Stern and critical, my father couldn’t accept how feminine and dainty I was in comparison to my rough-and-tumble brother. Janet Mock Read Quote
Trans folk, especially of color, should not be obligated to help cis folk play catch-up on our experiences. The effort can detract from our work to protect and liberate ourselves. Janet Mock Read Quote
I know intimately the struggle of trying to live your life and be yourself while feeling the pressure of an entire community on your shoulders. Janet Mock Read Quote
When I feel that burden of representation in public spaces, it helps to recognize that it’s a duty – a job, really. As with any job that you want to do well, you have to ensure that first and foremost you are energized and in the right head space to take on that task. Janet Mock Read Quote
I would advise any 17-year-old to surround yourself with people who listen to you, nod when you speak, and smile when you enter spaces. Janet Mock Read Quote
I spent my life navigating systems built upon me – a black child in America – not making it out. Janet Mock Read Quote
When I was a toddler, my father cut hair in the townhouse we had shared together in Long Beach, California, where Dad was stationed with the U.S. Navy. The buzz of clippers consistently hummed as he gave fades to his coworkers, my uncles, and my brother, but his clippers were never oiled and plugged in for my head. Janet Mock Read Quote
My parents split before my fifth birthday, and I moved with Mom and my three siblings to her native Oahu. Janet Mock Read Quote
It is the world’s limitations and the myths that we internalize about ourselves that pushes us to diminish our power and ignore it. Janet Mock Read Quote
I think about Ellen DeGeneres, seeing her every single day on a show. Her identity is there every day, but what leads the way is her talent and how much you like her. Janet Mock Read Quote
