Monsters in America

As I was reading “My Words to Victor Frankenstein”, by Susan Stryker. A lot of transgender related issues started to occur in my head. From equal rights to murders, transgender people deal with these issues on a daily basis. I never thought about it in too much depth, but now looking at it, they may be dealing with these issues on a daily basis because they are viewed as “monsters”. Continue reading →

How Everything Seems to be Racialized…

In modern day America tattooing isn’t much of a taboo thing to do anymore nor is piercings but there seems to be a favor for taboo actions being more excepted on the white body. This also includes white bodied asians, latinos, and any white passing body. When race plays a part in our everyday actions it can create conflicts when whiteness is favored. Tattooing on the black body tends to have more negative remarks then it being on a white body (and when i mean white body i don’t mean only white people). Tattooing on the black body completing washes away what could be the artistic value, freedom of expression, and any other means of having the choice to do what you want.

So what does that mean for the way people of color (brown, black people, actual colored people) express themselves? It means that this fixed lens that we are living, this white lens only allows us to favor artistic expression of the self on the white body because of conditioned thinking like “white is right”. We may not do it in a conscience state but sub consciencely we are still perceiving what the black body in an undermining way, in a way that prevents black bodied people to feel unconformable expressing themselves fully. Being in a black body and in a world that views life through a white lens does fog up what people of color have to offer to this world. We are living in an under world that tries to seek for constant freedoms and liberation, having control over ones body is a huge sign of control of the self but then thats being disturbed by other beings that are conflicted with fear they don’t know how to oversee.

On the ‘trans race’ argument people use to try to invalidate transgender identities

Before  anything I’m going to start of by pointing out that I’m trans but I’m white. So my space in talking about this will come largely from the fact that I’ve had many people including my father try to invalidate transgender identities by saying “well if trans race identities aren’t a thing then I’m sorry transgender identities can’t be either.” So this is mostly coming from a place of defending my own identity but also calling out racism. But since I don’t actually experience racism or understand all of the complexities of this topic I invite this to be a discussion and something people can add to via comments.

So often I hear this argument that tries to invalidate transgender people, and a large response in retort to this attitude is “well you just can’t compare them because they’re different things.” I totally agree with this and it is in fact the reason. Unfortunately, for some, it’s not enough to understand. So in order to justify my identity and also keep people from muddling race and gender, I’ve thought about it a lot and decided to share my reasoning so far in explaining why we can’t simply equate the two. Continue reading →

People of Color Can’t Jump (In Hollywood)

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Have you ever waked through a mall and felt either insanely targeted or extremely ignored by retailers? Does it ever feel like the 21st century is a mess of physical & “psychological warfare in the form of advertising” (Esmail, 14)?

If so, that’s usually a valid reality that is not only encouraged by managers within stores, but also executives and shareholders at the top of many film studio corporations and companies. Continue reading →

Can you see my oppression?

For a couple of weeks, I have noticed something that has been circling my life, that something is oppression. Continue reading →

Alright, Let’s Be Honest America: Black Women’s Bodies Are “Inappropriate”

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I know what you’re thinking.

“Oh my god, how could to title your post that?” Continue reading →

The Slaughter House

As I was growing up I went to the farm house every Eid-Al-Adha to make sacrifices of cows, goats, lambs, etc.  This is a religious obligation that every muslim person has to perform. Growing up to this practice it became a norm for me. But for these past couple of years, I’ve come to the realization that this practice is not performed properly most of the time.

Continue reading →

How being a waitress made me buff

I’ve had a few jobs growing up and nothing has shaped my body like being a waitress. I worked at a Mexican restaurant and our most popular dish was fajitas. If you’ve never had fajitas you have to know they are served with two plates: an iron plate for the meats (or veggies) and then a separate plate for all of the sides. Being our most popular dish, I would often end up with a table of four customers that would all order fajitas. I was petite, and balancing four iron plates on one hand and a tray stand on the other proved to be a difficult task, especially when I had to squeeze through a crowded bar. I could do it, but I wasn’t as fast as the men I worked with. The men, being taller and stronger, were given sections with up to six tables, I was stuck with three. My lack of strength was affecting my income and I had to take action. I couldn’t make myself any taller but I could definitely get buff. I began lifting weights and practicing after hours with empty plates on a tray until I proved I was strong enough to be given more tables. I wasn’t as strong as the guys, but I could carry my own weight.

Grief never ends… but it changes

Grief never ends… but it changes

My father passed away a few years ago. I have never felt such grief as I did when I received the phone call. It was early in the morning and I was still sleeping. I awoke to the vibrating phone and saw that it was my Mom. I thought to myself, “she never calls this early. something must be wrong.” I could hear her sorrow through the receiver. Continue reading →