So this was like years of understanding, when I knew that I didn’t understand anything. I sat in on groups of parents talking about raising trans kids, and I realized I knew so little.
I opened up my social groups, I went to so many conferences all over the country. In particular, I didn’t know stories of black families with Southern upbringing, who came out of HBCU schools, dealing with trans kids and so I took several years after Penel told me ‘I’m a boy, Mama’ to really understand what that meant. I had seen the way the media portrayed it, I had seen some devastating documentaries like ‘Paris Is Burning.’ I knew of Caitlyn Jenner, I knew of Jazz Jennings… but I didn’t really know intimate stories of families like ours. Not knowing the language, not understanding it, not knowing of real trans stories. At 2, my child said ‘I’m not a girl, I’m a boy.’ So there were several years of trying to understand what that meant.
I was going through it much of it in real time and trying to piece it all together – the book was sort of written just getting through the tunnel and then stepping into the light, so it was still really fresh in my mind and in my heart and I still am working a lot of it out. Was there a specific ‘A-ha’ moment where you realized that experience needed to be written and shared as a book? You have a transgender son, and your family’s transformation alongside him was the inspiration behind your memoir The Bold World. We spoke to activist, author, and mother of five Jodie Patterson about her experience getting to know her trans son, the LGBTQ+ community, and, in the process, herself. Now more than ever, the stories of black and brown LGBTQ+ people and families must be amplified and celebrated, as theirs are the voices at the forefront of lasting change. I'm also not always inclined to have all the answers in meetings.As protests for the Black Lives Matter movement coincide with Pride Month, the significance of two marginalized communities and their allies coming together in the ongoing fight for human rights is not to be overlooked. I'm known to ask a ton of questions in meetings. I always aim to build out a team for just about everything.ģ. I write everything down, thoughts, to-do lists, dreams, ideas, plans.Ģ. Moleskine notebooks for each subject of my focus: board chair, author, public speaker, homeowner, lover, mother. Meditate before going to bed every night.ġ. Wash dirty hands as soon as you come home.ģ. Take dirty shoes off at the front door.Ģ. I have a playlist that is everything I’ve always wanted to say to the love of my life. Which one lands, depends on the state of affairs that particular day.Ģ.
So it's either a 2-mile run, or a 1-hour weights yoga situation, or morning sex.
0 kommentar(er)
