Dorothee Benz on Muck Rack

Dorothee Benz

As seen in: Medium, HuffPost, Common Dreams, AlterNet, Forward, Learning For Justice, Truthdig, Fair, NationofChange, ZNetwork and
Writer | Organizer | Strategist I love mountains & hate capitalism #ResistanceIsHoly she/her/hers
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Articles

Building a Just Future

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By Dorothee Benz, Melanie Willingham-Jaggers
| Learning For Justice
“I came out as trans when I was 11,” says Dayley. “Even since kindergarten, I kind of knew I was a girl.” Ajia* explains her realization over time while living outwardly as a boy: “I don’t think this is who I am supposed to be.” At 13, her self-understanding included her identity as a transgender girl. Dayley and Ajia are not unusual. Research shows that gender awareness is generally established by age 5 or 6, meaning that most people will have a sense of their gender by that age.
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Dear Young Person, You Are Valued

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By Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, Dorothee Benz, Jey Ehrenhalt, Nikole Parker
| Learning For Justice
Decades of activism and research established a foundation for educators to build safer, more inclusive school communities—but this hard-won progress is far from secure. Politically motivated efforts, especially in the South, to erase LGBTQ+ representation and censor Black history have gained momentum in recent years, threatening young people’s well-being and creating hostile school environments for students and educators.
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A Refuge for LGBTQ+ Young People

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By Dorothee Benz
| Learning For Justice
Advocacy letters get sent because students are fighting for their rights and reaching out to organizations like Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or the Southern Poverty Law Center when schools oppose a GSA. Across the country, but most notably in the South, attacks from legislators and policymakers have reached into every corner of LGBTQ+ families’ lives, including schools.
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