Introducing "A Cunt of One's Own"

[Note: I'm excited to announce a new project. I'm cross-posting this introduction at a new blog, which you can find here. While the blog is new, I've been working on it long enough to post a bit more background, including a video where I explain what the hell is going through my mind. I've also created a project-specific Twitter feed for those who want to follow various cunty happenings.]

As I may have mentioned on the Internet once or twice, I'm a trans woman. As I may not have mentioned, I'm faced with significant medical bills. These things are related.

Thus, I'm announcing the A Cunt of One's Own project. I'm a feminist writer trying to raise enough money to buy a vagina, so there really wasn't anything else I could have named it. The kids, they love the Virginia Woolf references.

This project has a couple of purposes. First, I need to raise $15,000 to pay my medical bills. That's an end in-and-of itself.

Second, I want to challenge the way that society thinks about trans* people and medical care. People with cis privilege tend, accordingly, to be oblivious to the hurdles that trans* people face. And hell, people with medical bills hold public fundraisers all the time that frequently include all sorts of fun medical tidbits. Why not a fundraiser for my queer ass (crotch, actually) bills?

During the next year, I will be blogging about trans*ness and health care at A Cunt of One's Own. The issues I'm dealing with aren't just about trans* people, though. The same forces that conspire to regulate trans* bodies oppress (other) women, people of color, the poor, the incarcerated, the fat, the disabled, and other intersecting groups that society views as less than. I plan on having a lot of fun using my personal experiences to explore these larger issues of bodily autonomy.

I can't not plan on having fun. This shit is too serious.

I'm immensely grateful for any donations that people are willing or able to make. The are other ways to help, including spreading the word. Perhaps most importantly, I invite you to follow, comment on, and otherwise participate in A Cunt of One's Own.

Thank you,
Kate
xox