Colt St. Amand, Ph.D., M.D.

colt st. amand: Both/and

Two truths existed at once: the “both/and,” as I call it. We held the knowledge that our community was, and still is, at very high risk of being murdered or of dying by suicide. And I felt a deep pride in being a trans person and in connection with the others, honoring our presence on Earth. Both were true. I felt an internal “yikes” and a peace at the same time. Looking around at the TDOR’s [Trans Day of Remembrance] elders and yelders (young people who have identified as trans for longer than us, a term taught to me by my chosen sister Dee Dee Watters) allowed me to embrace how wondrous our gender diverse community, or as I like to call us, our gender family, was. So, as you graze these pages, know that you are in good company.