We knew we were going to need to either find or create this resource at some point, but after hearing from three different people in one weekend, we knew we had to accelerate our efforts. We were at a conference where some difficult, but necessary conversations were happening around gender identity. Sexuality came up, as well, but in mostly problematic ways where it was being conflated with gender identity.
The gist of the questions we got were, “I really don’t know anything about the experience of being trans / how to talk about it / how to be an ally.” More alarming were some interactions we had that were downright disturbing as things were said that led to tears in one instance and unnecessary tension, pain and emotional labor in others.
Our aim with Start Here. Don’t Stop. then is to provide that resource, that starting place that we can point people to who are willing and wanting to engage, but don’t know where to begin. As the title implies, though, we know that in the world we live in, this learning process will never be done. It is something we should all commit to actively doing on an ongoing basis. That’s the Don’t Stop part.