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Author Archives: Rachel Cassandra

Rachel Cassandra is a journalist, essayist, and audio storyteller. She went to UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and has published stories with VICE, KQED, Atmos, and Lucid News. You can find more of her work on her website at https://www.rachelcassandra.net/ or by following her on Substack. Lately in her spare time, she runs, embroiders, and frolics with farm animals. She lives in Central Texas with her boa, Squeeze.

Posted inInvestigations

Cowgirl Boots, Anxious Nights: Transgender Youth and Families Grapple with Hostile Legislation – and Sky-High Rates of Mental Illness

by Rachel Cassandra

It started with a pair of cowgirl boots – pink and blue with floral embroidery. Grandpa B. offered to take his grandchild Marty shopping for boots. At the store, which sells Texas-style western wear, 5-year-old Marty checked out the offerings and decided that the coolest by far was that special pair from the girls’ section. Assigned male at birth, Marty (a pseudonym) had already been experimenting with mixing “boy” and “girl” clothes, a point of tension between the generations in the family.

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