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Headshot of me wearing red lipstick Kara Babcock

Kara’s Blog

Read my thoughts going back 18 years.

Showing 51 to 60 of 673 results

  1. Cover image for What's in a name?

    What's in a name?

    Published

    About a month after coming out, I wrote a post about why I chose the name Kara. Today I am excited and happy to announce that, courtesy of the Government of Ontario, my name is now legally Kara Doreen Rose Babcock.

    My middle names, Doreen and Rose, are the names of my maternal and paternal grandmothers, respectively. Choosing middle names was much more difficult than choosing my first name! I briefly considered no middle…

  2. Validation

    Published

    A quick reminder to cis allies about how small words of affirmation have an outsize importance on the lives of your trans friends.
  3. Cover image for Review of Disclosure

    Review of Disclosure

    Published

    I don’t remember the first time I saw a transgender person portrayed on screen. Probably my first memory of someone crossdressing is Mrs. Doubtfire, a movie which, like so many movies in our childhood, I enjoyed as a kid and now look back up with a cringey awareness of how problematic it is. So, for as long as I can remember, I only knew that the representation of trans people in TV and movies…

  4. When they come for you

    Published

    I largely try to stay out of "discourse" on social media these days, and coming out is not going to change that. But for the record…
  5. Being trans-inclusive takes work

    Published (Updated )

    An example of how easy it can be not to include trans people, and some practical tips on how you can do better.
  6. Collapsing the gender wave function

    Published

    As with most of you, my emotional state is all over the place right now during this pandemic. However, being trans and having recently come out complicates the picture for sure. I’m largely doing fine, and staying at home is giving me lots of chances to experience euphoria. (Thank you, online shopping!) Nevertheless, not going to work and seeing my colleagues and students means I miss out on other, daily chances for affirmation and to…

  7. A long time ago now, it seems, I wrote a post about how the then-new Star Trek: Discovery was #NotMyStarTrek. I haven’t watched later seasons, but I stand by the post in general. You can imagine my delight when Patrick Stewart agreed to star in a new Star Trek series that is actually a sequel. He reprises his role as the venerable Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

    I like Star

  8. Becoming Kara

    Published

    At some point, I’ll talk more about reaching the conclusion that I’m trans. For now, I thought I’d talk about choosing a new name. Choosing a name actually was one of the things that helped me accept my trans identity, actually!

    First, a little update! The current situation (the 2019/2020 pandemic, for those of you lucky enough to be reading this in the future) has certainly thrown an interesting twist into everyone's life and timelines,…

  9. I'm regenerating!

    Published

    My friends, the time has come for me to say, "Hello." But no lengthy introductions here, no cute anecdotes. Let's get into it.

    I'm transgender. I am a trans woman. I am a woman.

    My new name is Kara (Car-uh) and my pronouns are she/her. Yes, this includes when talking about or sharing things I've posted in the past, even though my old name is still on there. Check out my name policy

  10. Tolerating intolerance is always a bad look

    Published

    A local organization called the Urban Abbey is allowing an anti-abortion film to be screened in its space. This is not about free speech. It's about bad decisions.

Showing 51 to 60 of 673 results