It must be exhausting to feel as if your worth comes from winnowing yourself down to other people’s opinions of who you should be.

Alok Vaid-Menon (stage name ALOK) is a gender non-conforming, transfeminine American public speaker, poet, activist pioneer within the transgender and nonbinary communities. They have gained international recognition through their spoken word poetry, fashion design, and mixed media performances, affording viewers a glimpse into the reality of trans life, with the intent of generating more compassion in the world.