Why won't I come back?
- Amanda Riddell
- Jan 2, 2024
- 2 min read
To VUW: the answer is simple. I have zero faith in you to treat me the way I wish to be treated (ie as a trans woman), and that's a valid answer.
That's all there is to it: I wasn't happy with how I was treated at NZSM as Michael, and I have absolutely zero faith in any of you to respect me as Amanda after all this malarkey that you've put me through (despite my not being enrolled).
Even with the idea of working with friends, I can't abide this solution. Please give up and accept I've enrolled with another institution so that I can study something that I'm also passionate about, and that might be useful for future employment.
If I was cis and white and taking the Māori language course, then it'd be all 'ka pai and keep researching' while, because I'm trans, I'm supposed to be content with some kind of performance-based Masters at VUW as a drag queen.
That's transphobia. That's bigotry. That's why I chose to enrol elsewhere.
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That's all. My choices are sacrosanct because my IP is sacrosanct.
Buy Weeded Out: the screenplays off me at a fair price, or fuck off.
That's my answer to VUW.
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This is due to all the 'tuck your dick' bullshit. This is due to all the 'you're breaking the law' bullshit.
This is why I refuse to perform those Tina stories: I refuse to be a tool for an institution that is totally blind to real people.
VUW might not be Harvard, but it's a fucking powerful institution within the overall canvas of Wellington, and that's a good reason to part ways with that group of people.
I specifically have a myriad of issues regarding the NZSM, and those are well-established.
My activist friends support me saying no, so how about my friends within that institution also supporting my choices and understanding that I had good reasons for saying no?