The catered coming out story For three-and-a-half years now, I’ve known that I am trans. Back then, when I started writing about gender, I was crafting the first narratives that would help me integrate my emerging identity into my established self-concept. These stories found roots in dissonance with childhood toys, with my body during puberty…

The past two years Something strange started happening two years ago. I would be out hiking on a trail I’d never visited before and someone would stop me for advice. “How much longer to the top?” they’d ask, though I was still on my way up as well. Or, it might be a query…

Despite suggestions otherwise, the answer is yes. — “GENDER IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT!” I don’t know if this ever-present trans rallying cry has been yelled from a rooftop, but I wouldn’t doubt it. From Judith Butler’s theorizing to the ways that gender non-conformists are harassed online and on the street, it is clear that, instead of being intrinsic…

I recognize her face the moment I enter the darkened lounge. We worked together at that restaurant, now over two years ago. Though we only shared a smattering of shifts, I fondly recall moments of ridiculing our terrible boss together. As I walk toward her on the way to the…

A Normalized Narrative In my work supporting other transgender folks, one of the most common refrains I encounter is “How can I be 100% sure (that I’m transgender / that I want to do x related to medical transition / that I won’t change my mind after I do all the work of…