I look to Sylvia Rivera, who passed in 2002, was an activist icon whose action approach to civil rights is one I admire. I like to think I’ve emulated part of her action approach to civil rights when…
The following is a peer-reviewed paper originally published in Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society. The article was co-authored by the TransAdvocate Editor, Cristan Williams and Dr. Rawson of the College of the Holy Cross. K.J.…
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 friendship with her…
Bayard Rustin is a civil rights icon of the African-American and gay civil rights movements. In 1986, Rustin gave a controversial speech entitled “The New ‘Niggers’ Are Gay,” and that speech is included as an essay in the…
Judith Butler is a preeminent gender theorist and has played an extraordinarily influential role in shaping modern feminism. They’ve written extensively on gender, and her concept of gender performativity is a central theme of both modern feminism and…
Listen to this article 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…
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 of Time Magazine…
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 Barack Obama, many…
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 on her carefully…
(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 on her Facebook…