“I could feel the power that came from being butch, the paradox of growing up a girl and then becoming the suited partner of a beautiful woman, the torture of being such a social outcast, and the deep craving hunger for being accepted.”

I am not crazy; I am simply black, and queer, and butch, and transcultural, and therefore alone.

“She acts like she’s such a victim when obviously there was abuse on both sides.” Awkwardly, I shrug my shoulders and look around the room. My partner doesn’t notice how uncomfortable she’s making me because she’s caught up in her own conjectures: “It’s like how we are sometimes.”

“If you do feel the need to ask if someone is transgender or not, first ask yourself why. Why is it your business? Why do you need to know? And will it change anything you think about this person?”

Sometimes you just want a role model.

The 2013 Trans 100 is a BIG DEAL and we wanted to give you a closer look at the amazing trans* women featured on the list, thus this epic compilation of inspirational people relevant to your interests.

Everything’s gonna be super duper.

In Part 3 of the series, we’ll be addressing issues like dealing with internalized transphobia, going “stealth”, and how you can help your partner if they are struggling with gender dysphoria. PLUS a video!

“In this second installment, we discuss topics like “undoing” the effects of puberty, intimacy with a trans* person, and how to address gender ambiguous people.”

Fashion blogger Meg Clark on why fashion blogging matters, trans activist lawyer Dean Spade unpacking feminist discourse around trans surgery. Though very different people/topics, both touch on how a “looks don’t matter” perspective disables us from having important conversations about gender/society/self. Also; 39% of young Swedish ladies lust for other ladies, fancy perfume, marriage officials love love, Margaret Cho directs a kickin’ new video, and Lesbians deal with HIV.

What does a lesbian look like? Until a few years ago, mainstream culture was pretty sure they knew the answer to that question, even though they didn’t. The Autostraddle Roundtable tackles passing, why people can’t understand that lesbians can have long hair, and the relationship between gender, style, and sexuality.