![]() One thing that stuck out to me when I was reading it is that you described how - and I'm quoting how you described yourself - that as a closet case trans girl, that experience taught you how to be resilient. SUMMERS: You wrote really openly about your childhood growing up in Virginia and the struggle that you describe to fit in. And so one of the things I really wanted to do was kind of own the entire concept of, like, hey, look, things that are written about you online or things that you've written about yourself online - good, bad, right, wrong, correct, incorrect - you've got to be able to own that, recognize it for what it is, and at the same time, use it to empower you to feel confident about telling your own stories, and which is so much of this book. Therefore, the whole thing - the reason I wanted to include that in the book is that when other people even write, just in that case, as a Facebook status just among friends that was just supposed to make people laugh - right? - other people find things that are either embellishments or not true about you, and they can be the ones who will tell the story.Īnd very much in politics, what ends up happening is that people will create a narrative about who you are in terms of what they think is politically advantageous for their side. But I do not have the upper body strength to be able to perform that last stunt. Did I do the first two things on that? Yes. ROEM: So that last part was an embellishment. (Reading) Danica Roem in 2008 was videotaped performing a keg stand as people chanted suck it, and then proceeded to pick up the keg and chuck it through the window. ![]() SUMMERS: Your book is sprinkled with some quotes from opposition research you commissioned on yourself. And I think this applies regardless of whether you're cis, trans or whoever you are, that if you are able to reflect on the very core of your identity and the very core of your being, why would you want someone else to tell that story for you? And in trans world, one of the things we kind of talk about is your authentic sense of self. And this - the whole point of this is about being yourself at your most authentic sense. ROEM: I want to encourage people to own their own narratives and set fire to the stories that they don't want to be in anymore. And so I asked Danica Roem, why put yourself out there like this? SUMMERS: In her memoir, she addresses head-on the types of stories that most politicians would seek to bury as deep as possible. I do know what it means to have to make ends meet and to struggle financially. ROEM: I like to think that, for all the, you know, eccentricities, you know, I have and even the, you know, just different worlds of identities, I think one thing that's very common on this is that, you know, like, I do know what it means to have to work. ![]() She said she feels like her story is relatable. And Roem was reelected in November to a third term. She is an openly transgender woman and former journalist who has also fronted a metal band. ![]() But take a listen to how she describes herself.ĭANICA ROEM: You know, you don't get too many transgender metalhead reporter yogini stepmom vegetarians running for office. JUANA SUMMERS, BYLINE: Yes, Danica Roem made history when she was elected to represent voters in suburban Northern Virginia. NPR's Juana Summers spoke with Roem about her new memoir. In her new book, "Burn The Page," Roem explores the experiences that got her to that moment as well as the music that moved her along the way. Danica Roem became the first openly transgender state legislator in the country when she was sworn in as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates back in 2018 - and she defeated a Republican who had served for a quarter of a century. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |