iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Let me know if you miss out and I'll see if I can hook you up 😉

Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Oi oi, for a couple of hours, you can get 20% off ticket price for the #THW community event on Tuesday (6 May). Use code 1WEEKTOGO

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Ooooh, look at this lineup. There are a few tickets still available if you want to be part of this year's event! #TransHistoryWeek

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

9. Make a public declaration of how you're going to support trans+ folks' safety and dignity -- whether it's something as simple as sharing some love on social media or as large as a hefty donation toward court cases fighting the injustices. 10/10 🏳️‍⚧️ 🏳️‍⚧️

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

8. Donate to @goodlawproject.bsky.social ( @goodlawproject.org is a good ally -- remember to also acknowledge those who stand with us AFTER centring trans+ voices) 9/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

7. Buy some art, literature, or music from trans+ artists. Let me know if you want some recommendations based on your current tastes! 8/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

6. Hire a trans+ activist to speak to your staff. I definitely recommend @smartymarty.bsky.social as a wonderful corporate speaker. 7/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

5. If you haven't been extremely and directly clear with your friends, families, and colleagues that you support trans+ people, DO SO. Don't assume they know. 6/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

4. Take a deep breath. The world is too much with us. Art by @katieabey.bsky.social 5/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

3. Ask your employer what they are doing to support trans+ employees and clients. If you're the employer, ask yourself if there's more you could be doing. 4/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

2. Do the Workbook! This year's Workbook has four lessons of Trans+ folks throughout history and notes on further readings, exhibitions, and films. If you really want a deep dive, you can study last year's Workbook, too. Links: linktr.ee/grayburkestowe 3/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

1. Buy tickets to one of our events -- the live podcast recording and community event or the first @transhistoryweek.bsky.social comedy showcase -- or both! If you can't make it, you can also purchase a pay-it-forward ticket to allow someone else to attend. Links: linktr.ee/grayburkestowe 2/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Countdown to #TransHistoryWeek: 5 days to go! What are some things you can do to make sure you're ready? 1/🧵

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Missed the @transhistoryweek.bsky.social #WeCreateSpace collaboration yesterday? You can still watch it here! It was such a beautiful experience discussing how we build inclusive, supportive communities to do hard things and outlast us.

youtu.be

WCS Community Building 101 | Inclusion with Trans+ History Week & Queer AF

YouTube video by WE CREATE SPACE

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Reposted by Gray Burke-Stowe

Trans+ History Week @transhistoryweek.com · 20/03/2025

Thank you to all who attended our Workbook launch event in collaboration with We Create Space and QueerAF 🙏 @sabahchoudrey.bsky.social @wgrayburke.bsky.social @smartymarty.bsky.social Do the workbook & start planning your event, wherever you are in the world! www.wearequeeraf.com/dotheworkbook/

Screenshot of Sabah, Marty and Gray on zoom who were in conversation for the online event. They’re all smiling for the camera after a successful event.

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Can't wait to chat about inclusive community-building with these total badasses @smartymarty.bsky.social, @sabahchoudrey.bsky.social Come join us on Thursday! #TransHistoryWeek #WeCreateSpace

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Reposted by Gray Burke-Stowe

Trans+ History Week @transhistoryweek.com · 14/03/2025

Join our lead researcher @wgrayburke.bsky.social, founder @smartymarty.bsky.social and the wonderful @sabahchoudrey.bsky.social as we talk all about this year’s Trans+ History Week in May and how you can celebrate the week. Join us 🤓

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

I really didn’t appreciate how much I needed the full six weeks to return to work. I’d never been on medical leave before (no culture of actually taking care of yourself in the US!). It was rough go, but I also enjoyed my recovery in hindsight! ❤️

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Learn more about Lynn Conway and other trans+ folks from history with @transhistoryweek.bsky.social

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

I'm sure all of us can think of people who have experienced the Conway Effect. So let’s flip the script: Who’s someone amazing that deserves way more credit? Tag them. Celebrate them. Let’s make sure brilliance doesn’t get lost in the margins. 💡✨💅 5/x

media.tenor.com

a woman with her arms in the air and the words " you are amazing " behind her

ALT: a woman with her arms in the air and the words " you are amazing " behind her

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Basically: "Wow, you’re good for a [marginalised identity]” instead of just… “Wow, you’re really good.” 🙃 4/

media.tenor.com

a cartoon character says that 's unpossible

ALT: a cartoon character says that 's unpossible

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

She called this the Conway Effect: when people who are Othered (women, LGBTQIA+, POC) aren’t expected to be exceptional -- so their contributions get overlooked. Then, when they are exceptional, it’s treated like a shocking anomaly because they aren't meant to be THAT good. 3/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

Lynn Conway co-pioneered VLSI chip design (aka how we cram a ridiculous number of circuits into tiny spaces). But she noticed her co-creator Carver Mead was getting credit waaaay more often than she was. 2/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

My Monday Mood: Ever heard of the Conway Effect? No, it’s not a sci-fi time paradox (though that would be cool). It’s named after Lynn Conway (1938–2024), a transgender computer scientist who revolutionised computing. If you’re reading this on a phone, you can thank her. 1/🧵

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

But, hey! Trans+ folks have always survived erasure. That’s why we’re here today, and why we always will be. 13/🏳️‍⚧️

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Also I have a typo here and it’s killlllling me. *their identities

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

That’s exactly the point, isn’t it? Turing gave his life to the Allies, and they gladly took it.

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

And then they won’t teach your children about it in history class. 12/x

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

So, when I see a bill come in like that Texas one, it’s clear what playbook they’re using. If they make your soul illegal, they can do anything they want to enforce it. They can even leave you to rot in some of the most horrific circumstances in modern history. 11/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Why that steep drop mid-regime? Because they began exterminating. 10/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

They were legitimate prisoners because their identities were outlawed in Paragraph 175. By being gay or trans, they were committing crimes. Whilst this law existed before and after (1871-1994), we cannot overlook the aggressive spike in convictions under Nazi reign. 9/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

And why were they left there? Because the other inhabitants of the camps were prisoners of war. The pink triangles were legitimate prisoners. 8/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

This shows that, even in the fascist state, where so many of your comings and goings were watched and regulated, they must have recognised that the trans experience is diverse. Otherwise, there would be a standardised form of ‘treatment’. 7/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Trans women, much like today, had a harder time, even when partnered with a man. This probably, again, depended on who was finding them and how well they passed. Some records indicate that trans women were treated better than gay men; others suggest the opposite. 6/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

The pink triangles were given to gay men and some other LGBTQIA+ people, mostly at the discretion of whoever was rounding folks up. Some trans people were able to avoid arrest if they were presenting in a heteronormative fashion — so a trans man living with a woman was less ‘sexually deviant’. 5/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Do you know why? Because there identities were outlawed. Because their very beings were illegal. 4/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

I’m just going to repeat this to help it sink in: THE ALLIED FORCES (you know, the heroes, those ones) LEFT THE PINK TRIANGLES IN THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS 3/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Something I didn’t know until far too recently (because so much of our LGBTQIA+ history is kept away from us) was that, when the Allies in WWII freed prisoners from the concentration camps, they left the pink triangles there. 2/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Step right up, y’all! It’s your Weekend trans+ history lesson! It’s about Texas, and it’s about all of us. 1/🧵

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

If I can help you, let me know. I mean that wholeheartedly. You have me in your corner. And, if you’ve made it this far, here’s the other thing besides trans+ history I have to offer: the icon that is Maxine. 23/x

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Again, I know that I am privileged not to HAVE to go back. I’m fighting for those who don’t have that privilege. I’m fighting because it shouldn’t BE a privilege. Our personhood is not for debate. We have a history that stretches back as long as humanity. 22/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

If you were hoping you’d get to the end of this thread and I’d have answers for you, I’m sorry. I really, truly am. I have tears, I have my words and my fists, but I don’t have answers. 21/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

In Florida, it is currently legal for the state to take emergency custody of children if they are trans, if their parents or siblings are trans, or if you ‘indoctrinate’ them by letting them know it’s okay to be trans. It is legally child abuse with a possible ‘sex crime’ registration. 20/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I have flown through NY and been diverted — this has happened twice, and I don’t even travel that much anymore. Once, I was diverted to Tampa. 19/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I know there are places in the US where you are more likely to be treated as a human and let through on your LEGALLY OBTAINED passport, as is your right. But I still need to say to be careful. While it’s not likely, it is possible you could be diverted to a less-friendly airport. 18/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Even if you don’t intend to ever return, even in emergencies, you could still be denied entry into other countries that require visas for this same reason — not necessarily because THEY are transphobic but because you would have to explain why you had been denied a visa in the past. 17/

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Gray Burke-Stowe @wgrayburke.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

If you don’t like your odds, you could renounce citizenship. However, if you would ever need to travel to the US, you would need to apply for ESTA/other international travel visa. You would likely be denied because you are traveling with fraudulent documents and/or have been previously denied. 16/

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