Welcome to the official website of Willy Wilkinson
and the home of LGBTQ ACCESS:
Advancing Cultural Competency and Equity in Services and Systems.
Willy's book Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency won the Lamdba Literary Award in transgender non-fiction!
"Born on the Edge of Race and Gender is an extraordinary work by one of the most fearless and dynamic voices of our time—a multi-layered masterpiece that may well be the most accessible, lively, and honest account yet of life as a transgender man…Prepare to be dazzled, shaken, and amazed...Far more than just a memoir, this book is also a treasure trove of intersectional research, wisdom, and practical knowledge, distilled by one of the nation’s foremost experts on public health and other issues affecting transgender people, and one of the most experienced, hands-on cultural competency trainers in our movement."
--Shannon Price Minter, Esq.
Co-editor, Transgender Rights
Legal Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
President Obama’s Commission on White House Fellowships
Read what people are saying about Born on the Edge of Race and Gender
Willy delivered a keynote address entitled
"TRANSformational Resistance with an Intersectional Lens" at the TRANSforming Gender Conference at the University of Colorado Boulder on 3/10/17. Check out the video here, (beginning at 38:11)!
Three decades of experience. Interactive, informative, solutions-oriented
Informative, thought-provoking, moving, and engaging
Develop systems, train staff, provide resource materials, conduct a Train the Trainer process
Technical assistance with forms, policies, systems, and procedures; qualitative research, curriculum development
“It is an incredible book that I really recommend everyone read. Because it combines and defies genres, it’s both a great book if you want to read about a Chinese American experience in San Francisco, if you want to read about a queer experience, if you want to read a trans memoir, but also if someone came to me and said, 'Oh my God, I just found out that I know a trans person and I have no idea what to do with myself,' I would actually give them this book because there’s so much teaching in it and it’s very, very accessible. It bounces between a trans 101 and intersectional politics 101 and then it goes much, much deeper and farther than even other trans memoirs. You guys have to buy this book.”
--Tristan Taormino, Lambda Literary Award-
winning author of eight books and editor of
twenty-five anthologies, effusively praising
Born on the Edge of Race and Gender on her radio show. Listen here.
"On so many levels, you have been right
at the corner of Inter and Sectionality all your life."
--Michelle Brown, interviewing Willy on Can We Talk 4 Real
Listen here
Transforming the memoir genre into a cultural competency tool
Born on the Edge of Race and Gender:
A Voice for Cultural Competency
In this historic moment of transgender visibility in the U.S., writer, activist, and public health consultant Willy Wilkinson’s Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency uses the power of storytelling to contextualize one of the most misunderstood social issues of our time. Whether navigating the men’s locker room like a “stealth trans Houdini,” accessing lifesaving health care, or appreciating his son’s recognition of him as a “transformer,” Wilkinson compellingly illustrates the unique, difficult, and sometimes comical experiences of transgender life. This poetic, journalistic memoir shines an intersectional beacon on the ambiguity and complexity of mixed heritage, transgender, and disability experience, and offers an intimate window into how current legislative and policy battles impact the lives of transgender people. A seasoned public health consultant and cultural competency trainer, Wilkinson also provides practical tools and resources to help community health organizations, educational institutions, and businesses create LGBTQ- and trans-affirming systems. Learn more.
Available in paperback and as an e-book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Smashwords. If you'd prefer to order the book through your local bookstore, it's available through ingram with global distribution.
Hear about the personal impact of recent victories in California and what the "medicine" is.
Willy honored: Transgender Law Center's 2014 Vanguard Awardee
On October 2, 2014 Willy was presented with the 2014 Claire Skiffington Vanguard Award at SPARK!, Transgender Law Center’s annual gala, at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Learn More
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Featured Publications
Willy’s contribution to the inaugural edition of Transgender Studies Quarterly, a keyword essay entitled “Cultural Competency,” provides a global perspective on the need for transgender cultural competency in health services, education, businesses, government agencies, law enforcement, faith-based institutions, and others throughout society.
Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community
Willy’s contribution to this comprehensive resource, a creative non-fiction piece entitled “Reveling in Our Authenticity,” addresses the intersections of mixed heritage experience and trans experience: ambiguity and complexity, layers of cross-cultural experience, and societal assessments of “realness”—as well as the confidence and courage to defy exclusion and revel in our bold authenticity.
Manning Up: Transsexual Men on Finding Brotherhood, Family, and Themselves
Willy’s contribution to this groundbreaking anthology, entitled “Sculptor,” uses the metaphor of his father’s work as a fine wood sculptor to explore the ways in which Willy sheds the impact of racism, the violent gaze, shame, and the legacy of Asian female subjugation to sculpt himself as a trans man and father.
Check out Willy's "My Authentic Life" video, filmed spontaneously at the Transgender Leadership Summit in Southern California in April 2014. Hear about his kids' transgender stuffed animals and his work providing LGBTQ and trans-specific cultural competency training for a wide variety of audiences.
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