This trip... this city has changed my life. But that's not really news, right?
Tonight all of us volunteered at the LGBT Community Center by making name badges for their upcoming Gala, ate a quick dinner on the go, and made our way back to the center for a spoken word performance named, Girl Talk. This last piece in particular was amazing.
The event was all about trans and cis-gendered women who talked about issues of gender, sexuality, and being beautiful, strong, and successful women. Again, amazing. I know you're jealous. Here are the featured guests: Mira Bellwether, Gina de Vries, Tara Hardy, Tobi Hill-Meyer, Marlene Hoeber, Sadie Lune, Elena Rose (aka little light), and Ray Rubin. These women have made incredible contributions to their community (like the first for/by trans-women porn called "Doing it Ourselves" as well as a zine called, "Fucking Trans-Women") and are definitely worth a google.
As an aspiring ally to the transgender community, I was extremely enlivened and moved to hear these deeply personal narratives about everything from transitioning to sex to simply having safe spaces to discuss trans issues.
This day especially has me thinking about what I want to bring back from this trip: to Hamline, to the Twin Cities, and to the larger community. On the one hand, I feel like I've made major headway in discussing the importance of acceptance in the cis-gender community of the LGB movement. But what about the T? I don't think I've done enough exploring of this one subject which at once seems to encompass far more than the L, G, or B.
I'm still in love with my experience in San Francisco and with my group. It's beyond words how amazing it is to observe the closeness of my group and how that closeness has developed since Saturday. I can't be any more grateful to be where I am right now, right here.
Namaste, folks...
Grady
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