Last week, I spoke in front of the Olympia City Council at the event of finishing my term serving on The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee.

I was made aware at the last minute that the city council would also be recognizing Transgender Day of Visability a week early due to their scheduled reception for the new police chief on March 31st, so I added a couple of paragraphs about the way I was treated by city employees and officials during my transition to my speech about serving the BPAC.

When the city council recognized Transgender Day of Visibility, I was not one of the named speakers. For me, although one of the organizations I belong to was invited, I was not there to represent anyone besides myself.

When I joined the other brave souls who posed for the photo with the Olympia City Council for the proclamation declaring March 31 Transgender Day of Visibility, there were some people who were momentarily confused.

That confusion cleared up when I started my speech about serving on the BPAC to the city council with an acknowledgement of the positivity that I was treated with during my transition by the City of Olympia as a member of the transgender community.

I felt that my speech went over well with the city council and I was happy to share the portion of the city council meeting that pertained to me on my YouTube when Olympia published the video on their website early the next day.

Unfortunately, by the time the local journalist chose to publish an article about the Olympia City Council meeting on Friday, I felt flummoxed to find my words next to the pronouns “she” and “her.”

I am a fairly public figure, and it isn’t difficult to discover my desired pronouns with a simple search on social media if someone is questioning. There’s also plenty of methods of avoiding using gender-specific pronouns as many people have taken to doing with the current political discourse surrounding parts of speech.

I chose to bring attention to the matter of the journalist and the publication by email. It was heading into the weekend, but the writer of the piece emailed me back and stated that they would inform their editors and correct it.

At the time of this publication, the piece has yet to be corrected and remains a 404 error at the hyperlink.

As a trans man, the one new thing I have learned about in the past nine months of identifying as a trans man, rather than nonbinary, is that as much as being visible is increasingly dangerous in the country that I live within, when people think of trans people, they do NOT think of trans men. Trans masc erasure is real, and it is harmful.

Trans men are raised as little girls. We know what it is like to be objectified. We know what it is like to be ignored.

When legislators are keeping trans women out of women’s bathrooms, they are sending trans men (some who look IDENTICAL to cis men with full beards) IN to women’s restrooms. This does not increase anyone’s safety. While some trans men find safety in invisibility, that perceived safety disappears when the ability to pass stealth doesn’t exist.

Why is trans masc erasure harmful?

Erasure can create more barriers to healthcare for trans men who live with a variety of paradigms to support medically. These situations can include sexual assault and abuse risks, which can be exacerbated by the assumption that they do not exist.

More than 50% of surveyed trans men have experienced sexual assault.

Some trans men retain their fertility and need to have appropriate medical care revolving around such.

In an age in time when the United States Federal Department of Prisons has admitted to performing experiements on trans men, attempting to “preserve their fertility,” trans men are in danger from the very federal government that should be protecting us.

As a trans man, I have never been so happy to be old and post-hysterectomy. I fear for the youth of our country, both trans and cis.

I am proud of the work I do in my community. I was happy to be recognized as both a trans man as well as a leaving member of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee at Olympia City Council on March 23, 2026.

I will do my best to assure that as a 59 year old trans elder, I am as visible as I can possibly be, in spite of the current administration’s desire to erase my existence and that of all trans people.