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.

I identify as a cis-gendered woman

My pronouns are She/Hers/Any 

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. 

Reflections: Care Work Dreaming Disability Justice

 

I listened to this month's Three Aves Book Club selection via audio book read by Leah Piepzna-Samarasinha, which gave me lots of food for thought. 

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. 

Team St Gertrude of Nivelles

 

While more people know today as St Patrick's Day today is also St. Gertrude of Nivelles Day who was much cooler than St Patrick. I am clearly in the Team St Gertrude of Nivelles camp.

Happy St. Gertrude of Nivelles Day

By Dreaming Ace

Today I am Team St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Patron of Cats, the Recently Deceased, Gardeners,

Travelers, Those with Mental Health Struggles

Not St Patrick who was mean to snakes and pagans

Today I am Team St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Who ran a double monastery with her mom,

One section for monks and another for nuns.

Who was pious but not mean to magic like St Patrick

Today I am Team St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Whose (in today's language) “special interest”

Was Christianity but not in an imperialistic way

Not an imperialism based Christianity like St Patrick

Today I am Team St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Who when asked if she wanted to marry said

Nope, No way, I’m dedicating myself to Jesus

Maybe she was Ace? Or Aro? We will never know

Today I am Team St. Gertrude of Nivelles

Patron of Cats, the Recently Deceased, Gardeners,

Travelers, Those with Mental Health Struggles

Not St Patrick who was mean to snakes and pagans

Act/Model Like Leyna Bloom

Last Friday was International Women's Day, so this week I plan on continuing with that theme. There are many lists online in the form of "Verb," like "Name of Woman Known For That Action." This week I will be playing with that type of list and featuring some women I have recently learned about and their accomplishments. 

Today is Act/Model Like Leyna Bloom. I am featuring her for both Women's History Month as well as Disability Awareness/Advocacy/Acceptance Month since she has ADHD and is autistic. Plus, she happens to have been born here in Chicago, which is really cool.

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.

Below is a powerful and moving interview she gave that was published under the title "Leyna Bloom on the Legacy of Trans Women Who Came Before Her: "I Fight For Those Voices"

I was raised in Chicago on the South Side. When I was around 9 months old, my mom was deported by immigration back to the Philippines, so I was raised by my father. My dad was an artist who also volunteered his time working in the neighborhood, helping people out. But the thing that stood out was that my dad kind of raised us on this rock-and-roll lifestyle. It wasn't anything traditional at all, and I grew up really, really fast. I was around people from all different walks of life, and it allowed me to see life for what it is. He was just like, "You do what you want to do." I was from a world that was very free and all about expressing yourself.

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

Race Like Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell and Charlie Christina Martin

Friday was International Women's Day, and this week I plan on continuing with that theme. There are many lists online in the form of "Verb," like "Name of Woman Known For That Action." This week I will be playing with that type of list, so today we start with Race Like Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell and Charlie Christina Martin.

 

Roberta Elizabeth Marshall Cowell, born Robert Marshall Cowell in 1918, was a pioneer in motor racing, women's history, and LGBTQ+ history. She is the first known woman to undergo gender reassignment surgery in Britain. Cowell was obsessed with cars and mechanical engineering from an early age, and from 1936 until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, she focused on engineering and motor racing. She studied engineering at University College, London, and worked as a mechanic, preparing for the Donington Grand Prix and competing at Brooklands and the Belgian Grand Prix.

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.

Women and Politics Part 3: Diane Marie Rodríguez Zambrano and Audrey Tang Feng

Since we are in the middle of the primary season,

This is the third in a series on interesting women in politics from around the world.

Diane Marie Rodríguez Zambrano, born in 1982, is an Ecuadorian activist and politician who focuses on human rights and LGBT rights. She is the transgender chairwoman of the Silhouette X Association and represents the Observatory LGBTI of Ecuador. In 2009, she set a legal precedent by suing the Civil Registry to change her birth name. In 2017, she was elected as the first trans member of the National Assembly of Ecuador, and the second LGBT member after Sandra Alvarez Monsalve, who was elected as an alternate assembly member in 2009. She completed her mandate in 2021.

  

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.

Throw Back Thursday Women and Politics Part 2: Liliʻuokalani

Since we are in the middle of the primary season,

This is the second in a series on interesting women in politics from around the world.

Since today is Throw Back Thursday I am taking up back to the late 1800's

Liliʻuokalani was the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the monarchy on January 17, 1893. Born in Honolulu, she was hānai (informally adopted) and educated at the Royal School. She was married to American-born John Owen Dominis, who later became the Governor of Oʻahu. After her brother David Kalākaua's death, she was proclaimed as heir apparent to the throne in 1877.

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.

Women and Politics Part 1: Tamara Adrián and Petra De Sutter

Since we are in the middle of the primary season,

Today I am starting a series on interesting women in politics from around the world.

Tamara Adrián, born in 1954, is a Venezuelan politician who was elected to the National Assembly of Venezuela in the 2015 parliamentary election. She was the first transgender person elected to office in Venezuela and the second transgender member of a national legislature in the Western Hemisphere. She became the alternate deputy in Venezuela's National Assembly. Adrián is a member of the Popular Will party, which opposes the PSUV-led government of Nicolás Maduro. She has organized a social movement called Pro-Inclusion, aiming to promote equal rights. Adrián took her oath of office on January 14, 2015, and plans to promote access to public records on identity, same-sex marriage, and human rights. She also was the first openly transgender person in the world to register as a presidential candidate in 2023

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.

Yayoi Kusama

 

“My nets grew beyond myself and beyond the canvases I was covering with them… 

They began to cover the walls, the ceiling, and finally the whole universe.” 

 Yayoi Kusama

I am spotlighting Yayoi Kusama for both Women's History Month and Disability Awareness Month. I am pretty sure I was first introduced to Yayoi Kusama via an Talk Art episode where another artist mentioned her but I have no idea what episode that would have been. LOL 

Important Note:

In googling Yayoi Kusama I learned there is an on going conversation over several racist and problematic comments she has made over her lifetime. Ex Yayoi Kusama Apologizes as Her Previous Racist Writings Surface, Clouding Her New San Francisco Museum Show from 2023.

While I am spotlighting Yayoi Kusama for her contributions

Neither I nor this blog are condoning any racism or racist language

Nor am I condoning any other isms or phobias.

We should be working to uproot all isms and phobias 

No matter where we find them

Yayoi Kusama, a Japanese modern artist born in 1929, is known for her conceptual art, which incorporates autobiographical, psychological, and sexual themes. Her work is rooted in feminism, minimalism, surrealism, Art Brut, pop art, and abstract expressionism. Kusama is the most successful living artist globally, the top-selling female artist, and one of the most significant living artists from Japan. Her work has influenced artists like Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg.

At ten, Kusama experienced vivid hallucinations, including flashes of light, auras, and dense fields of dots. These hallucinations included flowers and fabric patterns, which she called "self-obliteration." Kusama's art became her escape from her family and mind, and she was fascinated by the smooth white stones covering the river bed near her family home. This fascination with dots was a seminal influence on her artistic career.

Kusama has been open about her mental health and has resided since the 1970s in a mental health facility which she leaves daily to walk to her nearby studio to work. She uses painting as a way to express her mental health issues, stating that she struggles with pain, anxiety, and fear daily. She believes that creating art has helped her find a path to live, as it allows her to cope with her illness.

Dr Merze Tate, Lady Kofoworola Ademola, and Hera Jay Brown

In March, I will be spotlighting a variety of women that more people should know during Women's History Month. Today I am spotlighting the first African-American woman to achieve a degree at Oxford, the first Black African woman to achieve a degree at Oxford, and the first transgender woman to be named a Rhodes Scholar. 

First African-American woman to achieve a degree at Oxford

Dr Merze Tate (February 6, 1905 – June 27, 1996) was a professor, scholar and expert on United States diplomacy. She was the first African-American graduate of Western Michigan Teachers College, first African-American woman to attend the University of Oxford, first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in government and international relations from Harvard University (then Radcliffe College), as well as one of the first two female members to join the Department of History at Howard University.

First Black African woman to achieve a degree at Oxford

Oloori Kofoworola "Kofo" Aina Ademola, Lady Ademola MBE, MFR, OFR (née Moore; 21 May 1913 – 15 May 2002), was the first black African woman to achieve a degree at Oxford. Lady Ademola, as she would become, lived a fascinating life as a lifelong advocate for women’s education and social reform. 

Lady Kofoworola Ademola achieved her English degree at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, in 1935.

Accomplishments:

• She was a social worker, teacher, and educator; she co-founded two schools: the Girls Secondary Modern School in Lagos and the New Era Girls' Secondary School, Lagos.

• She was a director of the board of trustees of the United Bank for Africa and secretary of the Western Region Scholarship Board.

• She also wrote children's books, many of them based on West African folklore, including Greedy Wife and the Magic Spoon, Ojeje Trader and the Magic Pebbles, Tutu and the Magic Gourds, and Tortoise and the Clever Ant, all part of the "Mudhut Book" series.

Recognition: 

• Lady Ademola became an important figure in women’s organizations such as the Red Cross, which led to her becoming a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

• Abubakar Tafawa Balewa's government awarded her the honor of membership in the Order of the Federal Republic. The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger.

• Lady Ademola also held the chieftaincy titles of the Mojibade of Ake and the Lika of Ijemo.

The First Transgender Woman To Be Named A Rhodes Scholar

Hera Jay Brown, M.Phil., is the founder and Executive Director of Sanctuarium, a US nonprofit that supports Transgender, Intersex, and Gender Variant (TIGV) immigrant communities. Her work focuses on human rights and justice in relation to the legal regimes governing asylum, development, displacement, and labor in Jordan, the EU, and the US. She conducted research on the Jordan Compact's labor permit program at Oxford. Hera has received numerous awards, including the Fulbright-Schuman Graduate Research Fellowship and the Rhodes Scholarship.

Spotlighting March Awareness Months:

This month includes a large number of "awareness" months, four of which I am spotlighting.

Note: While these are framed as "awareness" months and clearly bringing more awareness is important, it is also important to move towards "activism" months.

• How can we remove the barriers so that these communities can always flourish?
• What laws need to be changed?
• What support needs to be put in place?
• How can we help these communities move towards thriving?

So if you are not aware of these communities, do some research, especially read the stories of individuals with lived experience in these communities. 

But once you have done some research, determine how you can lift up these voices, and then take action to support the holistic wellbeing of these communities.

Holistic as in the physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of these communities as well as safety from fear, hate, or harm on personally, community, and global levels.

Women's History Month:

Women's History Month is an annual observance to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The 2024 theme for Women's History Month is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.”

Note: I use "women" very broadly and include all gender expansive people: cisgender, trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, gender queer, gender fluid, or anyone else who identifies with "Women's History."

Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month:

This month is also Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, including all of us who are autistic or have ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, etc. This year's theme is A World of Opportunities, focusing on people working together to remove obstacles to building communities where everyone can do well and succeed.

Note: While this month is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, this is often expanded to include all those who are disabled by society, no matter what type of disability.

Brain Injury Awareness Month:

In many cases, a brain injury can be a chronic condition—not an isolated, onetime event. There’s a significant gap between public perception and reality when it comes to understanding brain injury. Unless someone has lived experience with a brain injury, is someone in a survivor’s inner circle, or is a medical professional who has experience treating a wide range of brain injuries, many don’t understand that there can be recurring and consistent physical, emotional, behavioral, or cognitive effects. 

Self-Injury Awareness Month:

Self-injury is a coping mechanism that arises for many people when they need a physical release of pain or pent-up emotions, or need a way to feel “in control.” This behavior often starts early, with the average age being 12 to 14. For some people, self-injury may only happen a few times, but for others, it can become a habitual experience. Some people in recovery from self-injury consider the urge to be an addiction.

Despite the fact that 17% of people will self-harm at some point in their lives, there is still a cloud of stigma surrounding this topic. Talking about self-injury does not cause self-injury. Feeling shame and embarrassment because of self-injury can actually make it worse.