Answering Fan Mail

I will be posting responses to fan mail in this blog soon, on a regular (maybe monthly) basis.

Please send all fan mail to tarakate-fanmail@yahoo.com (it used to be shared between me and 'Kate', but it's my own now)

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The TaraElla Story

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This is the story of my journey, as an LGBT author and singer-songwriter navigating the ever-changing media landscape, and constant cultural upheavals of the early 21st century. My journey towards embracing a positive attitude to life, to our differences, and to the world in general. I have chosen to tell my story in the hope that it will inspire others, and I hope that more people do this too. I am grateful to the stories of other people, and their life journeys, for inspiring me over the years, and getting me through hard times. Life is interesting, and what we learn from it can be unexpected. I wish to contribute to the vast pool of stories already out there, in the hope that one day, my story could be useful to another person out there, who needs a bit of inspiration. This book combines content from my 2021 works 'A Trans Popstar's Story: Being Trans and Chasing Dreams During Quarterlife', 'Eight Lessons from my Quarter Life Period' and 'The Background and C
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Little Mermaid Backlash: A 'Cultural Appropriation' Outrage Tragedy

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Today, I'm going to talk about the controversy surrounding the casting of singer and actress Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming Disney remake of the Little Mermaid. Mainly, those complains have centered around the fact that Halle Bailey, who is black and doesn't have red hair, doesn't look anything like the cartoon version of Ariel. However, the Woke crowd have predictably screamed racism. They seem to have forgotten that racism is a strong charge, as in for example how black Americans were treated before desegregation, and it's not to be used lightly without adequate evidence, lest the real history becomes forgotten. (This is not to deny that racism is still a major problem today. It's just that the word must be used in a way consistent with its historical gravity.) Personally, I'm fine with a black Ariel. I agree that The Little Mermaid is just a story, mermaids aren't even real so they can be anything you want them to be. However, I also understa
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  I know for a fact that many trans people are actually frustrated about where the loudest activist voices are taking our community and our priorities right now. At a time when many members of our community are still struggling with the basics of life, when many of us live in fear of the building resentment and backlash to current trans activism and what real life effects that is translating into, the activist establishment is basically refusing to even listen to our concerns with an open mind. Which leads me to the next question: is all visibility good? Drawing on experiences from gay rights movements, particularly marriage equality, it has been concluded that visibility is important for acceptance. However, the experience of trans visibility in the past decade has painted a very different picture. When I came out in 2006, we were at least left alone by most people, unfortunately I don't think we can say the same today. The fact is, all visibility is not equal. Some forms of visib
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