Trans thing

I would like to share one more story with you. During his posting as a surgeon in Cape Town, South Africa, Dr. James Barry pulled off a critical operation: the first c-section in Africa in which both parent and child survived. The son that survived the operation was named James Barry Munnik, and the family members that succeeded him would pass the name down further through their family. Names have power, but this is doubly true for trans people, as it is one of the most fundamental ways that we assert our personhood. Barry's narrative has been misappropriated in the wake of his death, as he has been portrayed as a "woman in disguise" rather than a transgender man. But his name -- which he chose for himself -- lives on in the history books, as do his accomplishments. Barry's existence could not be erased in full, and the same is true for all other transgender people. We have always existed, and we will always exist, and the pathway to our liberation is through these narratives.