i’m reading 1,000 pages to support trans journalists (send help)

Welcome to data & feelings, journalist Jasmine Mithani’s occasional newsletter revolving loosely around gender, tech and media.

First, I want to tell you about one of my favorite media organizations. Then I’ll explain how that relates to me reading 1,000 pages in two weeks. Stick around until the end for a special invitation to a cool net art twitch stream tomorrow.

Over the years, I’ve seen the Trans Journalists Association work relentlessly towards its two goals: fostering the careers of gender-expansive journalists and promoting accurate coverage of trans communities in the media.

As soon as the Trans Journalists Association opened its doors with a membership model, I signed up. I immediately paid for an affiliate membership; I loved that the professional organization was committed to staying free for trans journalists all over.

TJA leadership has done incredible work in its short five years of existence. The nonprofit has pulled together resources on how to create a welcoming newsroom environment for gender-expansive employees. It hosts timely trainings for members on essential topics, like how to craft successful FOIA requests and reporting on legal findings. TJA maintains a robust style guide I frequently consult and regularly shares guidance for reporting evidence-based reporting. Last year, it launched the Trans News Initiative, a living media analysis tracking how American journalists cover transgender communities.

Not only do I love the work TJA is doing, I’ve benefited greatly from their resources. To give back, I volunteer my time to mentor TJA early-career members. And now I’m raising money for one of my favorite professional journalist organizations.

The annual Trans Rights Readathon is happening right now, leading up to Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31. I’m participating and asking you to help me raise $1,000 — one for each page of my readathon goal — to support the essential work of the Trans Journalists Association.

We need TJA now more than ever. The onslaught of attacks on trans people has only escalated since President Donald Trump started his second term, with one of his first executive orders essentially deleting all mentions of trans people from federal materials. This has affected national parks, domestic violence nonprofits who rely on grants from the Department of Justice, and any trans person trying to get an accurate passport.

You can make a one-time donation to support TJA or commit to monthly giving, which helps the organization plan for the future. (Almost all of my donations to media outlets are monthly because I know how helpful it is to small teams!)

One more time: DONATE HERE.

Yes, it is. I thought it would be easily manageable but then I had to cover a story related to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and lost several hours of my life to background research.

In January I read 4,434 pages and in February I read 2,585 pages. Since the start of the readathon I have read 95 pages, but I haven’t had any motivation in the form of donors right? I thrive under pressure.

I’ve also been paralyzed by choice. I wrote a delectable menu of books written by trans authors or starring trans characters and they all sound SO GOOD I get overwhelmed. Right now I’m reading DILF: Did I Leave Feminism? by Jude Ellison S. Doyle (224 pages), and have a short list of books I’m prioritizing next.

The list is nonfiction-heavy because one of my annual reading goals is to read 40 non-romance books; I’ve finished 15 so far.

If you want any book recommendations for the Trans Rights Readathon, hit reply and I’ll help you find something that’s up your alley.

I’ll be presenting as a part of a showcase for a class I took this winter called HTTPoetics, taught by Todd Anderson. We will be sharing our final projects which are all weird niche little hand-crafted websites, and officially launching our web-based anthology. Mine is about Wuthering Heights, with and without quotation marks.

RSVP for the showcase on Sunday at 11 a.m. Pacific. Join us virtually from the comfort of your own home!

I took HTTPoetics because I wanted to like coding again. I’ll write more reflections on this experience in a future missive.

Sending all my love and this beautiful Eid Navroz Vernal Equinox Aries Season weekend portal. In the midst of global and personal tragedy, it has been a joy to write to you from my porch, shaded by the bougainvillea.

As always, catch me on Bluesky, Instagram or in The 19th’s newsletter.

All my love,
Jasmine