Gender, sex, relationships, trauma, mental health, intimate struggles and celebrations. Some of this writing is 18+ only, some will have content warnings.
Better than Chocolate This movie is extremely cheesy, but I love it. For its time, it does a great job of portraying queer and trans experiences, although it's pretty heavily white. The film also leans heavily on stereotypes, but they approach them with some depth and...
Coming out was not about finally realizing who I was; it was about realizing that there were other people that did not feel the way that I did, that there was language to name how I felt, and that I was not alone.
It’s easy to confuse someone occupying space in the world with them asking you to be in that space. What I mean is: just because queer and trans folks want to be recognized and respected, doesn’t mean we think that in order to be respected, other people have to...
When I am referred to as “she,” I still feel excluded, invisible, misunderstood. This is a feeling that I do my best to transform into energy to educate would-be allies.
I have learned that there is a difference between my physical voice, and my voice in the broader sense. I have mastered my physical voice – all the nuances, the breaking points; learned the ways my voice likes to move and blossom. There is freedom and joy in the practise of using my voice in that way on stage. But I needed something more.
Inspired by a little silver plastic chip in my pocket that said “Women in Recovery” on one side and the serenity prayer on the other (and my phone full of new numbers), I found a desire within me that I hadn’t even known I wanted until I stepped into that meeting. I wanted myself back.
Our bodies contain blueprints for the structures we dream of. We will not make our way out of capitalism and other oppressive structures by desensitizing ourselves to the effects of oppression. We will not undo oppression by applying the attitudes of colonizers to the lands of our own bodies and intuitions.
It’s time for us to recognize the truthfulness of our bodies responses to oppression and let these visceral truths lead us toward alternatives.
In order for you to believe us,
You are going to have to learn to forgive yourself.
And that is the hardest thing you’ll ever do.
Let yourself rage against all the reasons you stopped using your voice. Rage against money, capitalism, the lie of meritocracy, the optimism of youth, the institutions that lulled you into passivity, the warnings you did not heed, misogyny. Shame, emotional abuse, trauma, microagressions. Sore throats, lies. Shed your tears for all those moments of connection you lost because you did not sing.
I know I am not the first person to speak, and that the reason I am able to find the courage to do so is because I am adding my voice to the chorus of many who have come before me. I honour those who said the first word, then the second and third.
How do I embody a character fully, fall in love with the character, learn its idiosyncrasies, when that character must undergo torture daily on stage, sometimes multiple times, with increasing detail, depth, and dramatic timing? How do I rehearse trauma?
You want to.That’s how art gets made - when it is made today. No art ever gets made tomorrow.It will make your day better.If you do it today, it will likely be much easier to do it again tomorrow.To beat your internal resistance.Because it is an act of resistance...
The space between things we are sure of, is fertile soil for the seeds of our creative work.
I think many artists feel like they are getting better when they experience more flow in their work, when they can feel as though they are transcending the craft and technique of their medium and expressing something from an internal impulse. It is from this place of flowing energy (as opposed to a block), that the most authentic expression can happen, and a greater volume of work can be created.
If there was one word to describe Berlin, it would be 'angst'. The tumultuous history of the city still feels very present in a physical way, with bullet holes in some buildings and bits of the wall still visible. This also translates into the general societal...
I am going to try something new to blog about this trip. I will publish a series of posts focussing on my experience of different aspects of my trip. Stay tuned for at least 3 more installations! Here's the first one:FlightsIn terms of smart travel, this has been the...
So here we are - a new year, a new semester, a new decade, and I just turned 25. I don't really feel like anything has changed, but I have taken this opportunity to examine what about me has changed recently - my desires, goals, and outlook on life. I think any young...