About

I’ll mainly write about research and media stories about trans people, particularly when they touch on trans rights or research. I’ll occasionally talk about other feminist issues and will sometimes share my own experiences. This is not a debate or free speech site, as there are plenty of those places already on the internet.

This Blog’s Author

While I am neither a journalist or a professional scientist, I have experience understanding trans and gender issues, both through lived experience as a trans woman and growing knowledge as a gender studies student. My professional background is in IT (I also have a tech blog where I mostly talk about my tech hobbies), while my personal passion is in building a world based on justice. I am currently pursuing a degree in gender, women, and sexualities studies.

Trans Travel Guide

I manage a the Trans Travel Guide, which provides information for people who are traveling about laws and, where possible, on-the-ground knowledge of various locations.

Some of my Favorite Blog Posts

A Major Victory for Women!

So, I saw a headline that begins “major victory for women!” Well, I’m a feminist women’s studies student (and also trans, but that just means I’ve had to think about gender a lot more than most people), so I think, “Oh, wow! A major victory! Have we stopped domestic violence? Is universal childcare available? Have…

Researching Trans Bodies…Without Trans Bodies

Transgender people have never had a great relationship with medical care. Most trans people have stories about being mistreated while obtaining medical care — not just for trans-related healthcare, but also for general healthcare. It’s not unusual to be refused treatment by transphobic doctors, to be misgendered and dead-named by providers, to experience the biases the medical…

What Does Transgender Research Really Say?

The UK news organization, Daily Mail, reported that seeing trans people on TV caused young people to seek out medical transition. Except, no, the actual research didn’t. First, let me link to what I’m talking about: Science reporting is notoriously awful (ironically the linked paper also mentions the Daily Mail’s bad reporting of another science…

Citing My Work

Feel free to cite my work according to whatever manual of style you are using. However, if you are citing some of my historical work, please do not cite by my deadname. Please simply cite it as “J. Maslak” or “Joelle Maslak” depending on what you believe is acceptable under your manual of style. When referring to me in text, please cite me as Joelle and not my deadname. If mentioning me in a direct quote of either my own or someone else’s work, please substitute my current name. For instance, you might include (if using APA citation format, and quoting something Smith said about me):

“[Joelle] writes about trans issues” (Smith, 2010).

When using pronouns for me, when referring to me prior to transition, my third person pronouns should be she/her/hers, just as they should be when referring to me today.

Where manuals of style prohibit any of the above, I urge you to challenge that and to deviate from the manual of style in the name of feminist justice. This is a very tiny way you can take a stand against injustice. If you’re not willing to take such a small stand, how will you take bigger ones that matter more?

If you have cited me on web pages or other material that is easy to update, I appreciate updating references to me on those pages. Think about how you may refer to Michelle Obama’s childhood (you would use her current last name, most likely, “Obama”) or Marylin Monroe’s childhood (again, you’d know the name most people knew her by).

I can’t tell you how to quote other trans people, but urge you to attempt to contact someone (or search for their preferred citation policy). Some people will not want to be connected to their deadname, while others might be fine (or even appreciate it). I can just tell you how I desire to be referred to.

Comment Policy

  1. No spam. If the product is actually uniquely relevant to the article or another comment, I’ll probably allow it, but don’t be surprised if I remove a link to your dog wash business (unless of course your dog wash business is relevant to the story)
  2. No derogatory / inflammatory comments. Racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, and religious intolerance is not allowed here.
  3. Really, transphobia is not allowed! This is not the place to anyone’s gender or rights. If you want to discuss the post, and even disagree (so long as it doesn’t cross into transphobic territory), I’m fine with that.
  4. If you are being harassed or spot an abusive comment, I’m always glad to step in to deal with the problem. Feel free to email me at jmaslak@antelope.net. Note that I’m just one woman, so it may take me a bit to get to it if I’m attending to other things at the time (like sleep or eating), but I do take this seriously.
  5. I will be updating this policy should I find it necessary.
  6. While I am not currently looking for employment, I’m always willing to learn about particularly interesting opportunities. My resume is on GitHub (rendered version) (source).

Contact

Email: jmaslak@antelope.net
Mastodon: https://social.joelle.us
Bluesky: @jmaslak.bsky.social