#decolonial action

[outlawknup]

"retomada no asfalto, descolonize sua mente."

[sordxradical]

believing, validating, honoring trans* lives is a decolonial act

[transparency: this was originally a facebook comment on a thread about recognizing and honoring the intersectional experiences of Black Trans Women.]

i am not a Trans* persyn or a Black persyn. therefore, my intimate, personal knowledge of the lived realities of those identities and experiences are nonexistent. this goes for intimately, personally knowing the lived experiences of Black Trans* people i know. what i do know is from listening for understanding and love and reading people's personal stories and experiences on the internet. janet mock and laverne cox have been among the well-known folks who have enriched my understanding of Black Trans Women lives. on community levels, my relationships with various Trans Women have taught me what i know as well. i may not know a lot but i strive to. 

because colonialism imposed CisHeteroPatriarchy on us. essentializing and narrowing gender paradigms is a colonial tactic and byproduct. essentializing and narrowing gender resulted in gender violence towards women, and created femmephobia, all while breeding hypermasculinity that was rooted in aggression and violence. this CisHeteroPatriarchy also erased gender variant folks that existed on the continents of Africa, the Americas, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands. gender variant folks existed on all of those geographies. the colonial gender binary erased all of them and continue to erase them. colonialism is that successful- we know 500 years of this success. gender-denying and erasing is rooted in the violence of colonialism. sadly we BIPOC have internalized much of this thinking and action. it us no less up to us to pull those thoughts and feelings out of us and unlearn, as it is up to those who oppress us to do as well. this is why i feel honoring and loving Trans Women (and Trans* people, GenderQueer people) is a decolonial act. it is decolonial love to listen for understanding and love and to stand by them. it is one of the intentional, mindful decolonial approaches i take on in order to stretch love and liberation for all of us.

-Elena Figueroa-Ruiz

multi-mestiza xicanx sorda queer femme profesora/writer, 2014.