“To Thine Own Self Be True” – Pride Month, Supergirl, Transgender Representation, and Neurodiversity Pride (Oh My!)

Hey all you out there in internet land! As you’re no doubt aware, June is Gay Pride Month, and as such, yours truly wanted to share something that really inspired me in pop culture recently – a certain...er...super powerful moment that occurred on the CW’s hit series ‘Supergirl.’ The adventures of Kara Danvers have been excellent all year, with a story focussing on bigotry and institutionalized oppression at a time when such a message desperately needs to be heard. Of particular note, however, is one of the new characters they brought in – a spunky heroine who goes by ‘Dreamer.’ Born with the given name Nia Nal, Dreamer is a superhero whose power is derived from being able to use dreams to predict future events and gain insights, among other abilities. She is strong, kind, compassionate, caring, and also perhaps most importantly, different. You see, in addition to being half-human and half-alien at a time in the series where anti-alien prejudice is in full swing, Nia is also transgender, and both admits to having struggled because of it, and to it being a source of pride and strength for her. Indeed, she is informed by it, shaped by its challenges and gifts in equal measure, and also more than the circumstances of her birth (Mewtwo from Pokemon would be proud).

Needless to say, as someone with similar experiences (albeit as a spectrum dweller rather than a member of the trans community)? I was extremely inspired. Especially after she delivered a rousing and passionate speech defending differences between people and encouraging everyone to speak their truths. I’ve reprinted it below:

“My parents believed that humans and aliens could co-exist. And I'm living proof of that. But growing up wasn't easy. I am also a trans woman. I'm different, Miss Danvers, but so is everybody. And I don't know when that became such a bad thing. The greatest gift we can give each other is our authentic selves and sharing that. Sharing our truth is what will make us strong. So, here I am. I am both human and alien. And I am a trans woman. S'mores are my favorite dessert. But I will always choose salty over sweet. I broke my nose when I was 15 during a game of kickball. My mother was my heart. And since I lost her, it's felt like a piece of me is missing. But my father is my spine. I'm a Gryffindor. Uh, my Patronus is a Dapple Grey Stallion. I am an INFP. House Stark. I love Thursdays and April. And nerdy boys who think too much. And I am proud of all that I am.”

This moved me in a way I can’t even describe. All of us who are different have at one time or another experienced exactly what Dreamer described, and so I’ve decided to take her up on her challenge and speak my own truth through an adaptation of her speech for my own lived reality. Because speaking our truths is important:

I'm a child of a divorced home. I've struggled with that in one form or another my whole life. I've felt pangs of anger at my parents, resented things not going as they were 'supposed to', and sensed the awkwardness as my step mom, mom, and dad sat around the same dinner table at events like my Confirmation (since my family is Catholic). I always felt as though I was being torn between two worlds...and you couldn't cut the tension with a knife! But growing up was difficult for me on an additional level too - I am also an Aspie. A person with Asperger's Disorder. A spectrum dweller. Autistic...with probable (though unofficial) ADHD. I'm different...but so is everybody. When did that become such a bad thing? After all, the greatest, most wonderful gift any of us can give each other is that of our true, authentic selves. Our truths - unfiltered, unsanitized, uncompromising. So here I am - a kid from a divorced family, an Aspie, an ADD-er. Human. Pizza is one of my favourite foods. I love science fiction in general and Star Trek in particular. I'm an all around nerd and an introvert, but I love being around my chosen friend family...if only for defined periods. When I was 14, I almost got suspended from school for standing up for myself against my bully, and later when I was in Grade 12, I led our school newspaper on strike for freedom of the press after we got censored by the principal. My Nona Olga and Aunt Judy were two of the dearest women to me in life, and I strive to live according to the values of honesty, compassion, tolerance, and love that they taught me. I'm an optimist. A lover, not a fighter...though I can certainly be fierce and outspoken when I need to be. My step mom and birth mother are the ones who instilled in me that sense of resilience and courage though, and my gentle, wonderful father taught me how to be a good man. I'm a Gryffindor at heart, and if I were to be any animal, it would be a Golden Retriever, because while I love cats, I identify with dogs. I am an INFP. Vulcan follower of the V'Tosh Katur path. Jedi Knight. I live for lazy rainy Saturday mornings, and I'm a big fan of nerdy girls with glasses. And most importantly? I am proud of all that I am. I wouldn't be me without any of it.

We all need to speak our truths and be true to them. Otherwise, the world will never change for the better.

Thank you, Dreamer, for inspiring me to continue speaking mine.

Happy Pride everyone!

Yours in diversity,

Adam Michael

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" - Understanding Privilege and Guilt vs Responsibility

I'm sorry.

Anyone who knows me knows I utter those two words far more than is probably humanly healthy. Ordinarily, it tends to be about stupid things that I needlessly beat myself up over (since apparently while self love comes easily to adult me, I still have a tendency of holding myself to a ridiculously high standard). Tonight however, I'm saying it because I think I've finally had the concept of social responsibility driven home for me.

Before I continue, I'd like to reiterate that I have always had an understanding of this concept on an intellectual and moral level. I've always understood that it is the responsibility of those who do well by society's various standards to help those that do not. On a moral level, I've also always believed that while an individual member of a traditionally oppressive group may not hold any personal guilt in how the oppressed are treated by his or her peers, they do hold a responsibility as a representative of that group to at least attempt to make things better.

The thing is...as much as I say truthfully that I've always understood this, I don't think I've gotten it more than I do tonight.

My lovely girlfriend this weekend embarked on what I've been told was an epic trip to the small northern town she calls home for the annual Pride festivities. As a fellow activist and believer in equality, my thrill at her going was only matched by my disappointment that I could not also be there fighting the good fight. The weekend was filled with fun and inspiring celebrations of diversity in all its forms, but one speaker in particular gave me knots in my stomach and almost made me tear up when my partner told me about it.

The speaker in question was a transgendered individual who transitioned from female to male. Anyone familiar with such things knows how difficult that can be, and how unaccepting society can still be to what many consider the most misunderstood and misrepresented members of the LGBTQ community. Apparently, the man spoke with much courage and light about his dark past and the difficult journey he faced in coming to terms with who he was. One period he mentioned that was especially dark was his time in middle school. Now, as I've said before, I also had dark times during that period of my life, but nothing I or many have been through can compare to the challenge of coming out as transgendered. This speaker mentioned how he had been bullied not only by peers but also by the administration at the school...in particular one principal who made his life a living hell.

The kicker here is, he went to middle school at one of the schools a certain family member of mine was principal at, during the very time she worked there.

When I realized this, my stomach contorted in disgust and I proceeded to apologize profusely to my girlfriend. For her part, she was amazing and consoled me, telling me I could not control the actions of my family members. It was at that point that I came face to face with the concept of social responsibility. The fact remained that while, yes, I could not be held personally responsible for the actions of a member of my family (and thus could not and should not share the guilt), I do share in the responsibility for the situation because we are both representatives of our family.

I know what you are going to say dear reader, because its an argument that has been used time and again in similar situations involving racism, sexism and countless other judgmental isms. “You shouldn't take the blame for something that someone else did because you didn't do it yourself!” The thing is, this statement is both correct and incorrect. To understand how that's possible, one has to understand how we are all impacted by privilege in various forms. If you are a member of a traditionally privileged group, whether it be being male, straight, white, or any other state of existence that gives you an elevated status in the eyes of society, then while you are not guilty for the crimes of your fellow members of that group who may lack your level of enlightenment, you are nonetheless responsible for their actions.

Consider this example. I work for a medium-sized telecom company. Like most companies, the cost-service ratio is a mixed bag, and we naturally don't do well by 100% of our customers. When someone comes up to me at my workplace with a ridiculously high bill or another beef with some policy instituted by my superiors, the first thing they see is yours truly wearing his company uniform and standing behind the counter. In that moment, while I am not at fault for the particular policy that the customer has called into question, I am still responsible for at least attempting to help the customer in some way since I am still a representative of my company. Many people intuitively understand this in a retail or employment context, but find it more difficult to apply the same reasoning to issues of social justice because quite simply, it hurts to think that someone we may be connected to did something bad, and we don't want to be saddled with the guilt because gosh darn it, we are good people! This, dear friends, is emotion talking. Logically, the same argument applies in both situations.

So, to the awesome-sounding transgendered man who gave the truly inspiring talk at small-town Pride, I am terribly, humbly sorry from the bottom of my heart. In fairness, I don't know exactly what happened during those years, nor could I ever hope to understand how it must have felt. I will say that the member of my family in question is by no means an evil person, and has made great strides in terms of acceptance and belief in equality, but we are all of us human and prone to making mistakes and letting the dark sides of our nature through. I will not make excuses for her or anyone else, but I will take responsibility as a privileged member of the same family and say that I do apologize for what you may have gone through. While I have no doubt that the awesome person you have now become is due to both good and bad times, as is true for all of us, no one should ever have to endure that. You are awesome and beautiful just by virtue of being a human on this planet, and the fact that you have come through with such light just enhances your awesomeness by a factor of a billion. One human to another, even if I've never met you, I just want to say that dude? You rock!

I realize this post is not directly related to neurodiversity, but I think the underlying message is an important one for us all to consider. Every word, action and thing that comes from us directly impacts those around us. We must be vigilant and remember that, in the words of Uncle Ben from Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.” I am sure that my family member never intended to have such a negative impact, just as I am sure than many who are part of a privileged group do not intentionally want to seem arrogant as they attempt to wash their hands of the mistakes of their ancestors and fellow members. Unfortunately, it is rarely that simple. If it was, we would not have many of the complex social justice issues we now face as a society. While we do need to move onward and upward and leave the past behind us, we must also recognize that moving past the guilt often does and should involve embracing the responsibility of cleaning up the mess and putting the pieces back together. It's not an easy journey to make, but one I believe every member of our species capable of doing.

After all, if we want to build that better world, its where we need to start.

Yours in diversity,

Adam Michael