Compliance Is Not Care

Compliance Is Not Care

I went into my medical records looking for information. I came out pissed off. At the top of every UNM Health record it says my name, my birthdate, and then, predictably, male. No way to fix it. No place to correct it. Meanwhile, the Catholic hospital somehow got it right. This is a story about that moment, and about the systems that insist on explaining themselves instead of listening.

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Dating While Trans: The Part Nobody Wants to Admit
Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand Personal Essays & Reflections Kate Sjostrand

Dating While Trans: The Part Nobody Wants to Admit

People will march for trans rights.
They’ll craft signs. Chant slogans. Call themselves allies.

But when it comes to dating us, especially if we don’t package ourselves in the most palatable way, support evaporates fast. This is the part no one likes to talk about. This is what dating while trans actually looks like when the slogans fade and the phone rings.

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We’re Just Trying To Pee

We’re Just Trying To Pee

America has a problem. A big problem. A huge — pronounced YOU-dge — problem. Politicians spin it, pundits sensationalize it, and suddenly transgender people needing to pee is treated like the nation’s biggest crisis. I’m not an activist. I’m not out here waving signs on the street. I’m just trying to live my life. But when the laws, the headlines, and the mobs all turn something as basic as a bathroom into a battleground, it’s time to pick up the pen — because we’re simply trying to pee.

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