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forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
FORGE
@forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
320 followers 83 following 670 posts
Improving the lives of trans survivors since 1994 through empowering providers and connecting survivors to healing possibilities.

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forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
TRANS NEWS ROUNDUP: Events impacting trans and nonbinary folks are constantly changing. These are just a few of the recent events that are impacting trans and nonbinary communities, and why they may be relevant to service providers who work with trans communities. (October 2nd, 2026).
October 2, 2026 at 12:00 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Sometimes the people who have offered us the most freedom in our gender expression and identity are also the people that hurt us the most. Emmin writes: "I wrote this piece when a trans elder that I viewed as a mentor began pressuring me sexually after we bonded over our cancer scares."
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "Genderqueer magic, as an art. by Emmin Bickford. 'I looked up to you, / You and your gender confidence. / You knew what it was like to exist in the margins. / You knew how to transmute pain into magic, Genderqueer punk magic. / You taught me to let it loose / That I’m not less masc / If I don’t bind my chest. / You taught me how to feel safe in my body / After it was infected with almost cancer. / We took our nonbinary bodies almost dying, / Actively being treated for the sickness / And we made beautiful art'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "About the Writer: Emmin Bickford. I am a genderqueer and disabled human, therapist, professor, and survivor. I am guided by transformative justice in my life and work. I previously experienced a cancer scare that led to a long and complicated relationship with the medical system. @emxmin"]
October 1, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month! Trans and nonbinary people experience disproporionately high rates of domestic and sexual violence. This DVAM and beyond, include trans survivors in your advocacy, messaging, and awareness this month! #WithSurvivors #DVActionMonth #DVAM2026
[Image: Blue and white text on a dark purple background. Text: "This DVAM, include trans survivors in your advocacy work." FORGE logo.]
October 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Noah Stang-Osborne's cover art for Trans Survivors, "The Trauma in Healing," set the tone for Issue 7. Noah writes: "The Trauma in Healing is about my experiences with a medical system that has both saved my life and been extremely traumatic...
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 includes Noah Stang-Osborne's art piece, "The Trauma in Healing." There is a painting of a Noah, a Afro Indigenous trans masc butch with a shaved head and multiple piercings. He is lying in a hospital bed, hospital gown open with different monitors on his chest. He has oxygen on and is looking directly at the viewer. The painting cuts off below his recent top surgery scars. Around the painting is a white shelf like frame. On it are different medication bottles, some bloody, some with plants growing out of them. Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "Noah Stang-Osborne. Noah is a Massachusetts based multimedia artist, who uses painting, collage, photography, and fiber arts to create pieces on grief, survival, love and community. Xe received xyr bachelors in art therapy at Lesley University and runs art groups for queer and trans kids. Xyr art draws inspiration from the natural world and his experiences as an Afro indigenous, chronically ill, nonbinary butch lesbian. @art._.by.noah."
September 30, 2026 at 12:02 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Systems we rely on to care for us are often the same systems that hurt us. Read Lillian Hochwender's full poem, "Novocaine," in Issue 7 of the Trans Survivors Zine! forge.tips/zine. Connect with Lillian at @ligerlillie.bsky.social!
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "Novocaine by Lillian Hochwender. '“The doctor is expecting you,” / the nurse smiles, / smiles like vanilla ice-cream / laced with novocaine. / Maybe she smiles / because my name / tickles her numb tongue / and numb white teeth or / maybe she laughs for lack / of sleep. Her coat is crisp. / The walls are even whiter.'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "About the Writer: Lillian Hochwender. Lillian Hochwender disabled genderfluid writer and visual artist living in the American Midwest. Their work spans numerous genres and frequently explores embodiment, mortality, and identity. Their poetry has been published by the likes of Doll Hospital Journal, FLARE Magazine, and The Southwest Review. IG: @ligerlillie, Bluesky: @ligerlillie.bsky.social."]
September 29, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Want to learn about an exciting new tool designed to support all kinds of service providers who work with trans survivors? Join us tomorrow at 2 pm EST to celebrate the launch of the new Support Trans Survivors Toolkit! forge.tips/toolkit-launch
[Image: Text overlaying a background image of a person wearing a white sweater vest and bandana posing outdoors. Text: "Tomorrow! Support Trans Survivors Toolkit Launch Party. Weds, Sept 30th, 2-3:30pm EST. https://forge.tips/toolkit-launch." FORGE logo.]
September 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Danny McLaren's "where rage and soft desire touch" inspired the title for Issue 7 of Trans Survivors, capturing the tense relationship between isolation as self-protection, and a need for community and touch. Read the full poem at forge.tips/zine!
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "where rage and soft desire touch by Danny McLaren. 'no one but me has touched my body in months. / this is the way to keep safe / myself, my lovers, my beloveds. / if I want the community I’m so desperate for / to survive. / touch is poison, is disease, is violence, / but so is isolation. / a zoom call is not comparable to a / kiss, a text can’t fuck me or / god forbid, touch me in some gentle way.'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "About the Writer: Danny McLaren. Danny McLaren is a fat, queer, trans, non-binary, Jewish, and neurodivergent writer living in Tkaronto, colonially known as Toronto, Canada. They are a poet, an essayist, a video game lover, and a zine-maker. @dannymclrn"
September 28, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
When working with trans survivors, it's important to have the skills to feel confident and prepared for conversations about suicide and self-injury. This recorded webinar helps to dispel common myths and validate supportive responses to self-injury in trans communities. forge.tips/SI-webinar
[Image: Text on slips of paper against a tan background. Text: "Things to consider when talking with trans clients about suicide and self-injury. Who wants to talk about it? who started the conversation? is it voluntary vs not? What relationship do you have to each other? Can you ensure confidentiality? what info might be shared with others? how have you communicated this? forge.tips/SI-webinar." FORGE logo.]
September 28, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Trans and nonbinary survivors deserve access to trans-affirming and trauma-informed care. What does trauma-informed care look like to you?#SuicidePreventionMonth #TransSurvivors #TraumaInformedCare
[Image: White text on a purple background. Text: "Trauma-informed care is suicide prevention. Suicide Prevention Month 2026." FORGE logo.]
September 27, 2026 at 12:00 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
About their writing and photography, Luz Blumenfeld writes: "I made this piece in response to my experience navigating the city of Florence, Italy in the summer of 2024. My experience was deeply enmeshed with my trans and disabled body and the ways it was perceived and received in the city."
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 includes three photos: 1. A vintage photograph of a small child standing on a short stool. Behind the child hangs a sheet with dappled light. The child is reaching with one hand out to the right where an adult's hand is visible just at the edge of the frame reaching back to them. 2. A person rests their arm just atop a small pool of water. They are laying on their back and facing away from the water. 3. Three swifts in motion flying overhead. Text: "I have been looking for evidence of soft gestures by Luz Blumenfeld." Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "I have been looking for evidence of soft gestures by Luz Blumenfeld. 'I take note of places that have been tended to. / To tend to is an act of care. / To protect, to preserve, / to return to. / I take note of mugwort and fig trees growing out of concrete. / I find places where the light touches. / I think about what a system that prioritizes care might look like. / I look for a place to sit down.'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 3 text: "About the Writer: Luz Blumenfeld. I am an interdisciplinary artist, writer, teacher, and deep listener. Third generation Chicane from Oakland, CA, I currently live and work in Portland, OR. My practice is sincerely grounded in the expansive methodologies of research, relationship to site, and collection and curation. luzblumenfeld.cloud."
September 26, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Don't forget to register for the Support Trans Survivors Toolkit Launch party on September 30th! The Toolkit offers easily-accessible resources for a range of service providers, with the goal of improving care for trans and nonbinary survivors of violence. forge.tips/toolkit-launch
[Image: Text on a green background with a photo of two people making a heart with their fingers. Text: "Support Trans Survivors Toolkit Launch Party. Weds, Sept 30th, 2-3:30pm EST. Register on Zoom: https://forge.tips/toolkit-launch." FORGE logo.]
September 26, 2026 at 12:00 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
It was hard to choose only a section of Diem Okoye's "Names for Moths" to highlight here. We loved this poem, and encourage you to read the full version in Issue 7 of the Trans Survivors Zine! Find it at forge.tips/zine. #TransSurvivors #TransPoets #DisabilityAndHealth
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "Names for Moths by Diem Okoye. 'and of course I cried for each long night she endured, / to the long hours a day broken with pain, / and for the red chair we sit upon a late autumn evening when the moths / return with their beautiful wings folded, / the ones I catch her watching in the way we all do, / that no amount of staring at their bodies can wholly convince us / that this is normal, that a living thing flying carries this kind of grief, / like the darkened sky had dropped shadows to eye level and given them motion'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "About the Writer: Diem Okoye. Diem Okoye is a writer and teacher who was highly commended for the erbacce-prize 2026. Her work has appeared in The Gay and Lesbian Review, Reckoning, Friends Journal and other literary journals. She was awarded second place in the Blue Mesa Review Spring 2025 Contest Issue and was nominated for the 2024 Dwarf Stars Award for speculative poetry. In addition to her writing, she works as a copy editor and is a reader at The Good Life Review. She lives with two German Shepherds and two neurotic cats."
September 25, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
TRANS NEWS ROUNDUP: Events impacting trans and nonbinary folks are constantly changing. These are just a few of the recent events that are impacting trans and nonbinary communities, and why they may be relevant to service providers who work with trans communities. (September 25, 2026).
September 25, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Living in a body that is trans, disabled, or chronically ill can often feel like we are at odds with our environments. Gemma Bastian's "ALIEN" captures this feeling perfectly: "surely i am from a planet where a dark midday sky glistens in fairy lights, where the atmospheric pressure...
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "ALIEN by Gemma Bastian. 'i had always felt that i was swapped at the hospital at birth. no, that’s not right. i feel like my parents’ child was abducted by an alien spaceship and i was dropped off in its stead. why else would i feel so poorly adjusted for this world? the water from the cool, babbling brook makes me break out in hives, the gentle breeze gives me a throbbing migraine, the joyous sunshine cruelly laughs while my eyes water and burn. surely i am from a planet where a dark midday sky glistens in fairy lights, where the atmospheric pressure remains constant and my body could learn what it feels like to be at ease.'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "About the Writer: Gemma Bastian. Gemma Bastian (she/her) is a trans, AuDHD university professor and amateur poet who explores themes of femininity, transition, and trauma in her work. She lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with her partner and naughty little cat. Gemma posts more poetry on Instragram @poetrybygemma when she remembers to upload."
September 24, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Submit to the Trans Survivors Zine! For Issue 8, we're looking for submissions around grief and death rituals, ways we remember our ancestors and history, cycles of death, rebirth, and change, and more. Find full guidelines at forge.tips/submit and submit before October 21st!
[Image: White text on a black background with white graphics of a heart and line-drawn flower. Text: "Call for submissions: Trans Survivors Zine, Death & Grief issue. Deadline: Oct 21. Submit art, poetry, and prose! $25 contributor payment. Digital and print zine. Submit to Issue 8: forge.tips/submit." FORGE logo.]
September 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
About "Mutable by Right," Riley Declan Shepard writes, "I've had a fascination with jellyfish since I was little, specifically the immortal jellyfish, which is a tiny jellyfish that can revert to its polyp form at any time, making it quite literally immortal.
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 includes Riley Declan Shepard's art piece, "Mutable by Right." A jellyfish in pink, blue, and white floats against a dark blue background. Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "Riley Declan Shepard. I'm a disabled transmasc from the Midwest who dabbles in art and spends most of his time writing poetry and working on fiction manuscripts for future novels. Mental illness/trauma, trans identity, and medical transition are the common themes of my works. @whamphetamine"
September 23, 2026 at 1:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Join us on Wednesday, September 30th, to celebrate launching the Support Trans Survivors Toolkit! This toolkit features resources for a wide array of providers who work with trans survivors of violence. Learn how the toolkit can support your work! Sign up at forge.tips/toolkit-launch
[Image: Text on a gray/blue background above a calendar, with Wednesday, September 30th circled in red. Text: "Coming up! Support Trans Survivors Toolkit Launch Party. September 30th, 2-3:30pm EST, on Zoom! forge.tips/toolkit-launch." FORGE logo.]
September 23, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
The House passed the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act unanimously in January, with over 327 bipartisan co-sponsors. It's time for the Senate to act and pass the bipartisan, commonsense #CVFSA now!
An image of the white house on a blue and purple gradient background. Text: "The Senate must pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act. The Crime Victims Fund is dangerously low, putting lifesaving victim services at risk nationwide. The Senate must act now! September 23, National Day of Action." Text on a blue and purple gradient background. Text: "Call 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to your senator's office. Tell them: 'Hello, I'm a constituent from [city, state]. I'm calling to urge [Senator's Name] to follow the House's lead and pass this bipartisan Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act. The Crime Victims Fund provides critical funding for services supporting more than six million crime victims each year, including survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. With deposits into the Fund declining, victim service programs are facing significant funding cuts that put critical services at risk. The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act offers a bipartisan, common-sense solution using non-taxpayer dollars. I urge [Senator's Name] to support and pass this legislation as soon as possible. Thank you.'"
September 23, 2026 at 12:02 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
COVID has impacted all of us in different ways. In the rush to "return to normal," we often don't have a space to process the complicated emotions that came up for us early in the pandemic and continue to come up today. What comes up for you when you think about these questions?
[Image: On a brown background, text inside white bubbles overlaying a photo of several people hiking together. Text: "COVID trauma and how it connects us: journaling questions. forge.tips/covid-trauma. What lasting impacts of COVID do you see on your life today? How does it feel now, when you hear people talking about COVID? How have you processed the emotions and experiences you had early on in the pandemic? What fears/questions/experiences do you wish you had support around?" FORGE logo.]
September 22, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
How many of us have had to explain to a healthcare provider that hormones didn't cause our health issues? Theo Leviathan's "Bad Doctors" captures the range of responses trans people often get from providers - including some more affirming ones. Read the full piece: forge.tips/zine
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "Bad Doctors by Theo Leviathan. 'The endocrinologist says, “The testosterone could be making the chronic pain worse.” “It’s made it better. It increases my muscle mass, so I have more capacity to move on high pain days.” I try to force gravity, willing myself to stay heavy. Her eyebrow raises, “Well, we could put you on Ozempic. Less weight on your joints could be good for you.” My feet can’t quite touch the floor. I grip my seat with my fingers, keeping myself pressed into it. “I’ll think about it.”'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 2 text: "Theo Leviathan. Theo Leviathan is a NYC based writer who thinks too much about lesbianism, disability, transsexuality, kinky sex, and politics. They are a white transmasc butch, who is bad at being bisexual and practiced at being a dyke. They have been in two cults. @theoleviathan"
September 21, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Being a part of a community offers protection from isolation that so many trans and nonbinary folks need! Community connection is suicide prevention. #SuicidePrevention #TransSurvivors #TransCommunity
[Image: White text on a purple background. Text: "Community connection is suicide prevention. Suicide Prevention Month 2026." FORGE logo.]
September 20, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
So many of the pieces in Issue 7 of Trans Survivors highlight our interconnection: to each other, to nature, and to systems of care. Help us celebrate Devin Ambrosia's "Earth's Embrace," and find work from 20 talented artists and writers at forge.tips/zine! Connect with Devin: bit.ly/devinambrosia
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 text: "Earth's Embrace by Devin Ambrosia. 'I’m grateful for my mask for a new reason today; The smell of formaldehyde doesn’t reach me; No sensory memories of dissection and death; Just new possibilities and life; I part the fertile earth and it slides open easily; Like a wet pussy; Like my mouth around a prayer; Is this where my body belongs?; My chest tissues fall out of the biohazard bag and into the welcoming embrace; Cradled by the mycelial network; Once again a part of all that is'" Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. "Devin Ambrosia. Devin Ambrosia (they/them) loves to dance, read fantasy and sci fi, eat, and be a feral foraging forest freak on the shores of Gitchigammi. They write visionary fiction erotica for Shousetsu Bang*Bang, a free 18+ queer webzine of art and literature, and also dabble in poetry, painting, and collage. They’ve been published in A Catalog of Small Machines. bit.ly/devinambrosia"
September 19, 2026 at 12:01 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
Check out new art and writing in Issue 7 of the Trans Survivors Zine! Today we're highlighting Leo Arcelay-Christiano's "In Between Skin." Find this piece and more at forge.tips/zine, and find more of Leo's work at www.instagram.com/leoscreatives

#TransSurvivors #TransArtists #Disability
Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. Slide 1 includes Leo Arcelay-Christiano's art piece, "In Between Skin." A split image of two torsos fills the composition, divided by a dark red textured shape down the center. One side shows a healed top-surgery scar and black underwear, while the other shows an untouched chest. Painted in soft skin tones against a faint grid background, the piece explores identity, change, and the relationship between different versions of the body. Text on a blue background with yellow flowers. Title text: "Trans Survivors Issue 7; Rage and Soft Desire: Disability & Health. https://forge.tips/zine." FORGE logo. "Leo Arcelay-Christiano. Leo Arcelay-Christiano is a designer and illustrator from Baltimore, Maryland. As a trans man who has been out since the age of 13, his work often explores identity, the body, vulnerability, and transformation through layered visual storytelling. He recently graduated from Loyola University Maryland with a B.A. in Communications and hopes to pursue an MFA in the coming years.@leoscreatives."
September 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
TRANS NEWS ROUNDUP: Events impacting trans and nonbinary folks are constantly changing.. These are just a few of the recent events that are impacting trans and nonbinary communities, and why they may be relevant to service providers who work with trans communities. (September 18th, 2026).
September 18, 2026 at 12:02 PM
forgeforwardtrans.bsky.social
FORGE is thrilled to launch a new website and toolkit for service providers on working with trans survivors of violence. This toolkit features resources for a wide array of providers. Join FORGE to learn how the toolkit was built and how you can use it in your work. forge.tips/toolkit-launch
[Image: Green text overlaying a photo of two people posing and smiling in front of a trans flag. Text: "toolkit launch! Sept. 30 ★ 2-3:30pm EST ★ on Zoom! Support Trans Survivors Toolkit Launch Party. https://forge.tips/toolkit-launch." FORGE logo.]
September 17, 2026 at 10:49 PM