Tag Archives: Gender

ableism, disability

I Survived Sexism. Ableism Took Its Place.

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In high school, I fought to be the best at every boot-camp exercise our ex-Navy coach put us through during soccer practice. One day I laid flat on my back for nearly 15 minutes lifting my feet six inches off the ground because the coach said whoever kept their feet up longest could get water.

I won. I got water. I couldn’t walk the next day.

I heard my teammates describe what they did to (not with) their girlfriends as a matter of pride. I learned how to change into my uniform on the bus for away games without a sliver of upper thigh or chest showing.

I sometimes stuffed a sock in my shorts, I ran faster and hit harder, and I got angry that the referees refused to call fouls on me. The one time my coach smacked my butt after a good play, “Alright, Hill!” – it surprised us both; he’d forgotten I was a girl for an instant.

I was permitted to play on the boys’ soccer team, thanks to Title IX, because we didn’t have a girls’ team.

My teammates got by fine just being mediocre. I had to be twice as good just to be seen as OK. Continue reading I Survived Sexism. Ableism Took Its Place. →

Gender, Healthcare, LGBTQ

Medical Pinkwashing and the Gender Binary

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Content advisory: this post discusses experiences and examples of medical spaces being uncomfortable/unsafe for people who identify as transgender, genderqueer, nonbinary, or another related identity.

I made this a blog post after publishing it on my personal facebook page and several people commented that they had no idea these experiences existed. I realized it should reach a wider audience. I’ve posted it below without editing except to emphasize certain words and I’ve also added some links for further education.

I’m pretty sure you are aware of the pinkified, radically femme and feminized culture of breast health issues, breast cancer, and the typically-broadcast stereotype that only cisgender women experience them.

I’m pretty sure you all are also aware that all genders and body types can have breast medical issues despite the above-mentioned stereotype.

But I think many people aren’t aware of what it can feel like to be in a medical space intentionally geared towards women’s breast care if you are a nonbinary, genderqueer, or transgender (and other identities) person. Or a cisgender man.

Continue reading Medical Pinkwashing and the Gender Binary →

Equality, Gender, Inequality, Sexism, Women

“Smack That Ass!”

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Yesterday evening as I was walking with my friend, Robert, by the river, two men in a motorboat passed by heading the same direction.

One called out: “Are you two a couple?”

No.

“Are you related?”

No.

“Then smack that ass. You better smack that ass!”

I immediately turn to keep walking and ignore them just as Robert yells, “Why do you want her to smack my ass?” as he gets in front of me and bends forward slightly. “Like this?”

So I did. I smacked his ass.

But the end of the story is not what made me nearly sob today when I remembered the interaction.

Continue reading “Smack That Ass!” →