Appreciating San Diego Trans Pride July 2019 by Abigail Weissman, Psy.D.
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I love my job. That said, sometimes, it gets so busy that I forget to publish blogs as I write them. Here’s a blog post about this past year’s Trans Pride event in San Diego - in July! Here’s what went through my mind as I attended the event. I hope that it is of interest to you and yours.
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It was Trans Pride this last weekend. Waves (okay, me, Dr. Abigail Weissman) signed up to be at a booth as we have done in the past, and I, Abigail Weissman, was set to wo-man it. I adore being at a booth. I love meeting new people who come up to the booth to say hi or ask questions. I adore connecting with my neighboring booths and learning about their services and I love any excuse to dress up in my most trans and/or queer affirming clothing and stand up for equality.
I also wore my kippah, my head covering, as I often do during presentations. It helped me feel grounded and connected to my Judaism.
I’m here to set up a place of respite, to get away from the crowds and spend time coloring. Whether people sat in one of our lawn chairs or on our benches, conversation emerged within the groups and with me. Our booth became a place to breathe. There was space to read a children’s book about activism or how to embrace one’s hair or identity.
These are some pictures from trans Pride 2019. The top 2 pictures show our table and booth while the bottom picturs are some of the coloring artwork done during the festivities. I received permission from the colorers to post these pictures.
There were also opportunities to learn and to share about ourselves. And both they and I listened and shared. I met a San Diego Sister of Perpetual Indulgence, Gwenn, who sported a beautiful Star of David on her face in makeup. I met another G who had created a lovely banner expressing her gratitude to her G-d. I learned about Navajo expressions of Pride. I learned in the importance of having not-so-sugary snacks that were easy for folks to chew (I had some whole grain bars) and in bringing non-melty candy (a few years ago I brought chocolate and it all melted) as paperweights and as options for booth visitors. The treats brought more conversation. People had very strong feelings about the tootsie rolls. This made me smile. Some preferred the original and others were determined to share which new flavor was the best. The sweet treats connected people, started conversation, and gave people opportunities to explore differences between them all in a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Some people came over to ask what the letters in my sign meant and it gave me a chance to educate and invite conversation about “the letters” and what they meant, both literally, and how much weight they each had when posted up on a banner together. L G B T Q I Q A P.
Each letter is part of a social movement that brings people together to fight for recognition, for justice, for equality, to be heard, seen, and recognized.
They are not an “alphabet soup” as some would say, but a representation of who we are together and apart. And mentioning them each is lovely and incredibly important. I speak about this in a video I was in that can be found here ( about half way down the page).
Then, I had the opportunity to be interviewed. A person asked me some questions about my booth and about myself and so I invited him to sit down and I share about myself.
http://www.sdjewishworld.com/2019/07/15/opening-my-ears-at-trans-pride/
Here’s the author of the article from the San Diego Jewish World online publication.
Some things I realized that I said came out in a way that didn’t feel write to me so I worked with the journalist to craft a more authentic representation of me. I am grateful for his edits and for his words.
I continued to learn about other organizations such as Think Dignity. They provide houseless individuals with legal and other services. https://www.thinkdignity.org/ I especially love the documents that provide information about one’s legal rights. Here’s the download at https://www.thinkdignity.org/know-your-rights I know that they also have a Spanish version although I can’t find the link. I would encourage contacting the organization for that version if you’d like a copy. Think Dignity also has a wonderful list of resources some of them that I had not seen before: https://www.thinkdignity.org/local-resources
I also found out about Kickstart http://www.kickstartsd.org/, an organization that supports the mental health of young people especially around first experiences of psychosis. They consist of a whole team of providers that actually go to people’s houses. So awesome! Here’s some information about signs and symptoms of psychosis which can be great to know about: http://www.kickstartsd.org/learn-signs-mental-illness-awareness/ Here’s some information about Hope with Early Treatment: http://www.kickstartsd.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Hope-and-Help.pdf . Andrea from Kickstart also watched my booth so I could take a break and I am so grateful for her kindness. It helped me meet some new-to-me people and get a bite to eat!
On my break, I met a wonderful person from the Hillcrest pharmacy https://www.hillcrestpharmacy.com/ . They deliver medication to one’s home and because they have offices in Vista and in Hillcrest, they could deliver medication to people’s homes up in North County, say in the Rancho Bernardo areas along with Central San Diego. They help people get PREP. And they don’t run out of psych medication which I’ve heard other pharmacies do and they give you a box of medication not a bottle with medicine that is proportioned out for you. While it has a lot of plastic in that box, it looked like a very cool way to get one’s medication and be sure that you got the right dose of the right thing at the right time.
I also spent time with people from the UC antiretroviral research program and learned about a new research study that allows people who sign up for it to get PREP for free! Even if you are on it already, you can get it for free! I can’t wait to learn more. I think it’s this study: https://prepstudy.org/transgender-prep-study/ but feel free to call the UC San Diego Antiretroviral Research Program for their information.
I left before the march began. With my family. With Shabbat on the horizon, I needed dinner and decompression time. And, with the help of neighboring booth operators, my wife, kiddo, and I made it back to my car in one piece, a family of tired and happy people.
Happy Trans Pride everyone!
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