Trans author Naomi Kanakia... being trans is “really not that interesting”

[Jessica_Rose]

Trans author Naomi Kanakia wants people to know that being trans is "really not that interesting"

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/trans-author-naomi-kanakia-wants-people-to-know-that-being-trans-is-really-not-that-interesting/ar-AA1nfyhF?ocid=windirect&cvid=c06c6d4230ee451ea2e018796845cf63&ei=61

Story by Molly Sprayregen (19 April 2024)

Tara is a transgender teen with no access to gender-affirming care. She desperately wants to fit in at the all-girls high school she attends in Virginia, but it's not easy when she knows how much she physically stands out. So begins Naomi Kanakia's Just Happy to Be Here, a young adult (YA) novel about surviving girlhood amidst the backdrop of endless political attacks on one's very existence.

Tara is not interested in being an activist or spokesperson for the trans community.

But when it becomes clear that Tara's admission into the club is not guaranteed, many of the students believe transphobia is to blame. However, not even Tara is sure about that. Nevertheless, she feels pressure to stand up and fight when all she really wants to do is fade into the background and keep working on convincing her parents she needs gender-affirming care as soon as possible.

Just Happy To Be Here is about a girl who desperately wants to be seen for who she is and not for her transness. Kanakia spoke with LGBTQ Nation about crafting the story in today's turbulent political climate and the immense responsibility she feels to ensure the novel has a positive impact on trans readers...

[LoriDee]

Nevertheless, she feels pressure to stand up and fight when all she really wants to do is fade into the background

THIS.

Other veterans in my support group have stated this exactly. We don't want to get militant or political. We want to be left alone so we can get on with our lives.
 

[Oldandcreaky]

Tara sounds like me.

[Devlyn]

THIS.

Other veterans in my support group have stated this exactly. We don't want to get militant or political. We want to be left alone so we can get on with our lives.
 

I prefer to get militant and political so young people don't have to. I'd rather have someone bring their issues up with me than have them bully a teenager.

[Faith]

I'm an 'activist' insofar that I came out, transitioned, work and live my life as myself in the same area that people have known me for 50 years now, 6+ as 'me'. So people had the chance to see it all first hand.

I don't force an issue. I don't run around with a chip on my shoulder. If people ask and are willing to listen then I'm willing to answer - within reason. Education one person at a time.

If I'm wronged, I gauge the pros and cons about doing something about it. Bathroom issue at work? I stood up for it. Bathroom issue at a private club? I stopped going. If people asked, I told them why.

the only real issue(s) I have with people asking questions is, 1) they saw me as trans (disheartening) or 2) someone told them (pisses me off).

I was asked once if I was always a woman I replied simple, "yes." the fact that I wasn't aware of it for the first 57 years of my life is none of their business.

[Oldandcreaky]

I prefer to get militant and political so young people don't have to. I'd rather have someone bring their issues up with me than have them bully a teenager.

I understand ^this," Devlyn, and am grateful. I had a modicum of fame and infamy and thus conducted a lot of current for decades. Think of me as a wire that's both melted and crisped and now simply wanting to plunge my hands into my garden soil rather than politics.

[LoriDee]

I am with you there, O&C.

The problem is that it is not an either/or situation. Just because they attack you doesn't mean they will leave that teenager alone. If that were true, I would gladly step into the fray. I'm at a point in my life where I am tired of being the punching bag.

[BlueJaye]

For the most part, I live a quiet life and don't stand out. My life is fairly boring. But due to the bigotry in the athletic world, I found myself embroiled in a controversy with a sports governing body and the subject of minor publicity. Most of us who become activists didn't set out wanting to be one. You encounter something unjust and decide to fight for change, and that puts you into the activist box.

[Oldandcreaky]

The problem is that it is not an either/or situation. Just because they attack you doesn't mean they will leave that teenager alone.

Tragically true.

Most of us who become activists didn't set out wanting to be one. You encounter something unjust and decide to fight for change, and that puts you into the activist box.

^This^ strikes me as true and I wonder if it is. I wonder how many activists were yanked by circumstances into activism.