ALOK Vaid-Menon

ALOK Vaid-Menon is a non-binary activist and writer who unapologetically refuses to be ashamed about their body hair or flamboyant, feminine wardrobe. Few people in this world have endured as much harassment online and in-person as ALOK, and far fewer heal from it as gracefully and beautifully, sharing such experiences publicly through poetry and responding only with forgiveness, understanding, and love. "In my culture, transgender is not just an identity; it is a tactic of survival," ALOK shares in their poem "Trans-Generation" on YouTube, in which they describe their grandmother's lifetime of abuse. "I refuse to call my grandmother transphobic; I will not blame her for her own violence." I think it takes an inspiring commitment to constant kindness to see people for the entire life of struggle they've had to live, rather than judging them for a moment in which they behaved poorly out of ignorance or pain.