Sometime back, a reporter asked me some Trans 101 questions. I decided to publish that Q&A as a trans advocate’s nuanced perspective on Trans 101 questions. What does “transgender” mean? Much like queer, there are a…
Cianán is a lapsed Ph.D. chemist, writer, public speaker, trainer, activist, and assessment expert whose interests in activism are transmasculine representation in global trans activism and development of the public concept of trans folks as…
(Added emphasis to specific statements by Lisa Vogel and/or official MichFest press releases and documents is added throughout the piece with bolded orange text.) Lisa Vogel posted an official Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival (MichFest) statement…
I remember the first time I encountered Transgender Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF) transmisogyny face to face. It was years ago in 2011 when I attended the 33rd Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival (MWMF or MichFest) in…
This is a long-form article on MichFest’s co-founder and current producer Lisa Vogel. The article contains extensive text of what Vogel has stated regarding trans people over several decades, as well as analysis and commentary…
Recently Rebecca Juro wrote a post at the Advocate called “No, Obama’s Executive Order Is Not a (Total) Win” that I find extremely short-sighted and politically naive. Soon after the election in 2008 of President…
On Wednesday, May 28, 2014, the Houston City Council approved a sweeping non-discrimination ordinance barring discrimination against 15 protected classes, including an explicit protection against discrimination due to one’s religion. The city’s right-wing community immediately claimed…
The Chicago Sun-Times published an op-ed by Kevin D. Williamson entitled Laverne Cox Is Not a Woman. The op-ed was Williamson’s response to the Time Magazine spread where Laverne Cox was featured on the cover…
Back in 2011, Cathy Brennan and I were among a group of people working to pass Maryland’s HB 235 (Prohibiting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination) into law. I developed what I thought was a…