VICISSITUDES

" My colleagues call them “animals.”…If only the white man could recognize what need really looks like.” Kim Green’s Jahn from Vicissitudes The word “animal” has been associated with men of color for as long as white men enslaved them. Black men in particular have lived with this label and the humiliating white gaze that goes with it for centuries.  The evidence exists in lopsided incarceration rates, disparities in sentencing, an expensive and expanding prison industrial complex, educational shortfalls in underserved communities, and most notably, blatant police brutality. On one hand,  Black men are showcased as icons of physical and athletic prowess, but more often dismissed as scapegoats and objects of disdain and blame.  In Vicissitudes , Jahn is a Black man, invisible; left on his own with deep fears of joblessness and ostracism that many men of color face. Not to mention Black transmen . Hiding so much of who he really is, leaves Jahn adrift. He has never been able to disc

  “She did nothing except try to talk me out of who I am.” Kim Green’s Rene from Vicissitudes For some, there is a natural instinct to try to change things that cannot be changed.  When a person, shares their most profound truth with the world, if we don’t like what we hear, some tend to ignore and deflect this precious moment of trust. Gay and trans people are among the many who face this egregious type of disbelief when they’ve revealed themselves. It is how Conversion Therapy was born. The cruel and often violent practice of trying to excise that which doesn’t seem to “fit” is an extreme response to our culture’s inability to accept reality when it’s not our own.  Those who respond to an LGBT person’s disclosure  with dismissive comments such as “it’s just a phase” or “grow your hair” or “find a nice girl/boyfriend are ultimately practicing their own form of Conversion Therapy.     This must stop.  In Vicissitudes , my character, Rene, laments about her troubled relationship with he

Transformation begins here.   “Maybe you’re the animals, the perverts, teaching men that their dicks are their highest prize.”  Kim Green’s Jahn from Vicissitudes What does it really mean to be a “man?” For me, this question persists.   We are living in a world strangled by a dangerously patriarchal perspective: The male phallus is the central indicator of manhood.   How can we build a world of men where strength, conscience and caring for others is part of the manhood schematic?   This a time like no other, where truth and fairness are confounding and even debatable . Unimaginable acts of selfishness, deceit, greed and hatred are the new “manhood.” Much to my chagrin, millions have bought in.   Vicissitudes’ male protagonist, Jahn, knows there is a better way for men and is in search of the day when men will emerge; owning a manhood that is deeply rooted in the capacity to love.   The quote above is what Jahn thinks to himself as he sits in a tense meeting lis

  Transformation begins here.  “The Doctor says that gender dysphoria is not mental illness.” Kim Green’s Jahn  from Vicissitudes This is what Jahn tells himself as he admires Morgan’s body from afar, realizing his mounting desire for her. As a man in transition, Jahn must remember these crucial  words spoken by his therapist who desperately needs to restore his sense of sanity in a world that too often dismisses trans people as mentally ill.  The inner conflict and distress that trans people face in feeling disconnected from parts of their body that are not in alignment with their felt gender is legitimate and not a sign of mental illness. Instead, it is a sign of profound connection to one’s soul. The dramatic and miraculous decision to transition is an act of courage and self-affirmation at the deepest level that restores balance and peace. To embrace one’s truth is evidence of sanity, to deny one’s truth is insane . This is true for all of us.  Last week, the coming out of outspok