Photo by Erica Steeves

Subject Line: What happened to queer history?

Welcome!

This is the first edition of my weekly newsletter, Weekly Short Cut. My goal with this newsletter is to provide a curated collection of high-quality content by queer people, for queer people.

I intend to issue this newsletter only until the end of the year, which amounts to a total of 10 weekly editions. This is a trial run to gauge interest, and receive as much feedback as possible in order to determine if issuing more will be a worthwhile endeavor. Because of this, I encourage you to provide as much feedback as possible. Engaging with the arguments and media I provide here, and telling me your thoughts on them will be instrumental in shaping this site; all you have to do is reply to this email.

This week’s theme is queer history because that is where TransJoy started. I was curious as to where transgender people fit into the greater historical framework. So, I included below a lot of the things that piqued my interest in the subject even further.

I always appreciate feedback, so again, please feel free to let me know your thoughts on this issue.

Quote:

“I think if we meet on the common ground of our unjust position in society, then we can go from there. This is a new frame of reference, a new way of thinking almost, for some”. – Ernestine Eckstein (Interview in The Ladder: A Lesbian Review, June 1966, pg. 7)

Book recommendation:

  • The Queer Bible – Jack Guinness – A collection of essays by and for queer people. Every essay features an LGBTQ+ figure that inspired the essay’s author. These include such historical greats as artist Vaginal Davis, actor Harvey Fierstein, and drag legend Divine. This book, while definitely a source of information in and of itself, also comes with a ready made list of figures to use when conducting your own investigations into queer history. You are looking into these things for yourself, right? 🙂

Article:

This is an article that I highly recommend if you would like a short, but informative introduction to different perspectives on trans history. This particular article offered me a lot of options for further reading and investigation. I now have new people to learn about, new perspectives on historical study to consider, and a few new books to read.

Podcast:

Episode 93 – Gender Reveal podcast with Jeffrey Marsh – This interview with author and nonbinary activist Jeffrey Marsh contains so many nuggets of wisdom that I can’t even list all of them here, but here are my favorites:

  • “Walking into a room of young adults was such a relief because I didn’t have to explain everything.”
  • “We’re literally in our closets.”
  • “It’s never a marginalized person’s job to be perfect.”
  • “You know it really tells me how your parents treated you, that you think wanting attention is a bad thing.”

Wishing you trans joy every day,

TransJoy Media

P.S. Thank you for reading this far! I will be including my Drink and Snack Pairing recommendations for those of you who are awesome enough to stick around all the way to the end.

This week’s Drink and Snack Pairing: Celestial Seasonings Peppermint Herbal Tea and half of a Choceur Extra Dark Chocolate Bar


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