The Lambda Literary Finalist Letters for My Brothers
asked transsexual men to pass on to their pre-transition selves any
important advice that they had as post-transition men. In Letters for My
Siblings, we wish to capture short pieces of a similar spirit from
people who are genderqueer, gender non-conforming, bigender, agender, or
who simply don’t fit nicely into the boxes of “man” and “woman”.
Your submission should be between 500 and
2500 words and address one or more of the prompts below. Not all prompts
will apply to all writers. Your submission should be about your own
lived experience — please avoid delving too far into the theoretical, or
making broad generalizations about any group (even one that you belong
to).
Send all submissions to lettersformysiblings@gmail.com by February 1, 2014. Authors will be notified of acceptance within six weeks of the submission deadline.
What does it mean to transition as a non-binary identified person?
How have you transitioned medically, legally, socially, or otherwise,
and why? Has your transition been an important part of your identity
and/or experience? How and why?
Where do you fit in the larger trans* community? Have you found
friendship and connection among other trans* people, binary or
non-binary? Have you encountered discrimination or resistance to your
identity within the trans* community?
Have you been able to find or create language to describe your
gender/experience? Are you intentional about using (or NOT using)
particular words for your gender/experience? Why do you use (or not use)
these words?
How has your non-binary identity intersected with other parts of
your identity, such as your race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
religion, physical ability/disability, or age? Are there times when
these other parts of your identity come in conflict with your gender? If
so, how do you manage these conflicts?
What do you like about being non-binary? What is your biggest
frustration? How do you navigate a world set up only for men and women?
Who are your mentors? Who has guided you on your journey/transition? Who do you look up to?
What advice would you give to genderqueer/gender non-conforming/non-binary people who are at the beginning of their journey?