Donald Trump didn’t just learn how to perform masculinity through other straight men modeling the rigid masculine gender norms, he learned from a gay man who relied entirely on the performance of dominant masculinity to trick himself and others into believing he wasn’t deviant.
I am a Coach. I am Transgender
The debate over transgender athletes being allowed to participate on the team of their choice is heating up. This article tells my story as a trans athlete and coach alongside some historical perspective of gender intertwined with sports from nearly a century ago.
Writing in the age of COVID-19
It is impossible to predict anything right now. Questions about the future of our country, the economy, the public health - they all can't be answered beyond what is happening today. This is why I have to take each day as a new opportunity to determine what I can control today. One of the ways to do that is through writing. It helps me to focus on what I am passionate about. I can hone the message I have about creating a more inclusive world for gender diverse people in sports.
It's hard, however, to forget that all sports are currently on hold. The very thing that gave me purpose, hope and sanity as a gender diverse kid is now not available during this crisis. It’s hard to not feel like sports is just a trivial activity when our country has over 80,000 deaths and climbing.
But, then I remember how powerful it is to be a part of a team. The sense of belonging and community is healing. Those aspects are still with every athlete and coach even though we can’t be on the field together. I would argue that is is precisely the experiences of being an athlete or coach that has given our sports community the ability to endure this time. There will always be challenges, tragedies and crisis in our world, but when we rely on each other and our collective skills we are far more likely to emerge stronger on the other side.
Bathroom Justice
Using public bathrooms can be one of the most anxiety producing experiences for transgender and nonbinary people. Even though my gender expression and presentation easily puts me into the “cisgender male” category I haven’t been able to completely shake the past trauma I would experience when using public bathrooms. This story is about an experience using a public bathroom that maybe, just maybe gave me a small sense of justice!
Men Crave Affection With Each other
Male socialization has created a barrier for many cisgender men in American society to show vulnerability and affection with each other. In this story I write about my observations of this from the perspective of someone who has experienced female socialization. The moral of the story is that we are are all being harmed by the rigid “rules” of the gender binary.
