Tuesday, April 30, 2024
A "Gentle, Gentle" Transitioning From April To May
Being Cautious About Unintentional Consequences Is Always Wise
The Doctor’s trusty sonic screwdriver has been redesigned to resemble a remote control or a flip phone because Davies was worried that the old Sonic looked too much like a gun, potentially encouraging kids to pretend to shoot at one another.
Many of the comments were some flavor of that is silly to worry about or what is Davies thinking but as I posted:
While I don't think there was any need to change the design, as an American fan of Doctor Who I recognize that being on Disney means more Americans will get to see Doctor Who and here in America we have had too many tragedies where people were killed because their hairbrush, candy bar, wallet, or obviously fake nerf gun were confused with real guns, and that is not even taking in account news stories like today a 3 year old who shot themselves in the foot with their parents gun. So while not needed I am glad Russell T Davies is thinking about the completely unintentional possible consequences of Doctor Who reaching more people.
Do I think the classic sonic design was an issue? Probably Not
Do I think there is any harm in changing the design? Nope
Do I think anyone can be too careful when it comes to media and guns? No.
Lessons From The News: Listen To People
Today, I happened to see a post referencing the whole social media phenomenon of how, when asked, many women say they would rather unexpectedly meet a bear in the woods than unexpectedly meet a man in the woods. There has been a small but vocal segment of male-identified individuals who have taken this as a personal besmirchment and speak as though this view means women hate men.
This reminds me of a few years ago, when our mayor asked where Chicagoans wanted budget cuts made. There was a survey, and a list was provided. Across all the wards, there was consensus that the police budget should be cut. The mayor at the time was upset that Chicagoans picked this choice from the list that the mayor had provided for the survey. In both cases, groups were given a choice and then criticized for the choice they made.
This tendency towards not listening, disagreeing when groups make a choice, or gaslighting communities by saying they don't mean what they said is very problematic and has real-life repercussions. For example, many in the autistic community have spoken up about how harmful ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) and the groups that support its use are.
Monday, April 29, 2024
15 Years of Fantasy: C2E2 2024
I had a good time overall, but today is going to be a "gentle, gentle" day as I recover from so much socialization and walking. I'm both physically and socially tired, LOL.
Side Quest: Figurine Painting
Friday started with me painting a free Loki figurine via Side Quest. I really like how it came out.
The figurine was from the Zombie Marvel box, but other than Loki being shirtless and looking like he is trying to be Poseidon, I'm not sure why it was labeled a Zombie.
I did paint Loki in his Jotun form since there was blue paint but no skin color paint LOL.
Panel: "The Hero Doesn't Always Journey"
The first panel I went to looked at how stories can be structured around something other than the hero's journey. It looked at the benefits and negatives of using formal story structures and stories that break conventional wisdom.
For example, typically, authors are told that characters should have strong motivations or goals, but this does not actually have to be the case if the characters are in interesting worlds such as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or Alice in Wonderland.
I ended up spinning their wheel and getting a light-up collapsible light saber, which will be nice to bring to the DePaul Celebration of Star Wars conference next weekend.
I also got a number of books throughout the weekend via "The Science Fiction Outreach Project.
I then spent some time in the Pride Lounge, coloring, listening to music etc. and won a box of little toys.Panel: Autism in Comic Books
This panel was one of my highlights for C2E2 because, as someone who is autistic, there are not nearly enough panels centered around being autistic and other forms of neurodivergence.
It was a wonderful panel that listed all the characters in comics who are explicitly autistic. I liked the idea that, while some of these portrayals are problematic, they are salvageable.
That the comic portrayals that are problematic (such as portrayals that suggest that being autistic is something that should be "cured") should simply be given over to autistic comic creators so that the problematic portrayals can be corrected.Also, over all, the panel highlighted that we need to flood comics and other media with portrayals of autistic characters because, as we say, "When you have met one autistic person, you have met one autistic person."
The more representation there is out there, the more nuanced portrayals of being autistic can become, which means more problematic representations carry less weight because they are not the "only" representations shared.
So in summary, Dear Comic Creators, please include more autistic characters, please and thank you.
Panel: Artistic Cosplay: Reimaging Character Designs and Bringing them into Reality.
I went to this panel because the one I was planning on going to was filled. I will say that it was interesting to learn a bit more about cosplay competitions.
Panel: IkebanaThis panel was on an ancient type of Japanese flower arrangement.
Ikebana is the centuries-old Japanese art of arranging flowers. The practice, which roughly translates to “making flowers come alive,” uses carefully selected blossoms, greenery and other flora to convey a specific feeling or emotion to an observer – just as a painting or sculpture might.C2E2 PromDay One's capstone was the first ever C2E2 Prom (and I think might have been one of the first "After Dark" event I have actually made it too. Normally I am too tired.
I would say errands would be so much more enjoyable if you saw The Doctor and Ruby Sunday at the bank, or a princess or supervillain at the grocery store.
I also grabbed a pretty dragon egg that is multicolored changing color as you turn it which you will have to trust me on since there is no easy way to show that in a photo.Friday, April 12, 2024
Fantastic, Amazing, Wonderful Libraries
Monday, April 8, 2024
Solar Eclipse 2024
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Overview of My Personal Wibbly Wobbly Autistic Journey.
Since clearly Wentworth Miller and Captain Cold are a few of my many special interests (I personally like the term special interests and use it, but recognize that some others who are autistic disagree because they think the term carries baggage), when Wentworth stated that he was autistic, I jumped online and took a range of free "autism tests" online.
Because of how literally I was reading the questions and the fact that I had been unknowingly masking for my entire life, I tended not to have enough "points" according to these tests. It is important to point out that many autism tests were written with cisgendered white boys in mind and therefore can be easily misinterpreted by those of us with different identities.
In addition, part of me felt it would be too greedy to have three identities in common with Wentworth (the other two are being part of the LGBTQA+ community and having had struggles with mental health). So while I connected to much of what Wentworth said was his experience of being autistic, I did not think being autistic was an identity that applied to me.
Yes, I know saying I was not autistic because it would mean I had too much in common with my parasocial best friend Wentworth sounds odd. Oh, brains can be very creative sometimes. Or, in the words of Leo McGarry, welcome to my world.
Stage 3: Deep Dive Part 1 (Summer 2021-Today)
While I didn't think I counted as being autistic, it became a special interest. I started by reading as many fanfiction stories with autistic characters or characters who were otherwise neurodivergent as I could. Because when there is a concept, especially an identity, I want more information on, I tend to reach out to my closest friends, aka fanfiction. (Same place I had already been going for wonderful Ace works as well as mental health-focused works.)
Stage 4: Maybe I Really Am Autistic or Neurodivergent (Summer 2022)
I saw a therapist very briefly in the summer of 2022 (for about 3 sessions in total), and at my second appointment, they suggested that I might be autistic. (Full disclosure: in the first session, they suggested that I might have an extremely high IQ, so they probably are not the most reliable LOL)
At this point, I did some more thinking, went, Oh, ok, I guess I really am autistic, and wrote a quick blog post, The Process Of Recontextualizing Myself, at which point my therapist was like, Sounds good, you are all set. You don't need any more therapy.
Note to that therapist: giving someone even an informal diagnosis of neurodivergences should really be the starting point, not the end point of that conversation. Also, that therapist was odd because they didn't like the term therapy, not that they said what term they preferred. I ended up writing a blog post about that too: What Is Therapy?
Stage 5: Deep Dive Part 2 (Summer 2022-Today)
This time on top of fanfiction I also read a bunch of books written by people who are autistic.
Stage 6: Removing Masks/UnGatekeeping Myself (July 2022)
This was a period where I started to think more about how being autistic might have impacted my relationships with other people and communities. Some excerpts from a blog post on the topic are below:
Typically the spaces I have most felt like I belonged in were fictional in nature such as currently with my adorable band of misfits called The Legends Of Tomorrow or Aziraphale or Crowley or Sherlock or ... all who I typically hang out with in fanfiction universes, fanvid universes, or daydream universes.
When it has come to non-fictional communities I think on some deep level that I was not aware of I knew that even if on paper I fit I was still seeing the world differently than others which made me doubt if I really belonged or if I was just trespassing in someone else's community.
I knew parts of myself but I did not have the whole picture for who I was so saw any not understanding the social context of the group as really meaning I was not part of the group or at that I should not have been part of the group in the first place.
Stage 7: #ThreeAvenuesBookshopMagic (November 2022-Today)
In what might sound like unrelated news, in November 2022, a new bookstore opened nearby. Three Avenues Bookshop is a wonderful family-owned bookstore that centers disabled and neurodivergent voices in addition to queer and BIPOC voices.
While, for example, mental health was a common topic in my social circles, so I knew lots of people who also had mental health challenges, I did not personally know as many people who were autistic or were otherwise neurodivergent. (I mean, I love Wentworth, but I don't actually know him outside my imagination.) In addition, I had imposter syndrome because I knew it was unlikely I would ever get a formal diagnosis for cost and other reasons.
Honestly, how I remember it, it was sometime during disability awareness month in spring 2023, and they had a wonderful display of books on disability, including neurodivergence. I complimented them for having a section that included autistic voices, and we got to talking.
Three Avenues was also probably one of the first spaces where I felt like I could honestly claim my autistic identity in a meaningful way. Like I was not trespassing on someone else's holy ground. In addition Three Avenues is wonderful because they fully support self-identification understanding the various hurdles to formal diagnoses. I never felt like I had to have proof of my identity.
Stage 8: Deep Dive Part 3 (Summer 2023)
When I went home during the summer of 2023 I was able to read several of my report cards from preschool and elementary school. These were very insightful and had language that showed I have always been autistic even though they did not use that word. This was important so I knew I was fundamentally autistic and I was not just mirroring others who were.
Stage 9: Integrating the Past/Moving Into the Future (Present)
So at this point, I am comfortable saying I am autistic and have integrated that into my life, but I am still working on how to take that information and be able to thrive, not just survive. I also think I am still working through autistic burnout, which makes some long-term planning more challenging.
Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Autism Awareness 101: What To Avoid
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. The challenge is that if you do a quick Google search, you will most likely come across outdated and problematic information about autism.
Note: Like almost everything that has to do with autism, what is considered problematic or outdated will depend on the individual. Someone who is autistic can choose whatever language, symbols, and concepts work for them.
While ABA is considered the “gold standard” of care for autistic people in the United States and many other countries globally, many people feel that ABA is abusive and harmful. For example, ABA is related to gay conversion therapy and teaches children to stop their self-regulating behaviors. While in ABA, children are not allowed to say “no” or refuse any part of the program, which raises concerns about the importance of teaching children consent. In addition, studies show an increased rate of PTSD in autistics that have been involved in ABA.
Autism Speaks
Sadly, "Autism Speaks" is probably the best-known autism organization based in the United States, but it is also very problematic. Historically, it has been very fear-based and very cure-based (trying to cure autism makes about as much sense as saying you want to cure tallness because if you are tall, you might hit your head more often). Today, it is still problematic in its support of ABA (see above) and not centering the voices of those who are autistic but instead centering the parents of those who are autistic. "Autism Speaks" is known for speaking over the voices of those who are autistic.
Puzzle Piece:
The puzzle piece has a history of being associated with ableist groups claiming to act for the benefit of autistic people. The biggest problem with the puzzle piece logo is that it implies that there is something missing and that autistic people are somehow incomplete. Another problem with the puzzle piece is how infantilizing it is. Puzzles are toys associated with children. Although adults also enjoy them and should be able to, it’s unhelpful to use childish imagery for autism. Autistic people are already infantilized enough, and a common complaint of autistic adults is that we are treated like children.
Monday, April 1, 2024
Autism Acceptance and Poetry Month
Monday, March 25, 2024
Reflections On My Connections To Gender
In yesterdays post I covered my relationship to disability and disability communities after reading Care Work Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Piepzna-Samarasinha.
In that post I said I would share my relationship to other identities throughout this week. Today I am exploring my relationship gender.
Who is a woman?
Because of my intersectionality, I have a very inclusive understanding of gender. Honestly, as someone who is Ace-Aro, I don't care at all about what reproductive organs someone has or does not have. I feel like reproductive organs have little to no impact on me personally.
Who is a woman? Anyone who considers themselves a woman, so trans women are 100% women in my book, and in some ways, I would say they are more "woman" than many cis-gendered women because they have had to be more thoughtful about gender and their relationship to gender.
You can see some of this in some of my previous posts this month highlighting women for Women's History Month. I worked to make sure I included many wonderful Trans women because they are key figures in women's history.
What is my relationship to my gender?
Considering I identify as a cis-gendered woman and use She/Hers/Any pronouns, my relationship with my own gender is complex. Identifying as a cis-gendered woman feels more like I never got around to or never bothered to change my factory settings because they work well enough.
I will say in my own head that everyone's default pronouns are they/them, and I love individuals and groups that basically use they/them for everyone, including me. While I love they/them pronouns, I also often doubt I am cool enough to use them, so I have defaulted to She/Hers/Any.
While I identify as a cis-gendered woman, my connection to that identity is much weaker than to many of my other identities. So while I will check the cis-gendered woman box on forms, etc., I would not say I particularly "feel like a woman."
What is my relationship to gender in communities?
In many ways, I tend to be more comfortable in mixed-gender or nerdy queer neurodivergent male-centered spaces than I am in predominantly female-centered spaces. Most of my deepest parasocial relationships and connections happen to be with characters who happen to be male but are some combination of nerdy, queer, neurodivergent, or struggling with mental health challenges.
I think part of this is because I more strongly connect with parts of my identity, such as being an aro-ace, self-identified autistic person with few support needs who has struggled with mental health challenges, than I do as a "woman." So spaces and communities that center being nerdy, queer, neurodivergent, or having mental health struggles feel more welcoming.
In addition, spaces and communities that center on being nerdy, queer, neurodivergent, or having mental health struggles make more sense to me. I feel like I have a better awareness and understanding of the assumptions being made within those spaces.
What is my relationship to gender in woman-centered spaces?
Over the years, I have been in some women-centered groups* where I struggled to feel like I belonged because there was an assumed baseline that I either didn't personally experience or was not aware of. I have been in some such spaces that seem to be focused on how hard it is to be a woman, which has rarely been the personal experience I have been aware of.
For example, years ago I once went to a women's retreat, and I struggled because it felt like it was centered on how hard it was to be a woman and a desire to talk about feelings. At one point, the retreat leadership put down a retreat that the men had done, which was activity-based and more scheduled programming, and I remember thinking, "But I think I would have enjoyed that retreat better."
I am also now aware that some of this tension may have been more centered on my, at that time unknown to me, neurodivergence than my actual relationship with gender, but it is still true that I did not feel comfortable in these woman-centered spaces because my own experiences have been so different and I found the baseline assumptions in these groups to be confusing.
Gender, Relationships, and Community
In summary, I identify as a cis-gendered woman whose pronouns are She/Hers/Any but I don't feel a deep connection to that identity nor to spaces that center that experience. I tend to be drawn to characters, communities, and connections with spaces that center being nerdy, queer, neurodivergent, or having mental health struggles.
*Groups that are intentionally women-centered: if I go to a book club and everyone happens to be women, that feels different because it is a book-centered space; the same is true if, say, a panel on how to write women characters has only women panelists; the writing process is what is being centered.
Sunday, March 24, 2024
Reflections: Care Work Dreaming Disability Justice
While the disability rights movement has tended to be led by middle-class white people—and particularly white men—disability justice, from its inception, has been created and led by QTBIPOC, and it aims to center and support them. As Piepzna-Samarasinha says, “Disability justice [is] a movement-building framework, not an academic theory. And if you say what you’re doing is DJ and it doesn’t center disabled Black and brown people, it’s not disability justice.”
Note: I am a white, cis-gendered, aro-ace, self-identified autistic woman with few support needs who has struggled with mental health challenges. I will go into my relationship with all those identifiers in later blog posts this week, but for now, I am going to take a bigger picture view of how I see myself in relation to disability.
One question I have been thinking about is: What is my role in movements that should 100% center communities that are not my own? This is not the first time I have thought about this (for example, I happen to attend a predominantly Black LGBTQA+ congregation that centers the critically needed Black LGBTQA+ experience in its spaces), but I still don't have an answer.
Personally, I struggle with holding space for two truths to be true at the same time.
Truth #1 Piepzna-Samarasinha draws the umbrella of disability very wide to include everything from visible disabilities to neurodivergence to mental health struggles and the idea that everyone ends up disabled at some point in their lives as they grow older and have mobility issues, sensory issues, etc., so I would clearly be classified as disabled.
Truth #2 Piepzna-Samarasinha states 100% correctly that the disability justice movement should center the experiences of QTBIPOC (Queer and Trans BIPOC), which means that as a white, cis-gendered queer woman, I feel like I can be an ally or accomplice and help uplift the voices of QTBIPOC, but that I "should" not count as disabled, aka I don't feel like I quite belong because I metaphorically don't have enough disability points.
For the vast majority of my life, I knew I saw the world differently from many others, but I internalized that as just me seeing the world differently, not considering or being aware that my way of seeing the world could be named and could be labeled a disability. As a permanent sign at Three Avenues says, "disability is not a bad word," but because of my internalized ablism, I struggle with identifying with the label disability or feeling like I belong within or should be part of a disability justice movement outside of the role of an accomplice.
I have explored feeling disconnected from communities or identities in a recent blog post, What Would You Call The Chapters Of Your Life?. I know I am not alone in such complicated feelings around community, belonging, and identity.
For example, Wentworth Miller once said, “I’ve had a complicated relationship with that word, ‘community.” when speaking about mental health, suicidal ideation, and being gay.
In some ways, my relationship with disability and the disability community is similar but not exactly like James Baldwin view in an interview for The Village Voice about being Gay:
Baldwin: Well, first of all I feel like a stranger in America from almost every conceivable angle except, oddly enough, as a black person. The word gay has always rubbed me the wrong way. I never understood exactly what is meant by it. I don’t want to sound distant or patronizing because I don’t really feel that. I simply feel it’s a world that has little to do with me, with where I did my growing up. I was never at home in it.
I would say personally that I have yet to feel at home with the identity of being disabled. I feel much more at home with a neurodivergent, mental health, or LGBTQA+ identity than I do with a disability identity. Again, it probably is a combination of ablism and the fact that I have yet to learn how to dream myself into a disability identity.
But since I don't feel at home with the identity of being disabled, I would generally not identify myself as disabled, which means I struggle to be able to see ways that my other identities make it more difficult for me to do certain activities or have equitable access. I have learned ways to mask so well that I honestly struggle to see when I am struggling beyond a baseline, "everyone struggles in life" level.
I think I need to spend more time reflecting and dreaming within a disability framework if I am to learn to really thrive. I also am aware such reflection and dreaming will not be easy for me.
Sunday, March 17, 2024
Team St Gertrude of Nivelles
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Act/Model Like Leyna Bloom
Leyna Bloom, a pioneering model and actress, has been making waves in the entertainment business with her groundbreaking achievements.
Some of her career highlights so far include the following:
- In October 2017, she became the first openly transgender woman of color to appear in Vogue India.
- In 2017, she became the first openly transgender woman of color to walk the runway at New York Fashion Week.
- In 2019, she became the first openly transgender woman of color to lead a feature film at the Cannes Film Festival.
- In March 2019, Leyna Bloom was the only transgender woman of color to walk Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2019 at the Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya fashion show in an all-black cast.
- In July 2021, she was the first openly transgender Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue model.
My dad was also always talking about the Black Panther Party; I was learning about Angela Davis and Malcolm X. It was always: "We have to fight the system, power to the people." One of the first movies I remember watching was "The Fifth Element," and my dad was like, "This is what the world is going to look like in the future. We're not going to care about race or gender or identity, we are going to be eating food with aliens; we are going to go back to where we came from. We're going to be able to wear what we want to wear. But when you leave this house, you have to know that the world is going to try to change you and mold you to who they want you to be. But just know that you're special and unique and you can do anything." He always gave me this mentality of: if you want a good life, you can have it. Don't rely on people who are trying to normalize us and trying to make us think there's something wrong with us.
We took the crumbs we got, and we turned them into gold.
Growing up, there were no books about people like me. There were no books on being intersex. There weren't depictions of our actual lives. When you study civilizations before colonization, you hear about societies in Hawaii where there were third genders. You hear about the Zuni tribe, who understood what two-spirit is. There's so much rich culture about who I am and what I represent, but I had to trace it back. I fight for those voices, I fight for those stories, I fight for those ideas. We're still here. I trace it back to where life used to be, and I realize: my life is precious. It is so, so precious. To live this life and to be born in duality of both genders — not to suppress either or other — that is a beautiful life to live.
Once I started going to elementary school, I really started to understand the structure of how society assimilates us to live — boys are supposed to be this way, girls are supposed to be that way. And I was also always in these special-ed classes; I was suffering from ADHD and I was on the spectrum. I was in a classroom with other folks dealing with mental health issues, identity issues. I was in this educational system that was broken. They were always trying to fix me, but I was like, "I'm free; you're the one that's broken." That's how my childhood was. It was f*cking badass.
When I hear things about policies and people taking our rights back, I think about the fact that these policies really never served me in the first place. The system never was really there for me, even before the whole conversation about trans rights. As a woman, as a Black person, as a person who lived in low-income housing, the system was never in service of me or the people around me. We took the crumbs we got, and we turned them into gold — some of us did.
And now it's like, how did this little trans girl from the South Side of Chicago become the Sports Illustrated girl? I said I wanted to do it, and I did it. I found myself a pathway, and I made it happen, and I was in the right place at the right time to make it happen. When I go into rooms that I'm not supposed to be in, I'm representing my people that were murdered or killed or that can't be in this space. I have to represent them. That's why I go so hard, why I fight so big.
I'm so blessful for the opportunities that I get and that I've received, and for the women who have sacrificed for me to get here. Venus Xtravaganza, who wanted to go down the same path I had, and other ballroom icons who had big dreams. Tracey Africa, who also did modeling and had to go to different countries to start her career because America wasn't ready for it. These amazing women who are still here or have passed away who lived in a time when they couldn't even see themselves in society. We talk about the endless possibilities that we are having now, and I just live for the women who came before me. While I'm here, I'm going to do my part.
My life is precious.
I always say to every single trans child, teenager, adult, mother that's raising a trans child: you have been blessed to have something that is very sacred and unique. You have a child that can feel both masculine and feminine and everything in between. They have been chosen to do that. They're empathic naturally and understand both. You can be that one person in between that can help us navigate in the space we need to. We cannot navigate alone as men, or navigate alone as women, or navigate alone as Black or Brown people. We need each other. And you represent that one piece in society that brings us all together.
Everybody has a purpose on Earth, and we need to be of service to the people who are willing to transform the world into a better place. I don't know any queer people or trans people who are harming people. But I know they are the ones in body bags. I know they are the ones being killed, being murdered, they're the ones in society who are killing themselves. And they are the first ones in society who are standing up and fighting for the human race.
So why are we the ones who are being ostracized, where we can't even use the restroom? I'm the first one to stand up and fight for you, even if it means losing my life. That is very unfair, and the more that we think like this, the more we neglect our most unique and special, those who need the most love in our society.
All we do is help. We give you good music, we give you good laughter, we tell you about fashion. We see certain things that you don't see. Why are we killing people who are seeing things differently? The whole point of this Earth is for us to be different.
— As told to Lena Felton
Monday, March 11, 2024
Race Like Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell and Charlie Christina Martin
In 1940, her racing career was interrupted by the Second World War. She served in the Royal Air Force, flying combat and aerial reconnaissance missions. In 1944, she was shot down by ground fire and taken prisoner by German forces. During her time in captivity, Cowell created a new racing design for the Grand Prix and taught automotive engineering to fellow prisoners.
After the war, she returned to auto racing in 1946 and participated in various events. After transitioning she was featured on the cover of Picture Post magazine in 1954 and returned to racing in the late 1950s. By 1954, her change of legal gender had restricted her from competing in Grand Prix motor racing. Additionally, her later life was marred by financial troubles, culminating in her filing for bankruptcy in 1958. Although she continued racing into the 1970s, she soon fell out of public life. She later died on October 11, 2011 at age 93.
Charlie Christina Martin is a British racing car driver and transgender rights activist who competes in endurance racing. Born in Leicester, UK, Martin began her career in 2006 in the Hillclimb Leaders Championship and moved on to race in the European Hill Climb Championship in 2014. She has also participated in the Trophee Tourisme Endurance and the Race of Remembrance, an endurance event that raises money for the Mission Motorsport charity.
In 2018, Martin joined the Richardson Racing team to compete in the Ginetta GT5 Challenge, the official support category for the British GT Championship. She completed her first test of LMP3 endurance racing machinery at Circuit de Chambley with the Racing Experience team in a Ligier JSP3 car. In July 2018, Martin was announced as a member of the Electric Production Car Series Drivers’ Club.
Martin will be competing in the 2019 Michelin Le Mans Cup, joining Luxembourgian brothers Gary and David Hauser on the Racing Experience team. She will compete in a 5-liter, 420-bhp Norma M30 LMP3 car. In March 2020, Martin became the first transgender person to compete in the German VLN Championship, driving a BMW M240i in the series for the Adrenalin Motorsport team.
Martin is the first transgender driver to be affiliated with FIA Formula E and joins other female drivers who have either competed in the series or participated in test events. She is the great-granddaughter of engineer Percy Martin and part-owner of the machine tool company that he founded in 1921.
Martin is transgender and has used her status as a prominent racing driver to raise awareness of LGBT and transgender rights. She was influenced by trans model Caroline Cossey and led a campaign for drivers to run with rainbow stickers on their cars during the 2018 Ginetta GT5 Challenge and British GT round at Silverstone.
Martin was announced as Stonewall's first sports ambassador as part of the charity's Rainbow Laces campaign and became the first-ever racing driver to join Athlete Ally's ambassador program. In June 2019, she was announced as an ambassador for Racing Pride, an initiative developed in partnership with Stonewall UK to promote LGBT+ inclusivity within the motorsport industry.
Friday, March 8, 2024
Women and Politics Part 3: Diane Marie Rodríguez Zambrano and Audrey Tang Feng
Audrey Tang Feng, a Taiwanese free software programmer and the inaugural Minister of Digital Affairs, is considered one of the "ten greatest Taiwanese computing personalities." In 2016, she became the first transgender person and non-binary official in Taiwan's top executive cabinet. Tang identifies as "post-gender" and accepts any pronouns. Tang is a community leader of Haskell and Perl and a core member of g0v.
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Throw Back Thursday Women and Politics Part 2: Liliʻuokalani
Liliʻuokalani ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, and attempted to draft a new constitution to restore the monarchy and voting rights of the economically disenfranchised. However, pro-American elements threatened her attempts to abrogate the Bayonet Constitution, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy on January 17, 1893. The coup d'état established the Republic of Hawaiʻi, but the ultimate goal was the annexation of the islands to the United States.
After an unsuccessful uprising to restore the monarchy, the oligarchical government placed the former queen under house arrest at the ʻIolani Palace. On January 24, 1895, Liliʻuokalani was forced to abdicate the Hawaiian throne, officially ending the deposed monarchy. Despite attempts to restore the monarchy and oppose annexation, the United States annexed Hawaiʻi during the Spanish-American War. Liliʻuokalani lived out her later life as a private citizen and died at her residence, Washington Place, in Honolulu in 1917.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
Women and Politics Part 1: Tamara Adrián and Petra De Sutter
Petra De Sutter born in 1963 is a Belgian gynaecologist and politician, currently serving as federal Deputy Prime Minister. In the 2014 European elections, De Sutter was second on the Flemish Green party's list, but the party missed a second seat. She was co-opted by her party for a seat in the Belgian Senate, becoming the first openly transgender Belgian to be on a party election list. On October 1, 2020, De Sutter was sworn in as one of seven deputy prime ministers in the government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, becoming Europe's first transgender deputy prime minister and the most senior trans politician in Europe.