Hello everyone,
I have been hearing good things about this website and thought I would come check it out. Here's a bit about me personally:
I am a trans* spectrum individual. I've kind of given up trying to identify more specifically than that because I find that the more specific terms tend to not quite work for various reasons. People around here (Maryland/DC area) typically classify me as either a transwoman, a detransitioner, or a cisgender ally. My rule is to be amused and let those who are worried about it figure it out.
I am a lawyer. I lost my job for being trans* about a year and a half ago. I have not managed to find other work. The experience itself was so damaging that healthwise, both mentally and physically, I am just now starting to really recover. I used to take some comfort in thinking that other people have it worse than me. Then I got a phone call from one of the National orgs saying they were working on ENDA lobbying with NCTE and trying to find videos of employment discrimination stories. They told me I had the worst one they had ever heard of and wondered if I'd make a video. My story is pretty bad, but surely someone must have a worse one . . . .
I fill my time these days by having my own law practice (sometimes I even have clients!), trying to find stable work, and doing work with and for the trans* community. So here's a bit about what I do with the trans* community:
-I am the lead cofounder and current president of Maryland Trans*Unity, a community building organization in Maryland and DC that seeks to build community and destroy isolation by providing and promoting safe spaces for trans* people and allies. We operate the only trans* support group in Montgomery County, Maryland. The group at the DC LGBT Center is modeled on ours and run using our volunteers too. We also host an annual community picnic that invites everyone from a wide geographic area and we have a one-on-one mentor program. Everything we do is also cisgender inclusive and we cater to ALL identities under the trans* umbrella, including non-binary identities and the ones that are stigmatized within the community.
-I run a listserv called the Trans* Support Network that links support group facilitators, ministers, mental health professionals, and others who are working to support the trans* community.
-I do advocacy in both DC and Maryland. I was formerly on the inaugural steering committee of the Maryland Coalition for Trans Equality. I'm working on plans to do some trans* cultural competence training in the Montgomery County government. And I am sort of a sidekick for Casa Ruby in D.C. In their work. And of course I represent trans* people as a lawyer in both DC and Maryland.
There is other stuff as well. But it's the community work that brings me here. I'm always looking to be helpful where I can, to connect with ordinary people, to see what's going on, to exchange ideas and to do what I can to build a more inclusive, kinder, gentler trans* community.
I have heard good things about here. Congratulations if you made it to the end! I hope people will forgive me if I don't post a ton and indulge me in being here and reading a bunch.
