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Mission on 4zzz, amplifying the trans and gender diverse community of Meanjin, Brisbane and beyond. Good morning Meanjin. You're listening to Transmission on 4zzz, the greatest radio station that ever was and that ever will be. You should subscribe to Keep it alive as usual 4z.orgau support my name is ez, I use he him pronouns. If if you are unfamiliar with the state of the U.S. well, particularly for trans people, you're going to hear all about it today. I would probably give a bit of a caution to this episode. Some trigger warnings and themes we will be touching on transphobia, queerphobia, displacement as well as talks around genocide and murder. So those things are pretty heavy in in retrospect looking back on this interview that I recorded with Faye. So Faye is not live in the studio with me, but I had a chat with her last week. Faye is our New York based correspondent and she's just so wonderful. And this show is actually called Community Is the Antidote. We have what we need to survive. This is actually a show about hope. Despite that trigger warning, it is actually a show about hope and it is about joy and it's about thriving and I'm so excited to play it for you. So before we get straight into it, let's cheque in with Elliot for the week in Community News.

Hello, this is Elliot and I'm bringing you your News today for 11 May 2026. Transgender Civil rights lawyer named in the TIME 100 list Prominent transgender civil rights lawyer Shannon Minter has been named one of the world's most influential people on the annual Time 100 list. Minter is the longtime legal director of the National Centre for Lesbian Rights and has spent more than three decades working on landmark LGBTQIA rights cases across the United States. Most recently, he has been involved in Talbot vs USA, representing transgender service members challenging attempts by President Donald Trump to reinstate a ban on transgender people serving in the military. Speaking about the recognition, Minter said the honour reflects the seriousness of the current political climate as much as his own achievements. He said growing mainstream attention to transgender issues shows that the experiences and rights of trans people are increasingly being recognised and taken seriously. Advocates have described Minters inclusion on the TIME 100 list as a significant moment for transgender visibility and civil rights advocacy during a period of ongoing political debate in the United States. UK doctors union drops opposition to CAS review the British Medical association has announced it no longer opposes the controversial CAS review into gender health care for children and young people in the United Kingdom. The medical union had previously criticised the review's findings as unsubstantiated and voted in 2024 to oppose its implementation. However, a new internal evaluation led by Professor David Strain has concluded that the review's methodology was robust, with the BMA stating that it does not fundamentally oppose any of the report's 32 recommendations. Despite the shift, the BMA says it still opposes government restrictions preventing doctors from prescribing puberty blockers, arguing that clinicians should retain medical autonomy in carefully managed cases. The Cass review, led by paediatrician Hilary Cass, prompted major changes to NHS gender services and has remained deeply divisive among doctors, researchers and transgender advocacy groups. Brisbane Queer venue responds defiantly after alleged homophobic attack A Brisbane LGBTQIA venue is raising funds and increasing security after an alleged homophobic vandalism attack earlier this week, West End bar Come to Daddy says a group attempted to burn Pride flag bunting outside the venue overnight, destroying decorations and damaging signage. Staff say neighbours alerted them to the incident and helped them clean up the debris. In response, the venue has launched a fundraiser for security cameras, lighting and repairs, while also calling on the community to donate donate more Pride flags and decorations. Venue organisers say the attack was not just against property, but against queer visibility and community safety. In a statement online, they vowed to respond by making the venue even more gayer, describing the space as an important community hub for LGBTQIA people in Brisbane. The incident comes amid broader concerns about rising hostility towards queer communities, with advocates calling for greater attention to targeted attacks on LGBTQIA venues both in Australia and internationally. Voting opens for the 2026 Queens Ball Community Awards. The 2026 Queens Ball Awards celebrates the outstanding contributions to Queensland's LGBTQIA community across activism, arts, nightlife, media and community service. Organisers say the annual awards recognise the people and organisations helping to shape queer culture and advocacy across the state, with community members encouraged to cast their votes online ahead of the ceremony later this year. Among this year's nominees are several familiar voices from Community ra Transmission, investigative journalist and grassroots agitator BET has been nominated for Activist of the Year, while Brody from Queer Radio as well as Transmission host EZ have both received nominations for Volunteer of the Year. If you'd like to vote for your favourite Z Superstars head to the Brisbane Pride website brisbanepride.orgau or you can head to the Transmission Socials Ranswithazed Radio Community Service Announcement Morph Micro Grants Applications are now open for Morph micro grants offering $200 grants to support transgender, gender diverse and non binary people accessing gender affirming care. The grants can help cover costs including binders, tucking, underwear, laser hair removal, initial hormone therapy consultations, ongoing HRT expenses, specialist appointments and other forms of affirming care that help people feel safer, more comfortable and supported in their gender journey. Morph organisers say the aim is to remove financial barriers that may be preventing people from accessing care and support that they need. Applicants are encouraged to share how the funding would support them along with a rough breakdown of costs and when the support would be needed. Applications are now open through the official form Morph Micro Grants application form on those social media Orph the Event morphmorph the event that's all for our news this week. I'm Elliot, thank you for listening.

Oh thank you so much Elliot. Love that. So much news, so much happening. We are now about to dive into a interview that I did with Faye who is a New York based correspondent for Transmission. She's just so wonderful and she's like giving us on the ground experiences of what she's feeling, how community feels and yeah, sharing her thoughts. That's the entire episode today and it's a bit of fun. I did give a warning earlier a little bit about it, but just yeah, keep in mind that we are going to touch on some pretty heavy themes when we talk about trans lives in this current day. There's always some heavy themes involved so look after yourselves out there. Also yeah, let's just dive straight into it and enjoy. This week's episode is called we have what we need to Survive Right now. In the United States, trans communities are facing an escalating wave of political attacks from health care bans to restrictions on public life, driven in mostly by the rise of movements like Trumpism, MAGA and anti trans medical bodies such as Sagan. However, this episode isn't just about what we're up against, it's about what we already have. Today I'm joined by Faye Transmissions, New York based correspondent. Together we're talking survival, resistance and the power of community in the face of it all. Faye, how are you? Tell us how you're doing.

I'm doing very well. I have switched over to oestrogen injections for about a month now, which has been absolutely amazing.

No more morning pills.

Yes yes. No more pills, no more oestrogen pills, a bunch of other pills. But I am feeling really great. I'm really excited about this conversation. Things in New York are complicated, as frankly they kind of always are. You know, New York is a very interesting creature, especially politically. It has a very, very vibrant, radical, grassroots political scene and very much a trans sort of enclave within the US but also our politics are often directed by wealth. You know, Wall street is also based here. And so it's been, it's been a really fascinating time to see how everyone is reacting to the, the current climate we find ourselves in. So. But I'm very happy to be here.

Yeah. Oh, gosh. So happy to have you here. And, you know, New York's got some things going for it right now to, you know, is it Mamdani? That guy's great. Love watching him. And I'm pretty sure he also appointed a trans woman for LGBTQ plus.

Yes. So he. So I have a very complicated view of the mayor. Something I like to say is, you know, as a New Yorker, it's my God given right to hate the mayor. I, and I want to be clear. I, I do not hate Mandami. I have a lot of issues with him. I think there are things he is doing very well and there are things where he could be doing a lot more. Mount Sinai and nyu. Stopping trans kids health care without a court order or anything is a really big issue. And while I am not blind to the fact that that is a state level issue because it's against New York state laws and not exactly a New York City effort, I think it is. I'll put it this way. We know when he wants to operate with efficiency and speed and it is very clear when he doesn't want to do that. And I, personally, I can speak for no one but myself, feel that how he is reacting to trans issues right now leaves a lot to be desired. Even if his hands may be tied. I think he could be doing a lot more optically, if nothing else.

Yeah, just. Damn. It's just another politician. It happens.

You know, something I like to say is I've, I've never been served wrong by never trusting a politician.

And that's a great premise to begin our conversation, especially given how the context of what's happening in the U.S. u.S. Overall, you know, we're going to be predominantly focusing and well, we are focusing on the trans community and trans experiences. However, you know, with the rise of Trumpism, fascism, the MAGA movement, and the last decade of US politics has Been so almost black and white in, and here in Australia, watching from afar, it's kind of like watching a train wreck in a way, because I feel like, at least for the communities that I'm in, watching, watching what's happening in the US is like watching a football game, right? Where you're like, you're actually not, you're not a player, you're not a player on the field, but you're watching it happen and you're yelling at the screen going, pass the ball over here.

No, what are you doing?

You know, are you going the wrong way? And then, and inevitably you lose each match and you're like, damn it. Gosh. What?

I just like that. No, completely. You know, I don't like the fact that what happens in the United States affects the world, but it does. You know, it's, it's the state we find ourselves in. A lot of people take cues from where things are going in the us, you know, but also some, some of this stuff is also worldwide. You know, I think there's a strong argument to be made that like a lot of the turn towards right wing stuff started in Europe.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

And then eventually was imported to the us. And the US for sure, exports a lot of that around the world. At the same time, I think we are starting to see some of the early signs of that sort of right wing trend ending, which is a huge opportunity.

Yeah, opportunity. I like the sound of that. There's opportunity for here. What's next? You know, Exactly. Oh, I'm into it, I'm into it. So across the us, trans people are facing a growing wave of legislative attacks targeting health care, education and the right to exist openly in public life. Laws restricting access to gender affirming care, particularly for young trans people, are being introduced and passed across multiple states alongside efforts to push trans people out of schools, public spaces and everyday life. These attacks are unfolding within a broader political climate shaped by right wing organising and rhetoric, including the ongoing influence of Trump aligned politics and the MAGA movement. And the impact is already being felt. We have been feeling it for a long time. Trans journalist Aaron Reed shows that an estimated of 400,000 trans people, around 9% of the trans population in the US, have moved states since the election in 2024, many forced to leave homes, jobs and communities in search of safety. This isn't theoretical, this isn't distant. For many, survival now means displacement, uprooting your life simply to access care, to feel safe or to exist. But even in the face of this, trans communities continue to do what they have always done, which is organise, care for one another and fight to survive. So fate. Do you want to start us off? Can you paint a bit of a picture of what the political climate is probably more broadly across the us? I mean, we did talk about it a little bit before, but do you want to give us a summary of how that, how this sort of feels?

It is, it is a time of both immense fear and also immense joy. Those things are both coexisting at the same time, you know, as much as there are all these anti trans bills around the entire country, passing bathroom bills, the federal government inspecting a lot more things, you know, which is. Which I do not want to diminish any of that. That's. That is all very real. It is ruining lives, it is forcing people, like you said, to displace themselves in, in just a pursuit of being able to live safely. You know, I. I consider myself extremely lucky that I am in New York City, which is a sanctuary city, has a vibrant trans community and a lot of support for the trans community from, you know, grassroot organisations and institutions and groups and all of that sort of stuff. But also we've never been more visible. Our storeys, while hard to tell, are never have never been more accessible. And there's a lot of work happening with that. You know, there's, you know, I can just, off the top of my head, you know, Lily Wachowski is executive producing a lot of trans features, feature films and helping them get distribution and things that even three years ago would have been unheard of, just things that weren't happening. You know, like any marginalised group, we find ourselves, we find our own and we find our own and we celebrate it. You know, I think one of the biggest things, and we're going to talk about this obviously more later, I think about the saying from the heights of the AIDS crisis, which was, you know, we would bury our friends during the day and then party all night, we'd protest during the day, go to funerals and then go and have fun, go dancing, go see trans queer musicians celebrating what our lives are. Because while there is so much sadness, like I was saying, and so much strife, there is also so much joy. You know, I. I know the feeling I have about myself. Even though my life has never been harder, I would never go back. I would never go back into the closet because I've never been happier in my own skin. I've never felt more comfort and love from my community. The way we find each other, whether it's Distant and on social media or, you know, in person, these, these are the things that keep us going. These are the things worth fighting for.

I remember when I first called you. Oh gosh, when did I call you last? Maybe like last month sometime. And I was just like, how are you? Like, how are you doing? I haven't spoken to you a while and you were like, I'm actually feeling really empowered by this change. Like, I feel like we can, like there's something good here, like where we can. We're gonna thrive, we're gonna make it, you know, And I was just like, that is so nice to hear an American transponder say that. And that, you know, that's obviously inspired this conversation that we're having today. But with that in mind, you know, I was looking at this trans legislation tracker, which I'll put some links in the show notes as well, for people to take a look. But the data in that shows huge numbers of anti trans bills across the U.S. and I guess, like, you know, when you look at the data, you're like, oh my gosh, this looks horrendous. But how is that actually showing up day to day in people's lives? Like, how are you finding that there

are good days and bad days? I think for all of us, you know, we sometimes, I know it can be overwhelming and it can be way, way too much. But the, the thing is, the bad days aren't all the same. And what I mean by that is when I'm having a bad day, some of my friends might be having good days and I can rely on them, I can confide in them, I can vent to them, I can cry to them, and they can remind me of things that I've done or things that are going on that are good, that are spots of hope. Because there are, there are serious, very real spots of hope going on right now. You know, it is. While there, there can be some people who deny what is happening to trans people in America, there are also plenty of people who know exactly what is going on. I think about the bombings in London when that was happening During World War II, the air raids and all that, that there were people who, you know, were in psychiatric facilities and then they had to drive an ambulance around and they had never been doing better because they had a, a purpose. There was something that needed to be done and they were doing it. There's, there's. I was reading a study, and this has nothing to do with trans issues. That was talking about the mental and emotional benefits of cooking a meal for someone. And what it was talking about was the ways that when you cook for someone, the ways that, you know, being gracious, preparing, helping someone out, being of service to someone else and then, you know, giving them that food, seeing the enjoyment from the food that they're eating, the conversations that you have, it helps both people out. It's not, it's not just a one way street and I'm seeing a lot of that in day to day. I'm seeing a lot of people. You know, often when I talk to somebody and confide into someone I'm very close to, you know, they will tell me, you know, they'll ask me, hey, do you feel better? Where are you at, Faye? And you know, it helps. And they go, you know, talking to you about this, helping you figure this out, helped me because like I said, not everyone's bad days are the same bad days. We all have good days and bad days. And seeing the resilience that is in our community, the, like you said, the conviction, because any, anyone who's trans knows this, but because realising you're trans is hard. Telling other people you are trans is even harder. We all are relying on each other and we're all seeing the greatness in each other that we are overcoming these odds that we are going, you know what, I am here, I am not going anywhere and I'm going to do what needs to be done.

I'm going to live authentically. And f. The system being living authentically is the only way that I live. It's just, it's exactly, it's the purest path line to like, existence and it's the, the only one that we're in tune with as trans people. I think it's, it's just like, I mean, I'm either dead or I'm doing this. That's what it came down to for me. And I feel like, and it's community, right? To like the way that you're saying, you know, how we share a meal and how we prepare for each other, like every time we give to each other, it comes back around and, and that giving comes to us and it's community. That's, that's the, that's how we navigate all this stuff right now, right? Is with the, with community. I was, I was reading like, I've been, I've been doing so much research for the chat today and I was looking at, you know, the National Centre for Transgender Equality and they're looking at how, how all these laws and things have been impacting healthcare and safety but also the human rights, the human rights campaign, you know, which is that there's a gap of understanding between, you know, public understanding and the reality of trans lives. And I guess, like, how, how do you see misinformation shaping what's happening there politically? Because obviously, I mean, it's definitely impacting us here, misinformation. But what's it, what's it like for you? I feel like your phones get different things from Australian phones, like, just algorithmically.

Oh, I'm, I'm sure we do. I'm sure we do. I think one of the biggest things of misinformation is I think every, you know, I'm in New York, that's a bubble unto itself. And I'm in the trans community in New York, which is another, smaller bubble unto itself. But, you know, I have, I am not someone who only has trans and queer friends. I have CIS friends, I have hetero friends. I think everyone understands that the trans community is under attack right now. But I think the biggest thing that people don't understand, the degree to which we are under attack right now, you know, there are. The Lemkin Institute has put out at least three, I think, four red flags warnings for genocide for trans Americans. And that means a lot of different things. You know, people. I want to be very clear in what I'm saying. There are degrees to genocide. Am I saying what is happening to trans people in America is equal to the genocide that has happened in Palestine? Absolutely not. I want to be very, very clear about that. That doesn't mean it's not happening here to lesser degrees. I just want to be very, very clear about that. And I'm not trying to say it's one to one, because it is. It is not. It just isn't.

They're totally different ways of performing, of performing it too. Right. Like there's mass scale bombing and killing children and, and an entire racial, minor, like, group. You know, there's a racial element there as well as a geographical element. Whereas trans people are such a small percentage of the population too. Right. And also it's.

And we're so spread out.

Yeah, yes. And also not racial, you know, we're not a racial group, you know, and also we're spread out globally and not in a region. But, you know, what's happening in the U.S. you know, you can definitely see like this migration pathways of people moving from like red states to blue states to, you know, and not just trans people, trans families, families with trans children who are like, what do I do for my kid? We're in Florida. We have to get out of here. It's dangerous to be a parent supporting my trans child right now, you know, so that's, that's a huge displacement. That's, that's. You have to, you have to migrate, you have to immigrate somewhere for your safety. That, that's something that you can draw a parallel between what's happening in any kind of genocide.

Absolutely, Exactly. And I would implore everyone, the Lemkin Institute is the one I know the best, but there's a lot of. I would, you can look up the Lemkin Institute online and they have a. Stages of genocide. And I would implore everyone to look at that, to just understand sort of what I am talking about here, because it's a very, very in depth. There's a lot, you know, and that's not what we're talking about today. I think there is a lot of people. The, the amount of times I have had a conversation that basically goes, well, if it was that bad, I would hear about it. And my, you know, I, I can't say this to the CIS person I'm talking to, but I'm like, you, you are right, right now I'm the one telling you about it. You know, I, yeah, like, like I understand that, like, listen, we're all ignorant about all sorts of different things, especially things that don't directly affect us. And I wouldn't. But when someone is telling you, I don't know how you go know that. Well, I would have heard about it. You are right now. And, and it's, and it's complicated because like, you know, some, something I think is very true is no one in, in the US is having a good last 12 months. It's been rough for everybody. Now the ways it has been rough is going to be very dependent on your axis of oppression. How many, how much privilege you may or may not have. It is very easy. And the US is so individualistic. It's deeply individualistic in culture, but also in outlook. It's very, and I think this is to some degree also just human nature. It is hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes to see how someone else might. Well, if it's bad for me, it can't be that much worse for you. And while unemployment in the US for everyone is really bad, when you look at trans unemployment, especially trans women unemployment, that's before you get into like black women's trans, Black trans women's unemployment, that's close to Great Depression numbers. There's not a federal moratorium on hiring trans people. But it feels like there is. And that's before you even get into like, you know, people transition, they get hired, kicked out of their job. Something I, I think is that like, a lot of people view a trans person having a job as charity, as opposed to you're employed and doing a job, so I should be getting paid for that job. There's, there's this very weird way people look at it. You know, I, I will sometimes have, be having conversations with liberals about what is going on and there's this very weird patronising thing now. It's, you know, at the end of the day, that's coming from transphobia, but not being able even to see how, hey, you're talking down to me when I'm trying to tell you what's going on and how this is affecting my community. It's, it's a very weird thing. And again, if, if you're not treating someone's marginalisation with the respect and dignity it deserves, you are being bigoted towards that person. It's, it's not the same as other bigotries that are a lot more, I think, easy to call out in the US. It's been massively regressive for the last 10 years. It really feels like we kind of stomped out people saying the R slur. And I hear it all the time now, you know, just for another, another marginalised community, you know, example of their, something they're dealing with.

I was actually doing some reading and I was looking at the Australian Human Rights Institute, which actually shows that support for trans people and broadly queer people, even with the increase of anti trans laws and, and, and hate campaigns, that support for the community is actually growing in the us. Why do you think that is? Why do you think that's happening?

You know, I, I do not think hyper visibility is a sword. I do not think hyper invisibility is a shield. But I do think there's a couple of things going on. I think, one, you have some people who see the injustice that's happening and go, I don't like that I'm going to support my trans friends and queer friends more. You know, I think that is that, that's one explanation that as we are treated so overtly hostilely, people go, hey, fuck that. Yeah, yeah, you know, you know, the other, the other thing is there, there has never been more of us. I think there's a, of equivalence to be drawn between where gay people, you know, were in the 90s and where trans people are right now. It used to be if you were gay, you weren't allowed to be a school teacher. Now, and I'm not saying that gay people who are teachers don't get. They do. I am very aware of that fact. But it is not the. We have to fire you because you're gay. You know, there's also trans teachers now in middle schools and high schools and in elementary schools. It is harder to demonise people when someone goes, hey, I know someone like that, you know, and it may not be a family member, it may be someone's friend or, you know, as more and more of us come out, it is harder to make up lies about us because it's just so demonstrably not true. Also, we've never been in the media representation, you know, this is. Representation is not the end all, be all. But it is important to see people living differently, having a different experience, which will affect the storylines in media. You know, if, assuming they're portrayed honestly, which I think trans people are no longer the butt of a joke. As someone who grew up in the 90s, let me tell you, a comedy show in the 90s is hard to watch. Now we are characters, we get to embody ourselves instead of weird caricatures that are. Is a cis person half the time, not almost 95 of the time.

Oh, yeah, like, I mean, we've. We've just taken such a great pivot, I think, like, you know, we. We don't give enough credit to time and the efforts of, you know, the shoulders of giants, these other. These activists, the representation that we've had in the past, like, you look at Bishop Johnson, you know, like, and. And all these incredible. There's all this incredible representation and visibility, you know, it is actually working. We are still oppressed and we're still experiencing oppression and discrimination and the threat of violence daily. However, surprisingly, it is, as you have. You said before, you know, it is. It is getting better. We are actually there. There's joy to be had here and there is a life like, I. I can't. I. The amount of trans kids that I see now, the amount of alternative presentations that young people have, gives me hope. We've been chatting about what's been going on in the US for the trans community, but more broadly, talking about hope, where we've come from, where we're going and what's going on. And part of that, to understand the moment that we're in, we also need to understand the history that came before it, because trans people have never just been passive in the face of oppression. And we aren't. We ain't about to start now. There's a long power history of resistance here. So, Faye, when we talk about trans history in the us, I think a lot of people immediately think of Stonewall. I mean, I think most people globally might even think of Stonewall. But what do you think people misunderstand about that moment? What do you think people are missing?

I think one of the biggest things that people are missing is while that. Stonewall. The Stonewall riots. And I think it's important to say, you know, the first Pride was a riot. People know the names of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. But a lot of people forget that Stonewall started with trans women of colour. The entire gay movement started because trans women of colour stood up and said, enough is enough. We are done. We are not being treated like this anymore.

Because those were. Those were the people that were like the first to be ending up in the back of the. The cop cars, the. The paddy wagons from the game. Exactly.

I mean, yeah, back then, if you were not dressed in clothes that assigned, that matched your gender, your sex, you would get arrested. Trans people were the first people to get arrested. It's also, I think, really important to point out that, you know, a lot of the trans people who started this movement were sex workers out of survival fighting, being unhoused, not people with means, people who were on the outskirts of society and said, we're not taking this anymore. That's where it started. It started in the streets. It didn't start in a boardroom. There was no institution that said, we are. We are stopping this right now. You know, and. And the thing is, that isn't to say that there weren't gay organisations back then. At the time of Stonewall, there was the Matachin Society, which was an explicitly assimilationist group. They aren't around anymore. That strategy did not work then. You know, the Mattachin Society was. Don't quote me on this, but I am 90% sure that it was basically all upper class, rich, white gay men who were trying to say we are respectable, we are. We aren't like those other queers. And, and I think that's an important thing to realise, is that there have always, always been reactionary queers. There have always been queers who want to acquiesce or compromise with power. But I think it's important to point out that the liberation movements that work, that have success, are maximalist, are going, no, you are going to accept me on my terms, terms, not yours, not the powers that be's.

Terms. Yeah. I'm not approximating myself to power. I want power to disseminate and recognise my power in my authenticity.

Exactly.

Yeah.

You know, there's always this question, you know, it can get drummed down to a very almost token conversation of, like, can't get pride, you know, yeah, maybe we shouldn't have this or whatever, but the leather daddies, the perverts, are why we have rights. It is not the people who wanted to dress up nicely in suits. That's not why we have rights. We have rights because the people who were pushed out went, enough is enough, and I'm not taking this anymore. And now. That was not one person, that was not five people. That was a group of people going, we're not taking it. A critical mass occurred and that is what started the movement. I have been very lucky enough I got to meet a gay man who was at Stonewall and I got to talk to him about this. And they never stopped fighting. They were there and they were going. Now they were taking shifts, so to speak. You know, hey, crash at my. He lived in the neighbourhood at the time and he would have people over to sleep and then they would go back to the riot. You can't pour from an empty vessel.

Yeah.

You know, you have to make sure you're. You're filled to be able to pour out to others who need it.

Yeah. Historically as well, you know, there are so many lessons in that that we can take now for this modern, for our quote, unquote, modern fight or this ongoing war that has always kind of been there, that we've, you know, we win battles and we lose some battles, but overall, you know, we've still been fighting this whole time generationally, you know. So what do you think are some lessons from past trans and queer movements that feel most important for us to hold right now?

I think some of the most important things are to remember, like I was saying before, you know, it's not just one person, it is not just you. This is a marathon, it is not a sprint. You know, there will. There will always be more people against us than there are of you. And every person needs to figure out their avenue of attack, so to speak. ACT UP is. Is, I think, a really, really good template for this because, yeah, they did a lot of street actions, they did a lot of demonstrations. You know what they also did? They helped find people to care for, people dying of AIDS who could not go to these actions. They made sure that people had food, had medicine, and that's not the same per the person who's going to hit the phone tree is not the same person who is going to be at an action, but that without that person running the phone tree, that person isn't showing up to the action. And so we all have our own part to play. We all have what we are. You know, some people are good at talking to people, some people are good at making really good spreadsheets in organisation

and logistics and we need that, we need that.

And, and some people are really good at being intimidating and maybe they should go be on the front lines when they cops are going to be showing up. You know, it is I. A big attitude I have is multi prong. Find your avenue, find what you are good at, what the movement, what your local group needs. You know, mutual aid is an amazing example of this. You know, before it was just called community outreach in some cases, but finding the thing that you are able to help others. I have a saying I like to say that I think really applies here. No one, no one can save everyone, but everyone can save someone. And that can be big from letting a trans girl, you know, crash on your couch. Hiring a trans person for a job because your, where you work gives pretty good benefits and you know, it covers trans healthcare, that sort of thing. It also can be the small thing of talking to someone when they're having a panic attack about the state of the world and giving them space to ground themselves.

Even just the act of being like, did you want a warm drink? Did you want some water? Like you know, just because giving something little can change the entire course of someone's day. So it's the small acts of kindness, it's a, it's a smile in, in, you know, in the, at the train station or maybe if you clock each other as trans people in the street. Just even, just having a moment to like acknowledge, you know, it gives you that tiny little piece of feeling safe. Just even that tiny little way you're not alone.

You're not the only trans person out walking the streets that day. We are out here that, that's the thing. I, when I look back to movements like ACT up and whatnot, that's the biggest thing I see that I think we could use. Not that we don't have it, we do, but we could use more of is I have your back. We're gonna figure this out. I don't have the answers, but let's work our networks. Let's just, let's text a few people and see what we can come up with, you know. Yeah, even if it's a temporary thing, well, guess what? If you can find a temporary fix that gets you to the next one, this is. This is not a sprint. This is a marathon. And it is about getting to the end. It is about, you know, I don't just want to be morally correct. I also want to win.

Yes, yes. And we win. And we are. The thing is, and I know it might not look like a literal marathon when someone crosses the line and they break the ribbon and there's streamers everywhere and people are cheering, but we are winning. And we have to celebrate our own wins. We have to create that. I don't know which parent of mine said it to me once, but I think it might have been my mom, actually. But I think she'd said something along the lines of, if you don't celebrate your life achievements as who's going to. And that's the same for community. You know, we have wins. 100%. We're having wins. We have visibility beyond any other time in history. We have connection thanks to the Internet, globally more than any other time in history. There's so much that we should be celebrating and are, I hope you are. Everyone listening is celebrating survival, resistance and hope. You know, there's. We've talked a little bit about, you know, the. The fear of what's going on, the current climate in the us, how that's affecting us here in Australia, but also, you know, the history of queer rights movements and what we have to learn from and draw upon now. And, you know, there's a lot of fear in this moment, but this episode is about something deeper than that. It's about survival and what we already carry as a community. We just. We were talking just before about, you know, some things that we can do. But, Faye, tell me, what do you think? So what does survival mean to you right now? What does that look like? What does it feel like survival?

It means a lot of different things. I think survival on the good days is about planning for the future. It's about assuming you are going to be here next year and making plans for that. On the bad days, survival can be about getting out of work, you know, without break, having to break down can be getting to the next day. I think survival takes a lot of different forms. I think this is going to sound a little counterintuitive, but survival is not about surviving. Survival is about thriving. And it's different for a lot of different people. You know, if you're facing housing issues, survival for you will be finding stable housing. If you're having employment issues, survival will be finding stable employment. If you have stable employment, survival might be handling someone transphobic at work. If you are lucky enough to work at a very, very affirming place where no one is outwardly transphobic, survival might be helping someone else get to that point in their journey in their life.

Life.

It's survival means a lot of different things and it takes a lot of different forms.

I think classism shows up in the trans community a bit too. Right. You know, when for sure, you know, and all the isms affect every community in, in intersectional ways. I, for example, I work in community and I have typically worked in very trans positive spaces. But it doesn't mean that I don't go home shattered some days and, and scared. Even though, you know, a lot of my work tends to involve helping people who don't, who don't have work, who are struggling to find work, trans people who don't have work, you know, and that again, that survival is different. Right? Like the place that that person is in is different from the place that I'm in and we're both being, we're both struggling or, or surviving differently. That's also class divide, you know, like I have the privilege of that, that of that job and that position. I, I think recognising and having gratitude for the positions that we are all in, whatever they may be, for the little things that we have is also a great survival tool.

100. 100. It's, it is easy to only count the hardships in your life. It, I think takes a lot more effort to count the blessings in your life.

Oh, and you know what? It's a skill. I really think it's a skill to sit and go, heck, what am I grateful for? Let me just look around my life right now and I'm just gonna think of five things and you know, just the act, just the literal act of attempting to find something you're grateful for sparks that, that neuroplasticity, those neurons in your brain to think towards a positive, to think towards something worthwhile.

I fully agree. I think another way to look at it and I, and I'm looking at a lot of things this way, you know, because you're, you're 100% correct. It is a skill, it is a muscle. If it is something you are struggling with, it might be easier to view it as a practise, a thing that you are actively doing, you know, and, and then you sort of divorce it from how good you are at it or not. And it just Becomes a thing you are doing, you know, to sort of take it out of. To take it out of trans and queer people. You know, something I, I've been saying a lot now is ally is no longer a descriptor. It has to be a verb, it has to be a practise. What are you doing to be an ally to the trans and queer community? You know, and I think we can apply that to ourselves. How are you practising having gratitude for the things you do have? And I think that also helps, you know, like I said before, by figuring out what you have instead of focusing on what you don't have, you might find, wait a minute, this thing that I have, I can share in some way, then you can find someone who doesn't have that, who, who is really struggling with the thing you might have abundance of and help them with that thing they are struggling by giving them some of what you have.

Yeah, it's giving from that overflow like we talked about, the vessel you can't give from an empty cup sort of thing. You know, if you've got an overflow of something, we can do that. Yeah. What skills have queer and trans communities always relied on that are becoming crucial again? So, I mean, we did talk a little bit about like, how this is a war and not a battle. So, you know, it's a marathon, not a race, you know, not a sprint. I've, I've written, I've got four dot points here. Chosen family, underground networks, resource sharing and storytelling are the four things that I've written as like, crucial, crucial to support community. Chosen family. Huge for me. Underground networks in that, you know, we all are talking to each other about how we get gender affirming, medical care and supporting that resource sharing, you know, which is again, what you sort of said as well. Being able to give from the overflow of extra things that you might have an abundance of that someone else doesn't. And then the ultimate thing, which is actually what we're doing right now, which is storytelling, like sharing information and connecting across oceans and around the world of what's going on. What are your thoughts on those things? What are your thoughts on those four things?

I agree with all of them and I think I am doing all of those in different ways. Chosen family. I mean, as long as there have been queer people, there has been chosen family. People forget the full quote. People always go, blood is thicker than water. The full quote, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water, than the water of the womb. And the point of that is the bonds that we choose to honour amongst each other is so much more important than anything else. You know, I have extended chosen family. I have a gay auntie who lives down in the South. I have a nephew who lives here in New York. None of those people I have blood relations with, but because they are a part of my chosen family, that means those people are also chosen family as far as I am concerned. You know something, I perfect example, I am very lucky that my parents fully accept me for who I am. And they love me not in spite of it, but because of it. Because it is who I am. And so something I tell people is like, if you are a part of my chosen family, those are also. My parents are a part of your chosen family too. You know, you want to talk to Mama Weishel, you want to talk to Papa Weishel, I will get them on the phone to talk to you.

I'll give them a call after this.

Exactly. But, but like, you know, by doing that, and I implore everyone who is listening to think about who is your chosen family and to think about it with intention. You know, because I have a lot of queer friends, I have a lot of trans friends. Not everyone is a part of my chosen family. And that's, that's the, one of the beautiful things about it is we get to choose. We get to choose who. I am going to stand by you through thick and thin. I am going to be there for you however I can. And maybe I can't solve every problem and maybe all I can offer is yeah, that sucks. But that is someone who goes, yeah, I know what you're going through.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So that's so important, you know, super important. It's, it's why therapy is so important and talking to an actual human as opposed to, you know, using an AI as your therapist. The AI doesn't know what it's like to go through heartbreak. A human being with a beating heart

does talk to people chosen family, you know, collect those special to you and connect those special to you. And then you know, saying about underground networks. That's also how we have a community that sends and shares information as well as resources. I was reading about DIY medical transitions like particularly hormone replacement from like the early 1800s in South America, using certain plants and certain plant medicine that actually helped you develop more mass masculinizing features as well as ways of present, presenting and taking care of your skin for more feminising. You know, we've, we've been sharing resources for hundreds of years through Our own path, pathways and networks. This is a skill that we will continue to retain.

You know, speaking of underground networks, I think if you, if everyone who's listening hasn't done so, and frankly, I think probably a lot I've had, you know, you should download the Sigma now. Is signal an automatically safe way to message? No. No, it isn't. But it's safer than your regular sms. It is. It's encrypted, end to end. It has to be broken into for someone to get access to your messages again. You know, if you, if someone has the key, they're going to get in, but they got to have that key first versus your normal messages are frankly very easy to intercept. You know, we. If you live in the Western world, you live under a surveillance state.

Faye, tell me, what does hope look like? Not, not necessarily as a feeling, not necessarily as a practise, but just like what, you know, we've talked a lot about survival, but, you know, hope is really this prevailing, this, this line all the way through this discussion today. But what, what is hope? What is it feeling like? What does it look like?

Hope is knowing there will be a tomorrow. Hope is planning for your future. Hope is sometimes calling the doctor and getting your first appointment for hrt. Hope can be asking that person you like out. Hope can be applying to that job that you're not sure you have the qualifications for. Hope can be going out to that punk show that you don't think you're gonna look like you fit in, but going anyway, doing it. Scared. You know, I, I think, I think a really important thing to realise right now is people sometimes tell me, Faye, you're so brave. You're so. You, you just do what you want to do. You, you, you, you speak truth to power, you know, whatever. And the thing is, I tell people all the time is I am doing this stuff and I am scared. Yeah, babe, but, but you can't not. It is. It is an impossibility to be courageous and to be brave unless you are scared. Being scared and doing the right thing is being courageous because if you weren't scared, you would just be acting. You would just be doing. And that's not what being courageous and brave is about. The bravery. The. The courage comes because you have doubts. It comes because you're not sure how it's going to work out and you do it anyway because you think the world could be better, my situation could be better.

That's a really fantastic Brene Brown quote about courage, which is you can choose courage or you can choose comfort, but you cannot choose both. Yeah, You're listening to transmission on 4 triple Z, having a chat there with Faye from New York. Gosh, she's amazing. I'm now going to leave you on a speech that Fay actually gave at a vigil a while ago. Yeah. I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for listening to Transmission. Yeah, let's listen to this amazing speech.

So what I would like to read as a sort of ending here is I was at. When Sam Norquist was killed in New York State, I was asked to speak at a vigil for him in Jersey City. And I just like to read what I wrote then because I think it really hits to a lot of the things we have been talking about. So here we go. Thank you for having me to speak. While I wish we were gathering in joy rather than mourning, I am touched and hardened that I see all of you out here with us today. Because that's what we need in this moment. To not be isolated, not be alone, but to be in community with each other. My name is Fay Weichel and I am a union member and organiser. I was born into a union family and I've been active in my union for over a decade, fighting both for queer rights and labour rights. I know the power in collective action and community coming together for the common good. That is what we need right now. Solidarity with our trans brothers. Solidarity with our entire trans community. Solidarity with and from not only the queer community, but the entire community. It's a scary time to be a trans person in America. I know it, you know it, we live it. I am speaking to the choir today. We know the harm that comes to our community. We've all had to help fellow trans queer. Trans and queer can heal, recovery and process this harm and often trauma. Now is the time that requires action. If not us, who? If not now, when? If not here, where? But what are we to do? What are we to do when we are beset on all sides? It's a time to look at our our queer and trans history. Our community is one of struggle and strife, but also of victory. We did not get a better treatment by asking the cops at Stonewall nicely. We did not get HIV medications by being patient. We did not get AIDS treatment by being quiet. We did not get prep by being good. We got it by acting up. Silence equals death. It's true. Hyper invisibility is not a shield. Hypervisibility is not a sword. These are things we know and we are community that comes from all walks, walks of life. So many varied backgrounds, we know the meaning of family. Various reasons and circumstances make our community one deeply familiar with found family. Many of us have extended found family networks. I have brothers, kin and sisters with whom I share no blood. Blood is thicker than water. No, I reject that. The quote is about the blood of the covenant being thicker than water. I am in covenant with all trans people. I cannot and will not let them go alone in this world we find ourselves in. All trans people are family. I want to read the words of Linda Norquist, Sam's mother, in regards to trying to find her son. At least Sam could hear, possibly hear my voice and know Mom's here. Mom's looking. We need to be each other's family and look for for each other and continue to keep looking out for each other. Make sure your family is safe and okay. Cheque in on each other. Form stronger bonds between us. Because together we have a power greater than the sum of its parts. To take a turn from our queer history. An army of lovers cannot lose. A lot of us are afraid. I will tell you. I am afraid. But you cannot be courageous without fear. Being courageous involves being afraid and acting anyway. Not in a dangerous, reckless way. Not letting fear rule our lives. If we can conquer the fear within ourselves, to transition, to show the world who we really are, then it is also on us. And I mean also my CIS kin here as well. It is on all of us to conquer the fear within ourselves, to show up and be there for our family in this time, for trans people to stand stand up for ourselves and for our CIS comrades to stand with us. We have a long fight ahead of us. Something I would like to leave you with is this thought of mine. No one can save everyone, but everyone can save someone. Look for who you can save. Thank you for your time.

Thanks for listening to Transmission. Catch us every Monday live on 4zzz from 10am or listen to our podcast on the community radio plus Applied.