Yoseñio V. Lewis

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Yoseñio V. Lewis is a transgender rights activist, educator and musician.

Activism[edit]

In 1998, Jamison Green referred to Lewis as a "rising star" among trans men activists, placing him at the vanguard of visibility and political action for trans men.[1]

As an activist for transgender healthcare, Lewis served on the National Advisory Board for the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health.[2] In 2013, he was a honoree of the inaugural Trans 100 List for his health education work.[3]

Lewis has served on the boards of the Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Unid@s, and the National LGBTQ Task Force.[4]

Lewis has described himself as a "shit-stirrer" who interrupts complacency.[5]

Art[edit]

Lewis is a founding member of "The TransAms," an all-transgender barbershop quartet. He has been featured in documentaries including Trappings of Transhood (1997), Transgender Revolution (1998), The Believers (2006), and Diagnosing Difference (2009).[4]

Lewis is also a poet. His poem "I wish i looked like Matthew Shepard" highlights the tragic ironies and racial and socioeconomic aspects of anti-LGBT hate crimes.[6]

Lewis sees his art and activism as interconnected, saying that "there can be no art without activism and no activism without art."[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Green, Jamison (1998). "FTM: An Emerging Voice". In Denny, Dallas (ed.). Current concepts in transgender identity. New York: Garland. p. 154. ISBN 081531793X.
  2. ^ Pinto, Vanessa L. (December 7, 2012). "Accepting the Face You See in the Mirror: One Trans Man's Story". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  3. ^ Richards, Jen (April 9, 2013). "The Trans 100 – 2013 Inaugural Edition". We Happy Trans. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "About the Participants". Diagnosing Difference. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  5. ^ "yosenio v. lewis". CatalystCon. 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  6. ^ Heidenreich, Linda (January 1, 2006). "Learning from the death of Gwen Araujo? Transphobic Racial Subordination and Queer Latina Survival in the Twenty-First Century". Chicana/Latina Studies. 6 (1): 69. JSTOR 23014579.