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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Persephone van der Waard is the author of the multi-volume, non-profit book series, Sex Positivity—its art director, sole invigilator, illustrator and primary editor (the other co-writer/co-editor being Bay Ryan). She has her independent PhD in Gothic poetics and ludo-Gothic BDSM (focusing on partially on Metroidvania), and is a MtF trans woman, anti-fascist, atheist/Satanist, poly/pan kinkster, erotic artist/pornographer and anarcho-Communist with two partners. Including her multiple playmates/friends and collaborators, Persephone and her eighteen muses work/play together on Sex Positivity and on her artwork at large as a sex-positive force. She sometimes writes reviews, Gothic analyses, and interviews for fun on her old blog; or does continual independent research on Metroidvania and speedrunning. If you're interested in her academic/activist work and larger portfolio, go to her About the Author page to learn more; if you're curious about illustrated or written commissions, please refer to her commissions page for more information.