I was invited to speak on a Humanists for Harris call today alongside members of Congress and leaders of the (Secular) Humanist Movement about transgender rights and disability rights. I was especially excited to be on there with Harvard Humanist Chaplain Greg Epstein. Greg Epstein and other Humanist Chaplains including James Croft and Chris Stedman, as well as Harvard Divinity School fellow Casper ter Kuile, have been a big inspiration to my work and research as an anthropologist on how secular ritual can provide a sense of belonging. Also on the call was Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Jared Huffman, Carl Sagan’s wife Ann Druyan and daughter Sasha Sagan, and Heman Mehta of the blog Friendly Atheist. My speech was as follows: Speech at Humanists for Harris Thank you for welcoming me on this ...
Day of the Dead in Guatemala and Mexico: Honoring Our Ancestors
Hi, I'm Kayley Whalen, a Guatemalan-American trans and disabilities scholar, activist, and communications consultant for the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network. I'm here to talk about Día de [los] Muertos, or “Day of the Dead” in Guatemala, and how the tradition is different from Day of the Dead in Mexico. Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1, aka All Saints Day in the Catholic calendar, and sometimes also on November 2, aka All Souls Day. And in both Mexico and Guatemala, it is a time to celebrate dead loved ones and ancestors. It's a day when many believe the barrier between the spirit world and the mortal world becomes so thin you may be able to contact your dead family and loved ones, and even have them visit you here. This blog is based on a [captioned] video I recorded one ...
Nonbinary and Neurodiversity Advocacy in Thailand: Interview with Shane Bhatla of Equal Asia Foundation
In this transcript for this YouTube video, I talk with Thai activist Shane Bhatla about nonbinary identity, disability justice, neurodiversity and some of the work that they do at Equal Asia Foundation in Bangkok. This was recorded in December 2022 after the ILGA Asia Conference, and we look back at the Disability and Nonbinary caucuses at the conference. And discuss the current fights for trans/nonbinary rights in Thailand.Kayley: Hello and welcome to Bangkok, and thank you for joining me and my good friend Shane Bhatla for a discussion about nonbinary and trans folks here in Thailand. Shane: So we're going to be talking about nonbinary identity. We're going to be also talking about disability justice, and neurodiversity and some of the work that we do at Equal Asia Foundation where I ...
Reproductive Justice Interview with Angelica Vega for Latine Heritage Month 2022
Lee en Español aquí. This was originally published on the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network blog. “Women of color already mistrust the medical system, and now post-Roe v Wade there’s a fear of being prosecuted for reproductive care.” Angelica Vega In honor of Latine Heritage Month 2022 and in light of the recent Dobbs decision striking down Roe v Wade, I chatted with a fellow Latina reproductive justice and disability justice advocate, Angelica Vega to do an interview for this blog. Angelica is an Afro-Latina with multiple disabilities, who in June spoke at a White House meeting with disabled activists focused on reproductive rights. Her professional career in reproductive justice began as a Federal and Gubernatorial Campaigns Intern at Emily’s List, which helps ...
Lia Thomas, NCAA, and Transgender Rights in Sports (Transcript)
This is a transcript for the below YouTube video I released as a trans athlete regarding the need for trans equality in sports, in response to NCAA's new trans policy announced on January 20, 2022. The Dangers of TERFs This vicious predator has keen hunting senses, able to spot any potential sign of weakness in their prey. Once they've selected their victim, they'll isolate and harass them, mercilessly wearing them down until they're ready to strike. Attacks by this vicious predator, the TERF, are on the rise, and unless we do something soon, trans people will never feel safe to be in the water - or in any sport - ever again. Hi, I'm Kayley Whalen, a transgender athlete, and in this video, I'll be discussing why Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminists, or TERFs, and ...
Autism in Latin American Communities
This blog post is an adapted transcript from the above video; click to watch [with captions]. Traducción al español aquí: Autismo en Las Comunidades Latinoamericanas. Hi, I'm Kayley Whalen, an autistic, transgender Puerto Rican and Guatemalan-American. I'm right now in Huehuetango, Guatemala, and I've been spending the last several months researching autism in Latin American cultures. I created this blog/video to explain some key facts about our community. Why I'm using the term Latine One note on language for this video/blog is that there's some debate around what term to use for people with Latin American heritage. One of the older terms that I grew up with and many people still use is "Hispanic," which is based on the language of Spanish. Now, because I'm specifically talking ...