Ben Valin
producer, writer, modern Diogenes
ABOUT
Ben Valin has a degree in English Literature from Florida Atlantic University. He founded Phoenix Collective in 2015 with the goal of providing direct action and resources to transgender students at FAU.
When he was disowned by his family in 2016 after several public speaking engagements as a transgender person, Ben Valin began to write about his experiences extensively as a transgender man and an intersex activist on Twitter.
Special thanks to Nicholas Carrigan for sponsoring the blog and making this possible. You can find more information about his work here and follow him on Twitter at @nhcarrigan.
Are you a trans person who has experienced emotional, psychological, or physical abuse as a result of your transition and want to know how to start rebuilding your life? Feel free to reach out at the contact sites below.
PERSONAL PROJECTS
Texas Help Out Team: a streaming-based fundraiser that raised money for the victims of the Texas winter floods.
Streamers for Freedom: a Twitch fundraiser supporting the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, a charity dedicated to the safety of LGBTQ people in jail and immigration detention.
Phoenix Collective: a website dedicated to indexing transgender professionals in the community
GET IN TOUCH
You can reach out to Ben at one of the social media sites listed below.
OTHER WORK
Ben Valin creates 3D avatars for streaming and 3D models with his best friend, Lykios.
My Latest Posts
- Athens, Hold Me Like a GrudgeAuthor’s note: I’ll format this later. THE BALLAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD GODS I. I walk the streets of my new hometown I’m realizing I’m running out of time, And it’s not just because of you I see the desperation in their eyes, I see them shake in the cold The money in my pocket is borrowed But I’m going to give them all I have The mornings keep me shaking, too, The afternoons blind me with the sun The world around me is dying, And after eight years I’m still on the run And maybe I think it’s a little […]
- My Anger is ValidI feel like if there has been one part of my work that has suffered it is that while dealing with my medical issues and my memory loss I have not managed to remember that I have a right to be angry. The slurry of traumatic events that have happened to me, while seemingly disconnected, have one common thread — at no point have I had any stability. My stability has only come from other people. And other people are killing me. Over the course of my entire life, my ability to stay housed — not “have a home,” because […]
- SkitterWe kiss after skittering around each other for years Skitter
- Nobody is Too Smart to Wear a Mask
Nobody is too smart to wear a mask. Nobody is too educated or too accomplished. Masks are for everyone, regardless of your political background. - “I’m Gay, for You”: The Status of Queerness as Identity and Attraction to Transgender People
The obsession with transgender people and their identities – particularly in relation to their sexual and romantic relationships – is one rooted in cissexism and transphobia. The concept that anything can potentially invalidate a transgender person’s self-identity, particularly the perception of someone outside of themselves, is transphobic. - Fuck This, I’m Going to Georgia
Nobody was truly meant to live in Florida. The combination of the horrible climate and lack of any real natural resources outside of tourism meant that the focus of development was on the things tourists or snowbirds would experience. - Fan Account Setup – Twitter 101
Creating a fan account to follow your favorite content creators online and support their work is easier than you would think. Let’s get started. 👨🏽🏫 - How to Combat TERF Conspiracy — Phoenix CollectiveAre you a creator that often finds themselves hounded by bigots mass-reporting your work? Here are some known ways that you can keep your accounts safe. How to Combat TERF Conspiracy — Phoenix Collective
- Burn Down The Closets and Those Who Keep Us in Them
The concept of the closet, as it is, needs to no longer exist. We need to torch it, effectively, until we live in a world where the idea that an individual would have any reason other than their own free will to hide their gender or sexuality no longer exists. - Yes, The Bathroom Bills Affect Cis Women, Too, But That’s Not The Point
The public is starting to slowly realize that when you target a particular group based on markers that aren’t externally identifiable – for example, what genitals someone may or may not have – you’re going to make mistakes. - Affirmations for Eggs
Your life will be worth living whether the people in it now find your body appealing to them or not. - How We Raised Over $2K for Charity Streaming on Twitch
In February 2021 my team (the Hachikrew) and I raised over two thousand dollars for the American Red Cross to support their relief efforts after the Texas winter floods. We used the program Tiltify. - TERFs are always white supremacists. Here’s how to identify them.
This article is not written to convince you that TERFs are wrong or to explain how white supremacy operates in “polite society.” There’s already an overwhelming body of evidence that shows that TERFs are wrong and why they’re white supremacists. This is written as an attempt to showcase the underlying patterns of behavior from TERFs, so that they can be avoided.
