My name is Pax Ahimsa Gethen, and this is my blog.
Pax is Latin for peace. Ahimsa is Sanskrit for “do no harm.” Gethen is the name of a fictional planet without gender roles, from Ursula K. Le Guin’s book The Left Hand of Darkness.
Pax Ahimsa Gethen is my real, chosen, and legal name. Do not refer to me by my birth-assigned name or gender.
I am a queer agender trans male. My pronouns are they/them/their.
I am a Black vegan atheist, blogger, and photographer. I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1970. I currently live in San Francisco with my partner Ziggy.
The name of my blog is “the funcrunch files” because funcrunch has been my online handle for a very long time. The name was originally a play on “Fenchurch,” a character from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.
I have been a volunteer editor on the English Wikipedia since 2008 (most active since 2014). From January 2020 to April 2022, I worked for the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives. Prior to June 2021 I served as Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco, for which I also served as web and social media manager and (previously) bass section leader. I also maintained the Instagram page for Black Vegans Rock. More work details are on my LinkedIn page.
As of December 2016, comments are currently closed on all posts. While I owe no one an explanation for this, I would inform (or remind) folks that moderation of online spaces is neither inhibition of “free speech” nor evidence of wanting to be in an echo chamber. I can still be reached via the e-mail address in the footer of every page.
Love your writing on Gender 2.0 [Medium] which has led me to your blog. Thanks
Thanks! I finally figured out how to get the hyperlink to show up in my Medium tagline 🙂
Dear Pax Ahimsa Gethen,
There is a wonderful photo on your blog at http://funcrunch.org/blog/2015/07/08/bi-pan-queer/ showing people identifying as bisexual, marching in a Pride Parade. Is the photo yours? I need to use such a photo in a short documentary fundraising video. Does that photo belong to you? If so, may I please have permission to use it, and to credit you?
Thanks in advance,
Mary
Thanks for asking. Feel free to use with credit; in fact I’ll e-mail you a higher-resolution copy.
Greetings! I’m an old friend and colleague of your mother’s and still work in Pittsburgh Public Schools at Brashear High School. We have some amazing and very active kids in our school’s Gender Sexuality Alliance, brave students who not only pushed for and got a comprehensive policy for trans students at our school three years ago, but were also successful at pushing it out district-wide this year. If you’re ever back in town, consider reaching and coming by to talk with these kids. They need excellent role models like yourself.
PS: Well done on your talk on the basics of welcoming trans folk. You did a great job delivering a lot of information into a short period of time. Kudos!