A vegan objection to “cultivated meat” — As most of my regular readers know, I am vegan for ethical reasons. I am convinced that my fellow animals are sentient beings who feel pain and fear, and cannot consent to being exploited for human use. I therefore avoid consuming or otherwise using animal products to the best of…

Striving to embody my values of peace and nonviolence — This Wednesday, August 23 is a special day for me: The tenth anniversary of my Nameday. Ten years ago, I announced my new name and non-binary gender identity to the world. Legal and medical milestones in my transition would come later, but from that day forward, I was Pax Ahimsa…

Representing marginalized communities with my contributions to Wikimedia Commons — This week, I was honored to be named by the Wikimedia Foundation as the 2023 Media Contributor of…

I mentioned this during a Medium Day session yesterday, and I'll say it again here: No one writing "on spec" should expect to make their entire living from a single source, whether that source is Medium or anywhere else. Seeing people comment that they used to make thousands of dollars…

Lives are precious. Guns end them. — Yesterday, I read a story that left me shaking with rage. On Saturday night, a 43-year-old man in Chicago killed an eight-year-old girl. He complained that she was making too much noise, pointed a gun at her and shot her in the face. The girl, Sarabi Medina, was pronounced dead…

August is Transgender History Month — This week, the City and County of San Francisco kicked off Transgender History Month, an annual celebration that started in 2021. Mayor London Breed and trans activist Donna Personna raised the trans pride flag and held a ceremony at City Hall, alongside representatives from The Transgender District, San Francisco Office…

Countering transphobic talking points — In the United States, trans people have been facing a multi-year onslaught of legislative attempts to deny our identities and curtail our rights. The primary targets of these transphobic bills — some of which have become law — are trans women and girls. The main movers behind this wave of…

I have plenty against Elon Musk. Among other things, he has welcomed and promoted users spouting openly transphobic views, in the name of "freeze peach". I do recognize that many of the same marginalized people who are targets of hate speech on Twitter have continued to rely on that platform…

In 2023, Black people remain second-class citizens — Today, I read a story that brought me to tears. In 2020, Patrick Braxton was elected as the first Black mayor of Newbern, Alabama. But the town’s white residents have kept him from serving through racist intimidation and harassment. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; please read the…