Note: Printed Read -We’ve compiled a zine on our bodies within the context of our trans* and queer experiences. Check it out and distribute!

URL: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B7AZf3-vugyKZDM2NzE2ZjctYzgxMC00YzVhLTlhMjAtZTU0MDgwMTJlYzMz&hl=en

Intro:

I have an awesome body

That’s not what you’d expect to hear from me, knowing that I’m trans and binary. We’re all supposed to want to switch our hormones over, get a mess of surgeries, and so on. And I do want those. But that’s not what this is about. I’m not here to talk about breaking down and crying, though I’ve done that. No, my body is awesome. Sure, it’s got its problems that need to be fixed, but, in the end, it’s my body. I live here. It’s perfectly serviceable, and we’ve been through a lot together. I just need to take charge of its growth now.

This body has done a lot for me. It gets met to class, I take it hiking whenever I go, I use it to ride my bike, I even us it it to control my computer and write my homework answers. More than that, it breathes and circulates blood and resists pathogens and all that other stuff I need it to do so that I can keep living.

Even beyond that, I can look in the mirror and see that I look good. On a good day, I can see a good-looking me in the mirror, and recognize myself in my own gender. It sometimes takes work to get there, work that I would rather not have to do (and will have more permanent solution too soon, I hope), but it can be done. It’s just a new thing to take care of, not only health and cleanliness, but also gendered appearance.

So, it’s a load of work, and has a few things that need to be brought back into control, but it’s still my own very awesome body, and I’m glad to have it.