Bottom Surgery Funding Site- Signal Boost please!!!
Hello Everyone!
We are two trans individuals, Isaiah and Aaliyah, that are starting up a clothing company called Trans Army Apparel. Our website will be launching by the end of next week. We are selling trans themed gear and accessories- with a percentage of our profits going towards two individuals’ bottom surgery fundraising efforts. While many trans people don’t feel the need for bottom surgery, many do- and the costs for these surgeries, without insurance, is through the roof. Yes, loans are available to some but we believe that nobody should have to carry the burden of such heavy debt just for wanting to feel like themselves! There are many top surgery initiatives out there but we saw less for bottom surgeries and want to help support. Both of our bottom surgeries were (luckily) covered by insurance and because of how much these surgeries have enriched the quality of our lives, we want to help others get what they need and deserve.
Our plan at this point is to feature the profile of both a trans man and woman who are currently in the active process of fundraising for their bottom surgeries. 25% of our profits from our sales will be donated to these individuals for one year.
WHAT WE NEED: we are still collecting stories/applications of individuals that would like to be featured on our website for the year and get that extra fundraising boost. If you are interested please write to us with a bit about you and your surgery plans/hopes. If you are stealth, not to worry! Isaiah is 120% stealth himself and we respect your personal boundaries. If you do not want your picture featured on the site, or what to use an alias, all is good. We can work out those details. So if you or anyone you know if looking for help with funding their bottom surgeries, please email us at transarmyapparel@gmail.com
And for everyone else, please check out our site when it launches next week. We will post back once it does with our direct link. All of our products are trans designed and made- with pride and love.
I am writing a story for make/shift magazine about people fundraising to cover their healthcare costs on the internet. I became aware of this phenomenon after a number of FTM transgender friends of mine started using tumblr and indie-go-go to raise money for their top surgeries. I’m interested in exploring how folks are using this to supplement the inadequate health care services they have access to. On one hand “crowdfunding for surgery” represents resilience and resourcefulness in the face of recession. On the other hand, it offers a private solution (crowdfunding) to a public problem (lack of access to healthcare) that perhaps not everyone is able to access equally. Are trans women as able to raise money for their transition-related health care as trans men? Are trans folks of color as successful in raising money for surgery as their white counterparts? What role does social capital play in one’s ability to raise funds? These are some of the issues I’d like to explore in my piece.
This will be a 1000-1400 word story in which I would talk to a few folks about their experience fundraising to cover their health care costs on the internet. Please message me or email me at niaking@zoho.com if you have a story about this you’d like to share. For an example of my previous journalism work please see the link below.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/01/nia_zine_piece.html
About me: I am a queer, mixed-race cisgender woman of color. I am particularly interested in writing about how marginalized communities come up with creative solutions to lacking resources. For example, in the piece linked above, I explore how people of color have employed zines as a solution to not having access to the mainstream media (on any meaningful level). I am also in the process of writing a story about how fat activists are using burlesque to reclaim their sexuality and sexual agency in the face of little to no positive/sexy images of fat bodies in the mainstream media. This would be in sort of a similar vein, in that it would explore how trans folks have come up with this creative solution to not having access to transition-related healthcare. I have chosen to focus on trans folks in particular because even when they do have access to health care, transition-related healthcare is often not covered, presenting additional challenges.
If you have questions about me, my piece, or my intentions, please feel free to hit me up at niaking@zoho.com. Feel free to also check out my website(s): artactivistnia.com and niaking.tumblr.com. You can find me on twitter @artactivistnia. <3
idk if your still doing submissions
Of course I am! So pretty! yay!
You have three natural-born rights. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. No one may kill you, imprison you, or deny you the opportunity of honest work. The constitution does not defend your feelings. Why is it you expect people to use special pronouns?Anonymous
You’re right, we don’t have the RIGHT to someone using our correct pronouns in a legal sense.
But that doesn’t stop it from being the decent thing to do. Respecting someone’s identity is something you do every day. If you see someone praying, you don’t tell them they’re praying to the wrong god or that they’re a part of the wrong religion. If you see two men holding hands, you don’t tell them they should be straight. If you see someone talking to a friend in another language, you don’t tell them they should speak your language. You respect who they are.
If you have a cis friend, and you call them “he” or “she” and they say “no, I’m a girl, sorry,” or “no, I’m a boy, sorry,” you apologize, because they know who they are better then you. You don’t say “i’m not calling you that, your hair is too short” or “you look too feminine, I’m calling you a girl regardless.” Why? Because you’re a decent human being and you don’t want to hurt their feelings.
So let me ask you a question: why is this suddenly different when someone is transgender?
THIS!!!! How she said it is perfect
Trixi made this rebloggable for me.
Very very nice!
Seeking Trans People of Color to Off-Set Overrepresentation of White Folks in My Study!
Hey do you think you could signal boost my call for POC participants in a study on identity & well-being among people who have transitioned? I’m really disappointed in the overrepresentation of white folks (80% atm) and am turning to tumblr to correct this! I’m really sick of only the white trans experiences being included in narratives and research and I refuse to let my study follow that course. Survey: http://t.co/Hijz2Ejy Post with more information: http://t.co/kPQQDFuT THANK YOU!
(FYI I’m going to try to cross-post at some other tpoc tumblrs in hopes of really spreading the word!)
P.S. I love this blog and all of you! Fuck yeah trans women of color!!!
Why trans* people need more visibility. Click here to share on Facebook. Click here to retweet. For other infographics and references, go here. You can also join our Transgender Day of Visibility Facebook event!
(via t-r-a-n-s)
Melissa Harris-Perry MSNBC Being Transgender in America
I love her so much :D
Casting call for “Will You Still Love Me When I’m Fuzzy?”
I’ve just been accepted to the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project’s Filmmaker training program and am getting ready to start pre-production for my third film! This semi-autobiographical short film is about a cis woman coming to terms with the news that her trans boyfriend is going to start taking hormones. Though initially she does not handle the news very well, she ultimately realizes that her love for her partner vastly outweighs her fear of what the future holds.
This scene is from a longer film I hope to eventually shoot about about a young mixed queer woman navigating the unspoken rules of nonprofit culture and growing in her relationship with her partner, a young trans man navigating transphobia in the university. I chose to shoot this segment of the film for QWOCMAP because of its potential as tool for teaching cis folks that we are not the center of the universe. And also because I think there need to be more open/honest dialogues about how we navigate power and privilege in interracial and queer/trans relationships.
I am looking for queer and trans actors in their twenties to fill the following roles:
Naima is a mixed-race woman with naturally big, curly hair. She loves Theo and tries to support him the best she can, but when Theo tells her he’s going to start taking hormones, she panics. She is fearful of the prejudice he will face, and how it may shape their life together.
Theo is femme trans guy (any race). He loves his partner, Naima, and when he “comes out” about starting hormones, he’s surprised by how upset she gets and begins to worry that transitioning might test the strength of their relationship.
Ray can be of any gender or race. Ray is the best friend that calls Naima out on her selfishness, which helps Naima see she was in the wrong and make amends with Theo.
I’ll be shooting this spring in Oakland. If you’re interested or have questions, please hit me up at NMKCasting@gmail.com.
ArtActivistNia.tumblr.com
I had something naughty on my mind that day. ;) Who am I kidding? I always have something naughty on my mind. <3
