On Living in “Tobin’s America”
Kate Sosin has written an extremely flattering profile of me for The 19th. It’s got me thinking.
Which America?
While I can’t take issue with Kate’s reporting or the glowing praise from admired colleagues, it’s a strange thing to read in the same week as reports of families planning to move out of state and spikes in suicidality in the wake of anti-trans and -intersex laws in state after state.
I’ve said a dozen times over the last few years that it’s been “the best of times and the worst of times” for trans people. I’ve never felt it more deeply, though, than I do right now: how proud I am of the progress we’ve made, and how scared I am of the backlash. The President of the United States speaks to a trans fundraiser, and asks Congress to fund a new program for trans survivors. And parents warn they’re convinced “Children will die” from what state lawmakers are doing.
Please, follow my colleague and hero Chase Strangio for the latest on these attacks on our young people and what you can do.
Listen, the progress is real. As I’ve been reminded many times in the last few days, it’s really, really important to stop and let us feel the joy, gratitude, relief, and pride in that, and in whatever role we’ve played in it. The backlash is very real, too, and there’s no denying this latest may be the deadliest yet. Some of us, frankly, won’t make it. We’ll save each other, as many as we can. Our communities will survive. We will continue to struggle for progress—halting, uneven, fraught though it may be.
Our backbone is all of us
I am so moved by the everyday heroism of so many folks who have gotten us here and are getting us through it. So, yes, I’m going to spend ten minutes listing the sorts of folks I’d really like to see (more) profiles of.
I want to see more profiles of trans Executive Directors of color like Gabriel Foster, Andy Marra, Dominique Morgan, Bamby Salcedo, Toni-Michelle Williams, Janetta Johnson, Kris Hayashi, Kiara St. James, Emmett Schelling, Carter Brown, Tre’Andre Valentine, Ceyenne Doroshow.
I want to see more profiles of trans lawyers outside the world of DC policy, like Alex Chen, Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Taylor Brown, Alejandra Caraballo, Avatara Smith-Carrington, Chrysanthemum Desir, Charlie Arrowood, Malita Picasso, Remy Green, Sei Young Pyo, Bre Kidman, Alex Binsfield, Whit Washington, Alesdair Ittelson.
More profiles of trans scholars like Sandy James, Arjee Restar, Asa Radix, Sari Reisner, Bali White, Trystan Cotten.
I want to see more profiles of organizers and advocates like Tamika Spellman, Zahara Green, Micky Bradford, LaLa Zannell, Ash Stephens, Tori Cooper, Barbara Satin, Zephyr Williams, Holliday Simmons, Jennicet Gutiérre.
Or of trans folks in philantropy like Gabriel Foster (again!), Rye Young, and Hua Boonyapisomparn.
I want to read more profiles of trans folks working in government—yes, the high-level appointees like Rachel Levine and Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, and the state and local electeds like Andrea, Phillipe, Mauree, Danica, Lisa, Tyler, Gerri, Brionna, Victoria, Rosemary, Taylor, Evelyn, but also the career civil servants like Kyle Rapiñan, Ashe McGovern, Ez Cukor, Diana Flynn.
And on and on: the therapists, artists, street medics, journalists, faith leaders, provocateurs, GSA and campus leaders, who are just as indispensable to trans futures as any policy wonk in DC.
What fingerprints do I want to leave?
Every single one of us, including our advocacy groups, needs to supporting, listening, collaborating, mentoring, funding, and making space for the leadership of trans people who are most marginalized—of Black trans women, of all BIPOC trans people, of all trans youth, of trans immigrants, sex workers, currently and formerly incarcerated folks. And how much we're doing that will determine our ultimate success. Fortunately, as I’ve just mentioned, we have so many incredible trans activists, leaders, scholars, even more and more lawyers and elected officials, so many other folks moving and shaking in different ways who are some or all of those things.
Like many trans people in prominent positions today, I'm a white, US-born, highly formally educated woman who has always been middle-class. That doesn't mean we haven't been trailblazers in some ways, or experts, or leaders. But we need to put that privilege to work with a huge helping of humility, listening, and partnership. A DC-focused policy shop is constrained in some ways from working in completely the same ways that a grassroots coalition can. I struggle with that every day. But even institutions and advocates steeped in lobbying—working every day with the most hidebound political institutions—can grow far beyond the habits that perpetuate racism and other inequities and be more effective than ever.
Good leaders are also good followers when they need to be, ready to share the podium, to pass the torch, and to get the pushback when they should be doing better.
Closing thought
Seriously, though: My friends and loved ones are probably never going to stop ribbing me about “living in Tobin’s America.” I hear it’s the new “future liberals want.”
If you liked this piece, you might also appreciate my post from last fall, “Advocacy Lessons for November and Beyond.”