So as I've gone down (tripped and fell off a steep hill) this path in life I've been searching for as many voices of substance as I can find. Initially it was hard. I didn't know where to look, how to look, and constantly questioned whether I should be looking. What would I find? But I needed to seek, as I'm doing now.
Some of us hide. I do. Seriously – April DOE. But the voices are starting to make themselves heard. They're not hiding anymore. They're finding their voice, and it's helping me find mine. I can't hear enough of them. Imogen Binnie. Casey Plett. I was struggling one day and did a search. I have no idea what I searched for, but her McSweeney's columns showed up. I read them all in one sitting. I cried a little when I read that Ben Barres died. I didn't know of him before, but then I read the hell out of everything I could find. The story he told about him being much better than his sister is a lesson for us all. Then I read a whole bunch about glial cells. Can I write about glial cells on crossdressers.com? Laura Jane Grace!!!
I read a short story by Susan Jane Bigelow - “Ramona's Demons” in a composite called “The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard” that I found down the Casey Plett rabbithole. The plot doesn't relate to my story, except the concept of getting your powers back. That helped me. A lot.
I'm not sure if I'm in the right place. I think I am. I hope I am. I've been wrong before, and will be again. What voices should I be hearing?
