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As many of you know, I do a lot of work with author, educator, and badass trans elder Rachel Gold. Recently, we had a lengthy discussion about the fears and worries swirling around queer/trans circles right now. We both know that we want to find ways to continue bringing joy, comfort, and safety to LGBTQ+ folks everywhere.
As part of that, Rachel’s recent blog post reminds us of one key point: although things feel (and are) awful, they have been worse in the past. That means that previous generations have built strategies and networks to not just survive, but be safe and happy.
Rachel’s post is full of resources, ideas, and tools to keep yourself steady in the next few years and beyond. Below is an excerpt, from an email to friends which they quote in the post. If you want to read the full thing, click the button after the excerpt. And if you like it or have something to add, please consider letting us know. We’d love to hear from you.
I think I didn’t link to you two the interview that Judith and I did locally. A key part for me was remembering that I’d read Judith’s book in college and that it expanded what was possible for me as a young Jewish lesbian— and then all our work expands what’s possible for the next generations. I remember reading you, Katherine, my first few years out of college, at my reporting job where I got to work with and learn from Penny. We’ve created a present that isn’t all we wanted, but that is a very solid set of steps for the next generations to build up from.
I teach a class that’s attended by a majority of queer and trans kids and we read fifteen weeks of queer and trans literature. This is possible because of the work we’ve all done building this literature, this community, and being out and proud and sometimes mad as hell. If you consider every out, healthy queer/trans kid as a victory, we’ve had a lot of victories.
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Ashton Rose 