Welcome back to We Can Do Hard Things. I am so excited to jump right in with my new friend,

who has been my secret friend for a very long time, but we have never met in person before

this joyful, joyful conversation that we've been able to have. The poet, the beautiful

aloak, please go back and listen to Tuesday's episode if you have not yet. You're not going

to want to miss that one. Sister, let's just jump right in and talk to, I think you had

some things you want to talk to aloak about this morning.

Aloak on Tuesday's episode talked so much about the pain of the feminist movement, not understanding

how our liberation is tied to the trans movement, how it's all the same. And I was,

didn't you, Aloak, I know you're from Texas, and especially with the attacks on reproductive

justice in Texas and what's at the Supreme Court, I would love for us to talk a little bit

about how my fight for bodily autonomy as a cis straight woman is inextricably linked to your

fight for bodily autonomy and how, you know, there's the obvious link in that abortion is also a

trans issue, of course, and that, you know, the power to make our personal medical decisions,

but there's also this pervasive paradigm defining womanhood according to reproductive function.

So, so the justification that a trans woman can't function as a woman because she lacks the

essential reproductive capacity is the same justification that looks at me and says because

my essential function as a woman is my reproductive capacity, the state has an interest in regulating it.

And I think that can we just talk a little bit about how the intersection of gender freedom

and reproductive justice and how this is all the same bag of tricks?

Yes, and before answering, I just want to say I see the gender studies major in you and it makes me

so excited. This is the way to speak. The gender study major in me sees and honors the gender study

major in you. Like truly, you are my people. Like that's exactly how I speak on the daily people

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