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Riley Black
Riley Black

1K Followers

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Published in

An Injustice!

·Feb 21, 2021

Transitioning Taught Me to Stop Chasing Perfection

I like it when friends ask me questions that I don’t immediately know how to respond to. “Do you feel pressure to be perfect, as a woman?” Now here’s something I can sink my teeth into. I came out as trans a little more than two years ago. Back then…

LGBTQ

5 min read

Transitioning Taught Me to Stop Chasing Perfection
Transitioning Taught Me to Stop Chasing Perfection
LGBTQ

5 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Feb 19, 2021

Trans Women Are Women, and Belong in Women’s Sports

Utah HB302 is like a bad penny — it’s the same transphobic bigotry that keeps turning up. So far, 20 states have brought the copy/paste bill to session this year, legislation written by the hate group Alliance Defending Freedom and pushed by conservative politicians who use fear about trans people…

Sports

5 min read

Trans Women Are Women, and Belong in Women’s Sports
Trans Women Are Women, and Belong in Women’s Sports
Sports

5 min read


Jan 27, 2021

Getting My Nipples Pierced Was One of the Best Decisions I Ever Made

“Deep breath in.” I knew what was coming. I inhaled before a long, slow exhale, my focus on blowing air out, even as that breath became a bit of a yelp as the piercer’s needle slid through my left nipple. But my time the acute pain sizzled through my neurons…

Piercing

4 min read

Getting My Nipples Pierced Was One of the Best Decisions I Ever Made
Getting My Nipples Pierced Was One of the Best Decisions I Ever Made
Piercing

4 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Jan 19, 2021

Yes, It’s Wrong to Tell Trans People You Don’t Want to Sleep With Them Because of Their Genitals

What is it about trans bodies that makes people feel like we deserve their unsolicited evaluations? I hadn’t even started hormone replacement therapy when I started getting them. “Are you doing this to get your ex back?” …

Queer

5 min read

Yes, It’s Wrong to Tell Trans People You Don’t Want to Sleep With Them Because of Their Genitals
Yes, It’s Wrong to Tell Trans People You Don’t Want to Sleep With Them Because of Their Genitals
Queer

5 min read


Jan 16, 2021

Letters to a Person Who Doesn’t Exist

I hadn’t thought about the letter in years, but I knew what it was as soon as I saw it — a note from someone I don’t know anymore to a person who doesn’t exist. Maybe someone else could have left it alone. I couldn’t. I pulled at the edge…

Letters

4 min read

Letters to a Person Who Doesn’t Exist
Letters to a Person Who Doesn’t Exist
Letters

4 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Jan 15, 2021

Navigating My Way Through Demisexuality

Being half-undressed, half-entangled with a friend isn’t the most convenient time to realize you’re demisexual — Being half-undressed, half-entangled with a friend isn’t the most convenient time to realize you’re demisexual. The moment was an appropriate time, to be sure. …

LGBTQ

6 min read

Navigating My Way Through Demisexuality
Navigating My Way Through Demisexuality
LGBTQ

6 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Dec 18, 2020

Cis Isn’t Normal

Being cisgender isn’t normal. It’s simply not. No matter how you turn it, feeling hunky dory with the gender you were given at birth and grew up with isn’t the way things necessarily ought to be. Of course I’m playing with language here. (Got your attention, though, didn’t I?) “Normal”…

Transgender

5 min read

Cis Isn’t Normal
Cis Isn’t Normal
Transgender

5 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Dec 16, 2020

When Planning For Bottom Surgery, Don’t Settle

“Do you want to get pregnant?” For a split second, I thought about responding “Buy a girl a drink first!” I almost wish I had. Instead, assuming that the nurse meant “Do you want to preserve your gametes so that someone can have your biological child at some point?”, I…

Transgender

6 min read

When Planning For Bottom Surgery, Don’t Settle
When Planning For Bottom Surgery, Don’t Settle
Transgender

6 min read


Published in

An Injustice!

·Nov 24, 2020

When Are We Going to Get More Queer Movies?

Fifty seven streaming services and nothing on. I know, that’s not quite fair. One way or another almost every film ever spliced together is available somewhere, and there’s more every day. …

Queer

4 min read

When Are We Going to Get More Queer Movies?
When Are We Going to Get More Queer Movies?
Queer

4 min read


Published in

Gender From The Trenches

·Nov 10, 2020

In the Middle of My Transition, I’m Finding the Feeling I Longed For

Change has guided the last two years of my life, but when will I feel ok with how I am today? — I wasn’t expecting to see her this morning. Most of the time I’m just stumbling through my daily routine. Shower. Dry. Shave (laser hair removal doesn’t get rid of those pesky white hairs). Deodorant. Eyeliner. …

Transgender

5 min read

In the Middle of My Transition, I’m Finding the Feeling I Longed For
In the Middle of My Transition, I’m Finding the Feeling I Longed For
Transgender

5 min read

Riley Black

Riley Black

1K Followers

Distant cousin of T. rex. Author of Skeleton Keys, My Beloved Brontosaurus, and more. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @Laelaps. http://rileyblack.net

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