Persephone's (Gothic) Insights
The horror blog about metal, videogames, and sex.

Coming Out as Trans

I've decided as of yesterday to finally come out as trans. As such, my new name is Persephone and my chosen pronouns are they/them or she/her. 

You may have noticed the domain doesn't reflect my transition and that my dead name is plastered all over the place (a consequence of me not really thinking this through). I will aim to rectify this over time. In the interim, I would ask you to please not to deadname or misgender me. Thank you!

As for why I did it, let's just say the reasons are complicated. It's certainly not something I chose lightly. Rather, I'd been considering it for several years and probably would have come out in 2020 had my ex at the time been more supportive. 

 

 

In spite of their abuse, I was also hesitant to come out for fear of reprisals from online hate groups. But then it occurred to me: I'm already writing a book about TERFs and fascists; I may as well face them as I actually am than try and pass for something I'm not.

 

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Cadellin
Cadellin
3 years ago

Congrats on coming out Persephone! 🏳️‍🌈 Excellent choice for the name.

Nick's Movie Insights
Nick's Movie Insights
Reply to  Cadellin
3 years ago

Cheers, comrade! 🫂

My name's Persephone van der Waard; I have my MA in Gothic English literature and independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing partially on Metroidvania), and I am the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity vs Sex Coercion, or Gothic Communism—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). A rape survivor/granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor and Dutch Resistance memberand someone anti-war (as a business), anti-Zionist and anti-racist/anti-white-supremacist who specializes in tokenism (e.g., TERFs, SWERFs, and fascist feminism)I'm a MtF trans woman, Tolkien and Amazon enthusiast, former YouTuberanti-fascist, loud critic of Marxist-Leninism/state vampirism, atheist and Satanist, poly/pan kinkster with multiple partners, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist; i.e., under my brand of Gothic (gay-anarcho) Communism as a holistic, intersectional discipline: one devised in 2022-2023, and which my friends and I currently achieve together. / Originally this blog explored my love of movies when I was cis-het; now I use it to write about the Gothic—horror, but also sex, heavy metal, and videogames in a queer way (especially Metroidvania).

I take donations for my work (which goes towards helping sex workers, trans people and other minorities). I currently take payment on PayPal, Patreon, and CashApp, etc; all links are available on my Linktr.ee. Every bit helps!

Regarding Formatting Issues for Blogposts (Older than October 2025): Recently Josey Howarth helped transfer my old blog from Blogger to WordPress, which—while vital for security reasons—altered their formatting. On a phone screen, the posts are mostly readable, but look slightly "jank" on computer screens. Many also contain outdated "About the Author" sections—meaning inside the posts-in-question, alongside the blog website "footer" (as added by Josey after the transfer). Such things are temporary. Eventually we plan to overhaul their visual design, remodeling my blog and website (thus fixing the issues in the question)!

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