Dear friend,

When I started doing drag in 2015, I didn’t yet realize I was a trans person. My best friend became “Izzy A. She” and I was “Maebe A. Girl”. What started off very tongue-in-cheek soon made me realize, “Oh! This is a part of my identity.”

After my shows, when other performers took off their makeup and costumes I just wanted to stay in it. I felt closer to myself than I ever had been.

This is a very common story for trans people—they discover their trans identity through doing drag.

When I socially transitioned and decided to take on a new name, I kept Maebe for two reasons: 1) People were always calling me Maebe, it just felt right to me, and gave me a sense of gender euphoria, and 2) the name “Maebe” perfectly encapsulates someone who is nonbinary.

There’s a lot of nuance to being nonbinary. Sometimes I feel genderless; sometimes I feel hyper-femme; sometimes I feel a little masc. Neither this nor that. Maebe I’m a girl, and Maebe I’m not!

This can be hard for non-trans people to understand, but that’s what makes these discussions so important.

The number of people across the US accepting trans people and wanting to protect their rights is at a record high. This compassion has spurred a right-wing backlash against us, but even as their violent rhetoric picks up, it’s clear these bigots are losing.

I’m not running to be the first trans person in Congress—I’m running to support my community. But I’m not blind to what electing a trans person would do for the confidence of trans kids, for the visibility and empowerment of our 5 million-strong trans American community when still 60% of Americans say they don’t know a trans person personally.

California’s 30th Congressional District is 78% Democrats. If anywhere can elect a trans person, it’s here.

But we’ll only do it with your support:

The personal is political. And I’ll never stop fighting for all of our freedoms.

Sincerely,

Maebe Pudlo