Author: Dean

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New Interview with Them about Why I Oppose Trans Military Inclusion Advocacy

https://www.them.us/story/case-against-lgbtq-military-inclusion-explained

Just five days after being sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden signed an executive order overturning former President Trump’s ban on openly transgender Americans serving in the military. “All Americans who are qualified to serve in the Armed Forces of the United States should be able to serve,” it read, going on to argue that an “inclusive military strengthens our national security.”

Biden’s executive order, one of a flurry he signed during his administration’s first week, marked the fulfillment of one of his foremost policy proposals regarding the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality in America. More specifically, the order counteracted a 2017 directive by the Trump administration banning openly trans folks from the armed services — itself a reversal of the Obama administration’s 2016 order that paved the way for trans Americans to serve in the military without hiding their gender identity.

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Valentine’s Day Webinar with Fireweed Collective

I was lucky to get to present a webinar on Valentine’s Day with Fireweed Collective about Dismantling the Romance Myth. Here are the slides from the webinar, and I will post the video here when it is ready.

They are working on creating a video that has me, the ASL intepreter, and my slides, but for now, here is the video that includes me and the ASL interpreter.

Above is the video that includes me and my slides

P.S. I did a follow up to this session in Feb 2022. Here’s the video of that session.

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Crosscut Feature about Mutual Aid

Seattle author says ‘mutual aid’ will be crucial in 2021 and beyond

In a new book, Seattle University’s Dean Spade highlights how the organizing and survival tactic could be vital for future disasters.

by Margo Vansynghel

January 7, 2021

Seattle Community Fridge is a mutual aid group that sprang up during the pandemic. From left, volunteers Beija Flor, Jordan Saibic and Marine Au Yeung install a community refrigerator offering free food in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, Aug. 20, 2020. (Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut)

Rewinding the film of 2020, it can seem like a lifetime of events transpired in a 365-day span. A pandemic. An economic crisis. Some of the largest protests the U.S. has ever seen. A historic election. Many people are lonelier, hungrier and poorer than ever. But despite the social distance and devastation — and because of it — people also came together. 

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