Shawna Virago isn’t shy. This in-your-face singer and songwriter lets you know just what she’s thinking – about being trans, about being a woman, and about being Objectified. Her first CD is out now, and I hope there will be a second. As someone whose iTunes collection pretty much came out on vinyl first, I [...]
Posts Tagged ‘activism’
‘Objectified’: An Interview with Singer/Songwriter Shawna Virago
Posted in Information, Interviews, tagged activism, being trans, community, identity, music, trans women on February 2, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Ask Matt: Partners and Personal Questions
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, tagged activism, bodies, privacy, relationships, sex, trans men on October 10, 2011 | 33 Comments »
A reader writes: “I met my boyfriend last year during Vagina Monologue auditions and was curious about the obvious man in the room interloping our feminist space. After we were introduced, our friendship grew, as did my love for him and my understanding of what it means to transition. “My boyfriend is open about his [...]
Ask Matt Monday: Small-Town Transgender Blues
Posted in Advice, Ask Matt, tagged activism, being out, being trans, community, employment, transphobia on May 23, 2011 | 6 Comments »
A reader writes: “I grew up in a small town where people don’t even want to admit that anyone can be GLB much less T or Q. This is not the best place to be at all different. Most of the community is country, redneck, rigidly religious, and not open to understanding anything outside of [...]
It Gets Better Because YOU Get Better
Posted in Advice, Information, Observations, tagged activism, being trans, Dan Savage, homophobia, Internet, LGBT, suicide, transphobia on October 21, 2010 | 6 Comments »
I was going to change the world. I was 23, female, and starting my first “real” job – as a social worker in Spencer, Iowa. But that was only the beginning of my grand quest that would pretty much save everybody from everything by the time I was finished. I was filled with hope (and [...]
Update on My Friends Don’t Take Me Seriously as Trans
Posted in Ask Matt, tagged activism, being trans, gender, gender identity, identity, transphobia on October 11, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Update on Ask Matt: My Friends Don’t Take Me Seriously as Trans: For those of you following this situation and offering such very helpful advice and suggestions, the reader did send letters to the people involved in the LGB”T” organization that was misgendering him and refusing to acknowledge his identity, and he did receive responses [...]
Generation Trans: The New Wave of Trans Guys
Posted in Observations, tagged activism, being out, community, Pride, trans men on June 21, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Shortly after beginning transition 13 years ago, I took over facilitation of the once-a-month trans man support group at the Gender Identity Center of Colorado (GIC), which I proceeded to run for five and a half years. I spent a few months sitting alone at the GIC during the group’s scheduled meeting period, but eventually [...]
Five Trans People Doing Transtastic Things
Posted in Information, News, tagged activism, being out, education, leather, religion/spirituality, sports, television, trans men, trans women on June 14, 2010 | 2 Comments »
There are thousands of trans people doing fantastic things every day. Here are just five you will want to know about: Eden Lane: Lane (pictured) is a busy broadcaster, covering politics, arts, culture, and entertainment for KBDI Channel 12 in Denver. As the first out trans person to be credentialed to cover the Democratic National [...]
‘Topless Transgender Men’ and My Cognitive Dissonance
Posted in Commentary, News, Observations, tagged activism, bodies, gender expectations, legal, surgery, trans women on June 7, 2010 | 8 Comments »
It took me a while to figure out the whole “topless transgender men” controversy that’s been reported on multiple news sites for the past few days. When I first heard about it, I thought that trans men, post chest surgery, had taken off their shirts and received complaints, which made no sense, but when it [...]
It’s Time to Lose ‘I Didn’t Choose’ (to be Transgender)
Posted in Commentary, tagged activism, film, gender identity, homophobia, sexual orientation, transphobia on June 1, 2010 | 101 Comments »
I’m pro-choice, but in this case, I’m not talking about a woman’s right to choose. I’m talking about my right to choose, and my right not to be a victim of my birth. I just finished watching a new indie gay and lesbian film that had an interesting premise, but I felt like I was [...]


Ask Matt Monday: How Can We Make Progress If We’re Stealth?
Posted in Ask Matt, Commentary, Observations, tagged activism, assimilation, being out, coming out, discrimination, legal, transition on November 29, 2010 | 32 Comments »
A reader writes: “While I sometimes feel that I just want to be stealth, I am unable to allow myself such a luxury because I feel strongly that the only way that people like me can make a difference is to be very out, to get involved in our communities. “In my mind, the only [...]
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