are lost. It is estimated that transgender individuals in the U.S. today have a one-in-twelve chance of being murdered (Uniform Crimes Reports, 2000) . This is roughly 1500 times higher than the general population and amounts to approximately one murder every three days (National Center for Health Statistics, 2009) . Due to this, the day set aside as a “transgender holiday” is a day of memorializing a long list of murdered victims to raise much-needed awareness. But, this awareness is vital. Transphobia needs silence to survive , and I seriously can't wait for the day when we can have Transgender Pride — a celebration of our lives. ...

I need to learn Swedish. Stat. Swedish School’s Big Lesson Begins With Dropping Personal Pronouns STOCKHOLM — At an ocher-color preschool along a lane in Stockholm’s Old Town, the teachers avoid the pronouns “him” and “her,” instead calling their 115 toddlers simply “friends.” Masculine and feminine references are taboo, often replaced by the pronoun “hen,” an artificial and genderless word that most Swedes avoid but is popular in some gay and feminist circles. Read more >

I just self-injected! Finally! It's been a little over 9 months that I suddenly, for no reason, couldn't self-inject . It was bizarre, because I'd been self-injecting testosterone cypionate into my thigh for almost three years with no fear and very little problems. And then, bam! - I just, couldn't . Confused and frustrated, I assumed that maybe I was just off my game that week. But then it happened that following week. And the week after. And for over nine months, I've discovered that it's an incredible inconvenience to have to rely on someone else (usually my father) for my injections. I started to develop additional anxieties around what's going to happen when someone isn't around to help, like when I move to Maryland next summer and don't know anyone who could help. I've also been irrationally hard on myself about it. I woke up Friday morning determined to do my it myself. I decided not to do it in the morning, when there's a lo...

A few days ago I was asked by a sociology professor to be a panelist in her Gender and Sexuality class. Given that I'm committed to rambling on about my experiences to any poor sap who will listen, including a captive audience of hapless college students, I enthusiastically agreed. Most of this enthusiasm stems from knowing first-hand how unsettling transgender and gender-nonconformity can be for many - and how vital knowledge and interaction are for dismantling prejudice and discrimination. Openness is particularly vital given how corrosive assumptions about “normalcy" manifests in incredibly dangerous ways for anyone who strays from the fabricated norm. It's particularly exciting to have so many cisgender allies who are so supportive, and help to educate away the ignorance through whatever means are available to them. Speaking of, I stumbled across an interesting article just the other day regarding the controversy around the gender of Caster Semenya, the 18-yea...

I noticed that something was definitely wrong with my elderly kitty, Evilbunny, last night. When I tried to pet him near his lower back or pick him up, he'd cry, clearly in pain. Then, today, when I got home from school, he was worse. He had become more sensitive to touch and was having difficulty walking. I had no idea what was wrong, but I was really worried that he was experiencing something that his younger brother had about 12 years ago - a sudden, paralyzing blood clot. It was 6pm by the time I got home so my mom, brother, and I took him to a nearby after-hours emergency vet. The vet confirmed that Evil definitely had severe pain, and concluded that it wasn't a scary blood clot situation (even though Evil does have a heart murmur and is at high risk), but severe arthritis. The x-rays confirmed his suspicions. We left with a prescription for kitty morphine and some other medicines. The second we got home I gave him all of his medicine, and then tore my room apa...

Thanks for sharing, Natalie! "A German father said that he sometimes wears skirts to support his son, who also prefers to wear skirts and dresses." The Advocate: Dad Wears Dress in Solidarity With Dress-Loving Son >