The constant cries coming from both liberals and conservatives about “identity politics” are nothing more than a thinly-veiled way to silence the voices of oppressed people, blame the victims of bigotry for their own suffering, and further erode the rights of marginalized people. By making the basic survival of these groups seem like a political issue that you can either choose to support or oppose, these politicians and pundits paint community activists as selfish, short-sighted, and enemies of free speech.

Transgender people aren’t “playing identity politics” when we talk about how cisgender society harms us. Instead, we are forced to…

Dear Democrats, Liberals, and Members of the #Resistance,

In the wake of Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court, every liberal person in my life — and probably yours — is full of anger at the Republican Party, Mitch McConnell, Donald Trump, and the 49 Republican Senators who voted to confirm him to the Supreme Court. That anger is valid and important, but I don’t want to talk about his induction into the Old Boys Club right now. …

As the United States government labels people “illegal” to justify violence against them, it’s important to keep in mind how systems of legality have been used in the past to justify deeply immoral acts.

What’s legal and what’s morally right are not the same thing. Just because the Trump Administration has an obscure legal claim for things like their inhumane border separation or family detention policy, doesn’t mean that these policies are right or somehow unavoidable.

Fascists, autocrats, and authoritarians love to hide behind the “just doing my job”…

Please be aware that this article deals with sexual assault, misogyny, abusive relationships, trauma, PTSD, suicidality, and other topics of sexual violence. If now isn’t the right time to read this, it’s okay. I understand. I support you focusing on healing and caring for yourself however you need to right now.

Another powerful man has been outted as a rapist today, but I don’t want to write this article about him, because frankly, I could have written something similar dozens of times by now about dozens of guys for the last 3 months.

But I didn’t do that. Because I…

For additional perspectives on trans identities, trans bodies, and the intersection of trans identities and white colonialism, I recommend Tiq Milan (here as well), Alok Vaid-Menon, DarkMatter, Kai Cheng Thom, Zachary Pullin (Chippewa Cree), Gwen Benaway and more indigenous authors and organizations listed here. I am writing this article from the perspective of a white trans woman because it’s informed by my own experience of intersectional race and gender.

I’m a transgender woman. Like many trans people I know, I’ve spent a lot of time in my life hearing…

There has been a lot of discussion lately about transgender people, specifically about whether you are transphobic or not if you have a “preference” against dating trans people. Many well-meaning allies, friends, and family members of transgender people will say things like: “Well, I’m glad that Sara is living her life out loud, but I just don’t think I could ever date a trans person. It’s just a really personal preference for me.”

These people, and many others in the world, feel that it’s okay if trans people want…

Social media can be an infinite scrolling feed of distraction, and also a very powerful tool for spreading resources, creating support networks, coordinating care for each other and much more when you focus on using social media for social justice.

As we work to educate ourselves and each other about difficult topics like the impact of bigoted violence and the history of white supremacy that has led the US to this current moment, I thought it may be helpful to share a few tools, thoughts, and skills that have helped me have more productive conversations on the internet, and also…

Dear White Friends and Allies,

White nationalists, neo-confederates, neo-Nazis, the KKK, the “alt-right” and other bigoted groups are well organized and serious about their push to destabilize the democratic process through intimidation and false claims of “voter fraud,” incite violence against marginalized people, and enact legislation to destroy the bare bones civil rights protections that have attempted to protect marginalized groups for the last 50 years.

We must take this threat seriously and educate ourselves and others about the history of white nationalism, white terrorism, and white supremacy in the United States. People of color, trans people, poor people, queer…