Finding Light in the Dark

Without a doubt, the times are dark right now. In a world that has gone mad with hate and bigotry, that is looking to devolve to a darker time in history, the question becomes: how do we cope?

I run a trans-focused Discord server and this has been a topic recently; it's bleak out there and a lot of us are feeling it deeply. It feels like every day there is yet another assault on our humanity, our existence, and our autonomy. It's hard. It leaves many of us wondering how we find the light when it is so dark.

My perspective, obviously, is from that of a white trans woman. I will not try to speak from other marginalized perspectives except to say that we're not alone in what we face. What we are seeing in the United States today is an all-out assault on anyone that is not a white cishet man. If you're not this, your rights are absolutely under attack. Nevertheless, I can only speak from the perspective I own.

As a community, many of us are perpetually online. We're building community in social spaces like Discord, Bluesky, and Threads. That is a blessing and a curse. That connectedness is also an amplifier of all that is bad. It can lead us to believe that we're alone, that there are no good places to turn. It leads many of us to despair.

It's also not true.

Here's what I know: the Sisterhood is there for us. Yes, there are some cis women who hate us, of course, but these are the women carrying water for the patriarchy in the hopes that they gain some small crumbs from their proximity to power. However, we know that the vast majority of cis women welcome us. 

This Sisterhood we're in: She welcomes us. She honours us. She cares for us. 

This is where I will find my light in the dark.

I belong to three women's networking groups, each with different areas of focus. The newest one is a fair bit different than the other two in that we work in a small circle and we come together monthly to share what is happening in our lives, positive and negative. These are women leaders, women in senior roles and business owners. I feel honoured just to be there, little old Director-level me. In our recent meeting I shared a few things, tough things, happening in my world and what happened? I was lifted. The first thing that was said was, "Joanne, let's acknowledge that you are carrying a lot and how can we help you?"

That is, to me, the essence of Sisterhood.

It gives me hope. It gives me energy to fight. It is why I would never, ever, roll back my clock. 

It is where I am finding my light in this dark world.