Trans Day of Visibility 🏳️‍⚧️

I (Zo) am a proud transmasculine nonbinary person, and yet, sometimes being visible makes my stomach churn in anxiety, my skin crawl in fear, and my heart race in hyper vigilance. Being visible in known safe community is euphoric, joy-filled, and beautiful. Being visible outside of that community feels like a gamble, especially today when the rise of violence against trans folks, the bills flooding state houses across the country threatening prison sentences to those who dare use a restroom that matches their gender identity, and bills continuing to be heard at the federal level that threaten trans lives and stories.

I am grateful to be part of a beautiful and diverse trans community. My world has become more vibrant, more expansive, and more fulfilling since coming out seven years ago. As trans people, we have always existed and we will continue to exist. We will continue to push the bounds of expression, of identity, of love, and of possibilities in a world that disparages difference and loves conformity.

To my trans siblings: I see you. I love you. I am grateful for you. Please stay on this earth a while longer. May today be a day in which you are perceived however you wish to be and may today include a nice little snack or tasty treat.

I have so many more feelings and things I want to say, but not the energy or cognitive ability to put them into words. Just know that I am a ball of complicated emotions and that I love being trans, I love the trans community, and my heart yearns for a future where visibility does not bring risk.

Oppose Nationwide Book Ban Bill H.R. 7661

Instead of working on legislation that would actually help protect children, House Republicans are trying to “Stop the Sexualization of Children” by turning the blame against teachers, librarians, and LGBTQ+ people. They have proposed H.R. 7661, a bill to block funding for schools or programs that provide access to “sexually oriented material” to people under the age of 18; effectively, a book ban.

While the bill specifies “sexually oriented material” as “nude adults, individuals who are stripping, or lewd or lascivious dancing,” it also groups in tangential issues of gender, specifically “gender dysphoria or transgenderism”, highlighting the primary target of this bill.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for kids, teens, and adults to see themselves in art and media. Representation matters. Banning queer and trans books from libraries and schools will have disastrous effects not only on the mental health and wellbeing of queer and trans kids, but will also harm already dismal literacy rates in our country. Schools and libraries are some of the biggest buyers of children’s literature and if queer books are banned from those shelves, publishers will stop buying those stories to publish and sell in general. We have already seen fewer and fewer queer and trans stories being published the last couple of years compared to previous years.

We need your help. Call and write your US House Representatives TODAY to tell them to oppose HR 7661. You can use 5calls.org to find a script and the phone numbers for your representatives. It takes just a couple of minutes. This is vital and time sensitive and has a real impact on the queer and trans communities and the literary community for decades to come.

Trans books we love and think you should read

There are so so many more, so if you’d like specific recs in your genre/vibe of choice, please reply to this email and let us know! I would LOVE to rec you some trans books to read and buy. Trans authors need the support. We have several more recommendations on our Trans Readathon Instagram post which you can find here.

Join our Virtual Book Club 🧑🏽‍💻📚

Did you know we have a virtual book club that meets every month? You don’t need to be in Portland (or available on Sunday afternoons) to chat with other book buds about books. We meet monthly on our Discord server on the second Wednesday at 6pm PT. In April, we’ll be discussing the Monk & Robot hopepunk sci-fi novella series by Becky Chambers. We hope you’ll join us!

Local to Portland? Find us in-person soon:

• Thursday, April 2: Rant&Rave Book Club*, 6pm | Hungry Heart | 414 SE 80th Ave

  • Come prepared to rant and/or rave about any book(s) of your choosing. This a time to just chat books with fellow book lovers. Get recommendations for books to read and maybe even books to avoid.

• Wednesday, April 8: Virtual Book Club, Monk & Robot by Becky Chambers, 6pm | Discord

• Sunday, April 12: In Person Book Club*, Monk & Robot by Becky Chambers, 4:30pm | Hungry Heart | 414 SE 80th Ave

• Saturday, April 25: Independent Bookstore Day, 8am-4pm | Hungry Heart | 414 SE 80th Ave

• Thursday, April 30: Park Reading Hours, 5:30-7:30pm | Clinton Park | SE Woodward St & SE 57th Ave

  • Silent Book Club, but in a park! We’ll be close to the tennis courts. Bring something to sit/lounge on, a book, and any snacks if you’d like. We’ll mingle a little bit, read silently for about an hour, and mingle some more.

• Keep your eyes on our event page for more fun! Events marked with an * require masks.

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