To be the most transparent I can be, here is a little more about me:
I am a white settler-citizen. The ancestry I’m aware of includes Scottish, Irish, Welsh, British, French, German, and Scandinavian heritage. Some relations you may know include Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of the TV), Richard the First (a King), and Charlemagne (a German ruler).
Due to my family heritage and genealogy records, I am keenly aware that my ancestors participated in violence against many people through colonialism, racism, and physical violence. I know that the Mormon side of my family especially harmed Indigenous and Native peoples. This includes harm done to the Paiute nation, including likely participation in the Circlevile Massacre and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, which was then blamed solely on the Paiute peoples. As someone invested in justice and liberation for all peoples, I denounce these acts of violence.
My partner and I recently purchased a home together on unceded lands of the Osage, Shawnee, and Kaskaskia peoples as well as those from the Hopewell and Adena cultures. While I am new to the area, I will endeavor to be a steward of the land until such time as we can return it to its rightful owners.
While I was raised in a large Mormon extended family, I am non-religious. I enjoy learning about religions but dislike much of what organized religion has to offer. While I believe in something that connects all life, I don’t think it’s a deity.
I grew up in poverty, coming home multiple times to eviction notices. Most people also know that my childhood household was abusive and neglectful. Over the last several years, I have cut contact with abusers and worked on healing.
I was denied access to medical and dental care from ages 7 to 21, resulting in not only a lot of pain but also financial issues as I began to gain access to healthcare again. While I have vastly improved my situation, being disabled and much of the extra work I have had to do to get accurate care/diagnosis has led to a decent amount of debt that I am currently trying to pay off. That debt includes student loans (including a failed master’s degree attempt), a divorce, and medical bills. I did complete a different master’s degree in 2017 focused on Health Care Administration.
I am disabled and neurodivergent. The first of my conditions to be diagnosed back in the early 90s was asthma. Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (SJIA) followed, nearly killing me. I also have:
- ADHD (combined)
- Allergies
- Anterior Basement Membrane Dystrophy
- Chronic Pain
- Depression
- EDS/Hypermobility
- Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS)
- Migraines
- Orthostatic hypertension
- Plaque Psoriasis
- Post-Traumatic Stress (complex)
- Raynaud’s Syndrome
- Seborrheic Keratosis
I am queer, something I realized fairly early on in life. Of course, I also learned quickly that I had to be silent. Still, queerness tends to shine through. When I saw queer, I mean as in ACTUP Fight AIDS and not as in rainbow capitalism.
I am also transgender. This means that I was observed to be a girl when I was born, but that doesn’t match how I feel. I often switch between the labels transmasculine and trans man. One label feels better some days, but not every day. In reality, I’m probably a nonbinary, transmasculine demiboy. That’s just a lot of words to say sometimes I feel like a dude and other times I feel like something else. My gender expression or presentation is still masculine, though.
I’ve been on testosterone since January 2020. You can read a write-up of my experience after six months and at 21 months. I had masculinizing top surgery in July 2021. While I nearly died due to an MCAS reaction to anesthesia, everything else went really well.
I recognize and acknowledge that I hold a great deal of privilege from my whiteness, my education, my current ability to access healthcare, and the resources and support I have available to me. It’s important to note that I also experience forced disadvantages from my gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and additional identities I hold or have held in the past.
I acknowledge that my privileges give me covered spots of which I am currently unaware. I also recognize and continue to do the work to uncover those spots, unpack biases, and work to be the most equitable version of myself possible.
My Projects
- Chronic Sex: A website and podcast discussing the intersections of sexuality, gender, chronic illness/pain, disability, and more.
- Not Standing Still’s Disease: The musings & wit of a chronic illness fighter on the world, medicine, and ways to improve our lives for the better.
- Spooky Sconnie Podcast: A podcast that covers everything about Wisconsin, from true crime & the paranormal to cryptids and wonderfully weird history.