A Very Trans Newsletter
Happy National Hugging Day!
It’s also National Squirrel Appreciation Day, so enjoy Sugarbush the Squirrel as Alex Tree-bek:
And, yes, Sugarbush is a living squirrel.
Tomorrow (1/22) is Transgender Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity
From the website:
This grassroots project was initiated by Marius Mason, a trans prisoner in Texas, US. This annual event is being lead by trans prisoners and their supporters from around the world. It is a chance for those on the outside to remember those behind bars, give real solidarity and support and raise awareness about issues facing trans prisoners. It is a chance for those on the inside to have a voice and organise together.
You can sign up at Black and Pink to become a pen pal to a prisoner. There are also some addresses on the Trans Prisoners page.
If you’d like to get more involved in trans-related activism, consider getting involved with Step Up. We’re tracking hateful legislation proposals, creating form letters to representatives, and more.
You can also keep on top of trans-related awareness events by following the psychology collaborative I’m a part of on social media and run comms for. You could also add the awareness events calendar I manage directly into your Google Calendar!
Get Your FREE COVID-19 Tests
Every home in the U.S. can soon order 4 free at-home COVID-19 tests. The tests will be completely free—there are no shipping costs and you don’t need to enter a credit card number. You can order here.
For folks in multi-unit buildings who are running into COVID test ordering issues, it apparently is because of backend issues with the database. You can get them to correctly categorize your home as multi-unit by calling 1-800-ASK-USPS.
The Health Advocates podcast, hosted by Steven Newmark and Zoe Rothblatt from the Global Healthy Living Foundation, just did an episode on getting access to these tests, too.
Speaking of…
Steven sends out weekly patient advocacy news you can use emails to those involved in the 50-State Network. They’re super helpful and all about improving healthcare! You can sign up here.
You can also stay on top of COVID-related news for chronic disease patients via GHLF's FREE COVID-19 Support Program for Chronic Disease Patients and Their Families.
Help Mighty Casey Tell Her Story
Over a decade ago, when I started doing patient advocacy stuff, I was timid and quiet - a product of my upbringing and collecting way too high of an ACE score. I'd have bursts of anger, fueled by untreated and undiagnosed ADHD and PTSD on top of conflict avoidance. Woof!
When I met Casey in person after following her for ages, all of that changed. She (and a few key others, but that's a story for another day) helped teach me how to channel that frustration and anger in positive ways. Casey also taught me that the snark I didn't always show everyone else could be endearing while also helping me push harder.
I finally knew what it was like to have someone truly like me in m own corner, and my world has changed for the better every time we're able to talk and share space.
Help this amazing human tell her many stories and share that Super Snark with the world. We can't let cancer rob us of all these laughs!
Donate to help make “Welcome to My Country, Heathen Slut” a reality. You should also follow Heathen Slut on Twitter (and Casey, too!).
Newer Articles I Loved This Week
You Are Not Entitled To Our Deaths: COVID, Abled Supremacy & Interdependence by Mia Mingus:
We should be framing this pandemic in terms of interdependence. This is the right political framing because it is the only moral and humane framing. Interdependence acknowledges that our survival is bound up together, that we are interconnected and what you do impacts others. If this pandemic has done nothing else, it has illuminated how horrible our society is at valuing and practicing interdependence. Interdependence is the only way out of most of the most pressing issues we face today. If we do not understand that we are interdependent with the planet we as a species will not survive.
What should trans people do to change the name on their COVID vaccination card? by Orion Rummler:
Mahoney is one of several trans and nonbinary people who said they feel like they are being put in stressful situations where they are required to out themselves, or use their deadname. Some also feel like they are being left out of data collection on COVID-19 vaccination entirely — that transgender people are an afterthought.
Incarceration, Abolition, and Liberating the Food System by Ashanté Reese:
Carcerality is a tentacle of white supremacy that seeks to subjugate and subaltern Black people. Whether within the food system or outside of it, we are seeking to create the beloved [community], to create the type of world and societies where [no] Black bodies, no bodies, are disposable or rendered subaltern. We are resisting carcerality, and we’re resisting white supremacy. The two are intertwined and deeply entangled. -Beatriz Beckford
Sex With An X: The Perils Of Performative Spelling by Abeni Jones:
The use of “womxn” as a purposely inclusive spelling is often exclusive of trans women and non-binary people. Even worse than accidentally doing the opposite of what’s intended, though, is that by some accounts the unwieldiness of the spelling is intentional. It’s intended to make the reader “stop and think.” Is purposely causing frustration in the audience you’re attempting to reach an effective praxis?Perhaps; it’s why protesters shut down highways, after all. But while the symbolism of of shutting down highways is an intentional nod to their oppressive history, it’s not clear the same can be said about these language issues. Historically, feminist re-spellings (including terms like “herstory”) have been intended to symbolically signify de-centering of men in general, despite the words’ complex and non-intuitive etymological histories. They weren’t typically used to refer to identity.
Another unfortunate fact: many performative spellings of “women” in particular have either originated from or been appropriated by TERFs; “womon” and “womyn” can often carry TERF connotations. “Wombyn,” on the other hand, is clearly essentialist. Those spellings have the benefit, however, of at least being pronounceable – “womxn” isn’t. It’s also classist for a term to only be accessible in writing, but more on that later.
This type of activism is easily appropriated not just by TERFs, but mainstream organizations and corporations – who can perform inclusivity without actually doing anything substantive. Of course, they don’t need symbols like spellings to do this, but it surely makes it easier.
Anti-Vaxxers Are Taking Feminizing HRT to (Try to) Cure COVID by Samantha Riedel:
Blaming Big Pharma and the FDA’s lengthy drug approval process for the current crowding crisis in U.S. hospitals, Kory demanded that people be granted access to inexpensive drugs to battle COVID, including — checks notes — feminizing hormone replacement therapy.
That might sound like the setup for an extremely niche Onion article, but I swear it’s what Kory actually wants. At the end of the interview, Kory directed viewers to consult the Critical Care Alliance’s “MATH+ hospital protocols” for drugs they should take to prevent or treat COVID-19 — and according to those protocols, “first line” therapy for hospitalized patients should include “dual anti-androgen therapy,” specifically drugs like spironolactone and finasteride.
This Hospital System Asked Its Employees to Volunteer… at Their Jobs by Katie Way:
In an email which VICE reviewed, nestled among instructions for signing up to get a COVID-19 booster and “10 simple ways to manage stress” was a request for free labor, directed at her fellow employees: “Minnesota has one of the highest positive COVID-19 case rates in the nation, and patient volume is surging at our hospitals,” the email said. “We are in need of non-clinical Fairview, UMP, and University of Minnesota Academic Health Center employees to help support our patient care teams during this surge. These are volunteer opportunities. Anyone can sign up to help outside of their normal working hours.”
Greater Outdoors: Meet the Leaders Making Nature More Accessible by Bani Amor, Rahawa Haile, and Jolie Varela:
It’s easy to assume that most of us have regular access to some form of nature, even if we don’t utilize that access. There are city parks and public beaches, hiking trails and sledding hills, rocks to climb and fields in which to lie under the stars. But the reality is that outdoor recreation is inaccessible to large portions of the U.S. population—particularly low-income communities and communities of color. This is true for a variety of reasons: Urban and industrial development has led to fewer forests and wetlands; air and water pollution are concentrated in low-income areas; and local and national parks can be unwelcoming to visitors of color and inaccessible to those without cars or those with disabilities. And what the Center for American Progress calls “the nature gap” erases the histories of Indigenous Americans and makes places that everyone should be able to enjoy out of reach for too many.
Other Articles Worth Reading
Patients with brain fog after COVID-19 have abnormalities in cerebrospinal fluid by HealthDay News
Half of internet-connected devices in hospitals are vulnerable to hacks, report finds by Nicole Wetsman
For doctors drowning in emails, one health system’s new strategy: pay for replies by Mohana Ravindranath
This is a HORRIBLE idea btw
'It's Not Personal': When Chronic Illness Forces You to Take a Rain Check by Michelle da Silva
Meet the First Trans Male Sex Worker at a Nevada Brothel by Hallie Lieberman
TERF wars and their impact on the trans community by Helen Karakulak
Her Prerogative: Britney Spears Can Do Whatever the Hell She Wants by Lindsay Lee Wallace
#GiveUsThisDayOurDailyThread
Other Things I Wrote This Week
Answering Your Questions #4, wherein I made a Bernie meme:
Misc Corner
For those who know health care providers that want more information on collecting SOGI data:
The Pacific AIDS Education & Training Center for Arizona will be offering a three-part webinar series for Arizona healthcare professionals to learn more about data collection and organizational change with regard to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data. This training is designed for all members of the care team to learn more about inclusive clinical care and data collection.
While this is geared towards Arizona-based providers, it's my understanding that anyone can attend!
SOGI Data Collection: What it is and why it’s important
January 28, 12-1 pm Mountain - flyer - registration
How to engage patients in difficult conversations
February 4, 12-1 pm Mountain - flyer - registration
How to implement SOGI protocols and change your organization’s culture
February 11, 12-1 pm Mountain - flyer - registration
Thanks for reading! If you have feedback or anything you’d like to share, feel free to reach out to me on social media or email (all linked here).
Until next time,
Grayson