November Project is a community where everyone is invited to #JustShowUp and Come As You Are – something we value so much, it’s our first Community Agreement. Today, on International Transgender Day of Visibility, we are excited to celebrate some of our transgender Co-leaders and community members.
Sarah (they/he), started leading in 2021 and was the first trans/non-binary Co-leader for November Project – a group that quickly felt like home, and embraced Sarah when they shared a new identity with the group.
- Name
Sarah
- Pronouns
they/them, he/him
- NP City you lead in
Minneapolis, MN
- What words do you use to describe your full identity/all your identities
Transgender, Non-Binary, Queer, Sober, Fat, Uncle, Friend, Lover, Theater Kid, Community Builder
- Who are some of the transgender athletes in the world of running/sport that you look up to?
Chris Mosier, Nikki Hiltz, Schuyler Bailar, Lia Thomas, Iszac Henig, every one of my trans teammates on my queer softball team.
- When did you first #JustShowUp to NP? How did you come across NP? What is it that you were looking for in a fitness group? How did NP provide that? What was an “extra” that NP has that you found value in?
I started on Memorial Day of 2018 – the infamous day that our only 8:30am workout was held. It was a million degrees and humid and the next day everyone was amazed I came back. I had heard about NP through a series of instagram follows that included former Boston Co-leader Emily Saul and West LA when they were still pledging. I saw them become an official NP and did some research to find one in Minneapolis.
When I first came, I was just looking for a place to be included. All the other “all abilities” groups I’d been to paced out around 12-13 minutes. NP was the first place where I felt like I belonged, regardless of my tempo – the high fives were plentiful, the faces cheerful, and the encouragement unending. With the workout structure it was impossible to be left behind because we were all in the same place. After a week of workouts I went to coffee and met two OGs, Blaine and Jerry. Our chats and connection, in addition to NP being TRULY inclusive of all paces is what kept me coming back.
- What apprehensions did you have as you considered coming for the first time? What was your first impression? Why did you keep showing up?
As a plus size person, I struggled to find spaces that I felt welcome in the fitness realm. So many people would make assumptions based on my size, not knowing that I was a professional athlete. I was tired of showing up to places only to be left behind. My first impression was “Here we go again” – there were so many straight sized folks that I thought this would surely be another bad experience. But everyone was SO welcoming and kind and encouraging. It was impossible not to keep coming, and once I started making more friends in the group it just became a weekly ritual. At the time I was using she/her pronouns and identifying as a woman so my gender identity didn’t factor into any apprehensions.
- What does it mean to you to be a transgender Co-leader? What does it mean to your community? What does it mean to our global community?
I was the first trans/non-binary Co-leader for November Project and I hold on to that – it feels special. Not that I was paving the way for others, but more so that people in my city and beyond could see someone leading who shared an identity with them. I think I hold a lot of different identities that my community, and NP as a whole, had not seen in leadership and those identities impact the way I view the world, and therefore the way I lead in the world.
- How does being trans influence your leadership? What was it like to be trans in your community before you stepped into leadership? Did you transition while you were coming to NP? If so, what was that like?
I came out on a Tuesday, unexpectedly, and it was overwhelming. I showed up to NP MSP the next day to be in community with this group of people that I felt safe with and Natalie Heneghan gave me the Positivity Award – she had seen my post, said that I was brave and courageous, and she was proud to give it to “them” before saying my name. It was the first time I had heard my pronouns used in front of a group of people and it will stay with me forever. I appreciate my NP community for the respect they show me, the mindful dialogue they engage me in, and for being a space where I always feel at home. I will still, on occasion, get misgendered but the community holds itself accountable to correcting each other.
- Did you have any apprehensions to lead this group? Did you experience imposter syndrome when you were asked to lead?
I remember feeling very excited and, of course, questioning if I could fill the giant shoes left behind by the long ling of amazing leaders in MSP. And then a friend, probably several, reminded me that I, too, have big feet. I also knew that the representation I would give in leadership was needed and important. I couldn’t say no, even when I wasn’t sure if I could lead the group. The group very quickly showed me that I could lead, and should.
- How do you celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility? How can others celebrate you or celebrate with you this day? How can we celebrate you all year long?
I celebrate by asking my community to share a picture of me or of us to make me visible – this is to celebrate our relationship but also to just give representation, that trans people exist everywhere. I try to tap into my own trans joy, thank the people who have been crucial members of my community, and give love to all my trans friends.
You can celebrate all year long by engaging in conversation about trans issues or my trans experience, by checking in on me when there’s trans things in the news, and by being an advocate – it’s as little as helping correct pronouns or being a bathroom buddy, and as big as testifying in legislative committee hearings. Trans people NEED our allies to be allies 365 days a year. And remember to celebrate all year too – send us trans things that you see, celebrate the LGBTQIA2S+ holidays with us. SEE us all year.
- What else do you want people reading this to know?
I have always been trans, I just didn’t have the words for it when I was younger. I always knew that I was different from my peers, but wasn’t able to label it. Being able to play sports (sometimes on the “boys” team!) was a crucial outlet for me to get out the tension I held inside my body. I was a trans kid playing sports and being a teammate, having teams as I grew up, gave me an identity to hold on to and a place to belong. The attacks on trans rights (human rights!) are awful, but it is specifically the sports bans being enacted through states – and on the federal level with HR 734 – that I simply cannot stomach. Studies show that restrictive policies keep more kids of all genders out of sports and to take that outlet away from trans kids will have unthinkable consequences. I would not be here today, leading this group, piecing together this blog feature, existing in this world without the opportunity to play sports as a kid. More than anything I’ve shared today, I need you – the reader – to hear me when I say that and let it motivate you to take action. My DMs are open if you need ways to get started.
