#Ashlee Marie Preston

[achillesmonochrome]

I guess it would be nice moment to bring some Black Trans Women to this post then!

As a brown trans boy it sucked so badly to watch those “gender envy” slides on tik tok and see only white boys with fluffy hair. It was a little thing but it made me feel invisible even in my own community. So these are men that look like me and give me gender envy. If you’re POC disabled/ don’t see your self in common trans discussions feel free to add on.

[ghelgheli]

hiya! i saw your post w a few recs re: transmisogyny and it was very useful as a jumping off point. are there any texts that you know of that deal w transmisogynoir specifically? or any sort of intersection btwn black feminism and transmisogyny

here's what comes to mind right now:

Position of Guilt: Black Hot Allostatic Load (Anonsee Storyweaver, more writing at faer linked site)

Why I am a Materialist Transfeminist and not a Marxist/Proletarian/R*dical Feminist (Nsámbu Za Suékama, more writing on medium)

The Anatomy of Transmisogynoir (Ashlee Marie Preston)

[hazamacore]

today for trans day of visibility id like to request everyone, but especially those of us who r tme and/or white, read ashlee marie preston's “the anatomy of transmisogynoir”

They’ve been at the forefront of multiple movements for equality. But Black trans women remain one of the most marginalized, at-risk communities in the world—and that needs to change, writes Ashlee Marie Preston.

[molsno]

sure! admittedly, I'm not as well-read as I'd like to be due to a variety of factors, but I can at the very least recommend some works that I've read that have broadened my understanding. I don't have free links to all of these, but I'll try to link whatever I can.

julia serano:

whipping girl - foundational text. serano explains the topic in great detail, although the language she uses is somewhat dated, and her perspective is a bit limited as a middle class white trans woman. the 3rd edition will be releasing in march, but you can likely find the 1st or 2nd edition online.

sexed up - while not solely about transmisogyny, this book extensively explains the process of sexualization, particularly regarding how it's a tool for dehumanizing minorities. I found it helpful in dismantling my internalized transmisogyny, and I think others can benefit in similar ways.

why are amab trans people denied the closet? - an essay I find indispensable in debunking the notion of trans women experiencing "male privilege" before coming out.

rather than let this list expand endlessly, I'll just link you to serano's website, where she has links to all of her writings, including her essays.

b. binaohan:

decolonizing trans/gender 101 - an absolutely vital book for understanding the colonial origins of transmisogyny. binaohan's writing is meant to be accessible to those without an academic background, which makes it a great book for people who are new to the topic. I do actually have a free pdf of this, courtesy of a friend who got it from her gender studies professor: [link].

unfortunately, it seems much of binaohan's writing (which I haven't been able to read) has been lost to time, as far as I can tell. the website for their publishing company no longer allows you to buy anything, and most links to other websites that sold these books are dead. if anyone has links to their other works, I'd love to read them!

essays:

AC: hands off our lives, our stories, and our bodies - an essay by an indian trans woman about the transmisogyny of indian cis people and cross-racial transfeminine solidarity.

ashlee marie preston: the anatomy of transmisogynoir - an excellent primer on how black trans women are endangered and exiled by everyone else in society.

cat harsis: on transmisogyny exempt privilege dynamics - an insightful essay on how tme trans people wield privilege over tma trans people.

nsambu za suekama: late night thoughts from a dialectical transfeminist - an essay on a variety of topics, including how the gender binary is constructed by colonial forces. the writing has a very academic tone, which can make it more of an involved read. I've only just started reading some of these, but more of suekama's writings on various topics can be found here.

porpentine: hot allostatic load - a harrowing essay about the pain caused by transmisogynistic harassment campaigns.

talia bhatt: the third sex - a powerful deconstruction and criticism of neither man nor woman by serena nanda and other related academic works that distance hijras and other transfeminized groups from western transfemininity. a bit of a long read, but one that unites us all against our common enemy, the patriarchy.

wyatt fractal starlight: the abuser's guide to transmisogyny - a satire piece instructing tme people how to enact transmisogyny.

I think that's all I have for now, since it's getting a little difficult to remember what articles I've read. if anyone else has any recommendations, feel free to mention them. I have heard of the book black trans feminism by marquis bey, but I haven't had a chance to read it for myself yet; it's on my reading list.

I hope this was helpful!

@molsno hi ! would you by chance have any reading recommendations concerning transmisogyny? you speak very well on what you discuss and I thought you might have some clues

[lm13y]

Therefore, transphobia and the policing of gender expression are merely tokens of white supremacy wrapped in “special edition” casing.

-- Ashlee Marie Preston, in The Anatomy of Transmisogynoir

[kori-dearest]

when have transwomen fought for the rights of female women? nothing comes to mind

Trans women, especially black and woc have been at the forefront of both the fight for rights as well as oppression at the hands of the society we live in.

My boyfriend advised me to not reply to bigots anymore, so I won’t.

[kori-dearest]

The reason why these are all sexual and pornified is because OP looked specifically for sexual answers to this question.

These ladies are expressing a solidarity with women that they cannot find in men, as well as clear gender dysphoria. (You don’t need dysphoria to be trans or live outside the gendered norms, but it’s common.) these were some of the top answers to this question when I checked it.

And there is absolutely no issue in finding yourself through means that some might deem “sexual.” Part of my own realization that I was a trans man was me staring at my own body and realizing that I wanted to look like the men in porn (an obviously impossible ideal, but it was an ideal either way.) it was just one small part of a larger tapestry of things, and that journey is something I’d never in a million years give up.

And as for trans women fighting for the rights of cis women,

Black trans women have been at the forefront of many queer and women’s issues, and have fought despite being at so many intersections of discrimination.

Once again, trans women are women.

what were the signs that you were a trans woman, part I

How did they know?

Maybe a deep sense of solidarity with women? Caring about women's issues? Maybe gender dysphoria?

thats porn. you dressed up as someone you saw in porn. and you got hard.

oh yeah, i would really love to have these people at my lesbian conventions! they all seem so well adjusted!

[blackqueernotables]

Ashlee Marie Preston: first trans woman to become editor-in-chief of a national publication; the first openly trans person to run for state office in California.

[ghelgheli]

Stuff I Read In March 2024

bold indicates favourites

Books

Simulation and Simulacra, Jean Baudrillard

Whipping Girl, Julia Serano

A Short History of Trans Misogyny, Jules Gill-Peterson

Histories of the Transgender Child, Jules Gill-Peterson

Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism, Kohei Saito

The Stillborn: Notebooks of a Woman from the Student Movement Generation in Egypt, Arwa Salih

Yuri/GL

Night Owls & Summer Skies, TIKKLIK & Rebecca Sullivan

Make a Mark, Murasakino

You Are My Angela, Murasakino

Kaerimichi, Murasakino

Love Seems to Make People Weak, Murasakino

It's All Up to Her, Murasakino

30 MINUTES, Murasakino

If It Rains Next Week, Murasakino

Before the Spilled Milk Dries, Murasakino

By My Side, Murasakino

Netsuzou Trap - NTR, Naoko Kadama

Pink Candy Kiss / Tsumetakute Yawaraka, Uozumi Ami

Short Fiction

The Meaning of the Key, Sonia Sulaiman [link]

A Madman's Diary, Lu Xun [link]

Goodbye Eri, Tatsuki Fujimoto [link]

Pol

Orientalism and Reactionary Ideologies in Video Games, Against Japanism [link]

Europe's Imperial Juggernaut, The Dig w/ Abdel Razzaq Takriti [link]

The Birth of Arab Nationalism, The Dig w/ Abdel Razzaq Takriti [link]

The Post-Colonial Arab State System, The Dig w/ Abdel Razzaq Takriti [link]

Or Just Say Nothing: A response to CrimethInc's Initial Statement on Aaron Bushnell, abolitionmedia [link]

Why Do Palestinians Burn Jewish Holy Sites? The Fraught History of Joseph's Tomb, Alex Shams [link]

Trans &c.

Freedom of Sex: The moral case for letting trans kids change their bodies, Andrea Long Chu [link]

On Heteropessimism, Ana Seresin [link]

Position of Guilt: Black Hot Allostatic Load, Anonsee Storyweaver [link]

The Anatomy of Transmisogynoir, Ashlee Marie Preston [link]

Other

My Anxiety: Is what's wrong with me what's wrong with eveyrone else? Lauren Oyler [link]

[thetrevorproject]

Our research makes it clear: social support from family, friends, and LGBTQ-affirming spaces saves young Black LGBTQ lives 👏🏾👏🏿👏🏽

Our friends Heidi N Closet, Ashlee Marie Preston, VINCINT, and Jay Jurden share messages of support for Black LGBTQ young people 💗

[flyandfamousblackgirls]

Ashlee Marie Preston

[mattmcgorrysourceit]

Matt McGorry , Giacomo Gianniotti, LeBron James, and Trevor Noah. They are the brothers/allies we all need and deserve—not to mention the absolute blueprint of what cisheteronormative masculinity should look like. I admire their commitment to women, black, brown, LGBTQ and other historically disenfranchised folx.

Ashlee Marie Preston talking about people she admire

[elierlick]

I interviewed Ashlee Marie Preston, who may become California's first transgender legislator this fall. Read the full interview here.