I Won't Be Boycotting Anti-Trans States on My Tour. Here's Why.

An alternative approach to Trans advocacy and activism in anti-Trans states.

Photo by Kyle on Unsplash

At the end of this month, my poetry collection Survived By: A Memoir in Verse + Other Poems debuts with Curious Corvid Publishing, and this summer, I'm going on an in-person book tour. I'll be starting off in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and heading to areas such as Boise and Coeur D'Alene, Idaho and Livingston, Montana where recently the governments in those states have instilled or are working to instill anti-Trans measures.

[Here are a few recent headlines from each of these states:

Gov. Gordon lets ‘draconian’ anti-trans sports bill pass into law
Idaho governor signs bill banning transition care for minors
Narrow legal definition of sex in Montana bill would jeopardize protections for trans people

Yuck.]

I've flirted with the idea of skipping states with anti-Trans bills or laws completely as a protest, but I ultimately decided against it for one big reason:

Trans people still live in these places, and they need visible allies.

First, Trans folks, particularly rural Trans folks, need to see Trans allies in their…