What does your 2SLGBTQ+ identity mean to you?

One utility of identity is having a way of seeing and interacting with one’s surroundings. For me, being transgender is a reminder of my own self agency. I heard someone say when I was still very young and curious about transitioning that “this is not a choice, it’s a choice whether or not you act on it,” and I really took those words to heart. I’m a butch lesbian and that’s a highly political identity for me. It informs more than how I see and act upon myself. I feel a great deal of responsibility to treat women and all people well.

What makes you feel empowered in your identity?

There’s a popular theory of gender as something that you *do* rather than something that you are which I am really into. I affirm my identity with hormone replacement therapy and presentation but also by acting and learning. Personal growth is what makes me feel most authentic in my transition.