Many of you don’t have a trans family member or a bunch of LGBTQ+ people in your life. You support my work anyway, and I want to thank you.
A quick heads-up: this is a fundraising post. Subscriber drives mean more emails than usual, so I’m sorry for the extra inbox traffic! Don't worry, I'll be back soon with some truly exciting interviews and deep dives I can’t wait to share.
Prefer to watch?
I filmed a short video about why I started this drive and what your support makes possible. If you read the launch post last week, it covers the same ground. But if you’d rather hear it from me directly (complete with hand gestures), you can watch it here or on YouTube.
Building empathy, not breaking news
If you’re looking for the latest headlines, Amplify Respect is not the place for that. News can be exhausting or stressful, especially if it's about politicians taking away our personal freedoms and rights on a daily basis.
Instead, we are gradually building empathy here, one question and one story at a time.
When I hear from readers, I’m often surprised by how many of you don’t have a strong personal connection to the LGBTQ+ community. You might not have a trans family member. You might not be queer yourself, or have many queer friends.
But you care about inclusion, and you want to show up for people who may be having a hard time right now. So you read, you ask questions, and you learn how to be there for folks who are different from you.
I think that’s amazing!
It’s such a caring, generous thing to do. So thank you for being here.
Bev, a reader, shares:
“Rey answers the questions allies aren’t sure if it’s okay to ask, preempting difficult questions about identity. Many of us weren’t necessarily taught how to do these things and may not have a lot of examples. So being able to access this safe space to ask questions without judgment or repercussion is really valuable.”
Become a Champion today
Our first Champion has already joined (thank you!), and I’m talking with a few others who are interested in contributing. To keep Amplify Respect going, I’m hoping to reach 10 Champions by the end of the year.
Champions support the newsletter at $180/year. And if you join by December 1, I’d love to book a one-on-one call with you to chat about whatever you’d like.
And no worries if now isn't the right time to contribute financially. Reading, sharing, and replying help as well!
Is there a question you’ve been unsure how to ask? Let me know in the comments!
