A CONVERSATION BETWEEN DEAN SPADE AND OHAN BREIDING
In this epistolary conversation, Ohan Breiding and Dean Spade explore various forms of trans embodiment, community care, and resistance in the face of political, ecological, and emotional collapse. Interweaving personal memories, reflections on community, grief, and global crises, their letters affirm the urgent need for solidarity, creativity, and underground networks of care.
Hi love,
Around this time last year, we were in Greece, scuba diving. I remember the first day we met our instructor, put on our wetsuits and carried our heavy tanks to the water. It was very hot. I followed your lead and unzipped the body armor of black rubber. We walked bare chested with sweaty neoprene bouncing off of the back of our hamstrings, side by side through this little beach town nervous and excited for what was to come. I remember people watching us while sipping their morning coffee, and it struck me that for some of the tourists, maybe seeing scuba divers for the first time, they might now associate them with our sleek amphibious bodies: trans, sexy, and strong.
That night I overheard you telling your lover that you had flirted with death. Being submerged with you so deep beneath the ocean surface now feels like a dream but I often think about the calm we experienced down there and return to this place of meditation in moments of anxiety, which have become more frequent lately.
Last week the US Supreme Court upheld the Tennessee law banning gender transition care for minors. I’m thinking about my students and the younger generation, about the role of us teachers, artists and activists during these challenging times. I’m curious where you were when you found out about the devastating news? Hopefully among friends?