What I'm reading (and writing) for Trans Awareness Week
Learn about what the trans community experiences in Scouting, and in society at large.
This week is Transgender Awareness Week.
The seven-day stretch is meant to bring more attention to who trans people are, and open up space for conversation about the discrimination and violence that the trans community still faces.
In honor of this week, I wanted to resurface some important reads about the trans community. I’ll start off with some of the reporting and writing I’ve done, particularly about trans folks in Scouting:
- Over the summer, I analyzed the BSA’s policies for trans scouts, and whether they can be seen as a model for inclusion.
- I’ve profiled a number of trans scouters, including Phyllis Randolph Frye, Michael Kintscher, Erin Russ, and Colleen Baltutis.
- I wrote about the new policy that allows transgender eagle scouts to request a name change on their official eagle scout card, certificate, and congratulatory letter.
- Last year, I spoke to Tayler Hein to learn more about their experience as the first (known) openly nonbinary full-time BSA employee.
- I told the story of one scout in Texas who found it nearly impossible to navigate the binary troop system as a trans person.
There’s also lots of required reading, written by others, about the trans community in general, some of which I wanted to highlight here:
- In USA Today: “Should transgender youths have access to gender-affirming care? Why bans are 'cruel' and ‘dangerous’“
- In Xtra Magazine: “Dozens of trans people have been violently killed in the U.S. this year. These are the latest numbers”
- In the Washington Blade: “Trans Day of Remembrance a time to celebrate life”
What else should we be reading during Trans Awareness Week? Leave a comment and let me know if I missed anything.
Programming note: There will be no newsletter next Friday, November 25. I will be taking a break for the Thanksgiving holiday.
