y2gender

A few days after celebrating New Year’s Day, as marked by our modern calendar, I would like to reflect a bit on the past year and think ahead to the coming year. I’ve had my ups and downs, but overall, it was a pretty good year. I can’t complain, however that likely won’t keep me from kvetching once in a while. After all, to kvetch is part of my genetic makeup as a feygelah (loosely translated here as queer Jewish transgender fairie).

After many years contemplating writing about my experiences and perspectives as a transgender person, I finally started blogging last year. While I didn’t find time to write as often as I’d like, it was a good start. Among my primary resolutions is to write more, both here on my blog, and also to plow forward on finishing a book/performance piece. As my fellow writers know, procrastination is a high art. It’s all too easy to find distractions. Check email, answer email, read all the great LGBTIQ blogs out there, post a few responses, google and read LGBTIQ news online, visit transgender forums, read and contribute to various threads, sneak in some actual work, eat lunch, take a walk, check email, answer email, and the whole endless cycle of distractions repeats itself again. Next thing I know, it’s time to cook dinner and no new blog entries or book chapters have magically materialized. So, this coming year, I’ve got force myself to stare down the evil blank page on my computer screen, and continue writing. Every day!

Although I’d generally rather get a root canal than talk to complete strangers on the phone, I volunteered with our local Democratic party to campaign for Obama and various state candidates. I went out canvassing, made phone calls, and held signs at a busy intersection. While I am overjoyed with our victories on election day, I was disappointed that we lost Democratic seats in the State House and Senate, and I was devastated by the passage of various anti LGBTIQ propositions nationwide. Obviously we have a lot more work to do. Time to roll up my sleeves and get to work on the next phase. Full equality for all or bust!

On a personal level, various progress was made in my Never Ending Transition ™. I came out to various friends and people in my life. My partner and I did a couple of Trans 101 presentations. I outed myself at our local UU church as part of educating people about Transgender Remembrance Day. It still feels like an uphill trek though. It’s an ongoing challenge to fully express and integrate who I am as a non binary transperson into my daily life, while continuing to find employment and stay safe from anti trans discrimination.

Here at the start of 2009, I’m just starting to embrace new (to me) phenomena such as Twitter, Facebook, etc. I look forward to using these tools to network with other LGBTIQ activists in the coming years. Zythyra comes out of hir cave, blinking in the bright sunlight, marveling at the technologies of the 21st century. I’m holding out though, I still don’t have a cell phone