Welcome to Sparkles & Spice ✨
Welcome friends & readers!
Introducing Sparkles & Spice ✨ — a space for personal reflections on queerness, neurodivergence, art and society by mel (they) aka enby faerie. I’m a white queer and trans non-binary person residing in Berlin, originally from Southern California/unceded Chumash territory. I live with my wonderful partner Hanna (she) and our two dogs, Luna and Fae.
If you’re reading this, maybe you’re someone I’ve connected with in the past or will engage with in the future, and even if we’re miles apart both literally and figuratively, I hope that we manage to feel close to one another via this medium.
The name of this blog is my take on “sugar, spice, and everything nice” - the ingredients selected to create the namesake characters of The Powerpuff Girls, a show I watched as a kid that inspired imaginary schoolyard games with friends. Sparkles and spice are two ingredients that I feel concocted of; a sparkly mix of enthusiasm and gender fuckery, more fairy than human, spicy because I sometimes get myself into trouble with my hot takes and unfiltered opinions (also because I don’t eat savory foods without adding at least a pinch of crushed chili pepper).
So, why start a blog in 2023?
A few reasons to set expectations, both for myself and for you as a potential reader/subscriber:
A tool of self-exploration and discovery.
In the last year since I began weekly therapy sessions, I’ve been diagnosed with social anxiety, ADD, autism, PTSD, and transsexualism (lol, yes this is a real diagnosis required to access certain gender-affirming care in Germany). At 29 years old, this offers A LOT of new context to reframe my entire life, and to re-educate myself on identity markers that are widely misunderstood and marginalized, while checking my own prejudices in the process. Walk with me as I revisit my experiences with the music industry, friendship, academia, nature, Irish dancing and beyond.
A space for growth.
In learning about myself, I will also be learning a lot about the world around me. I want to share my research and reflections so that others with similar experiences might better understand themselves, and vice versa. Ideally readers who don’t relate will be able to empathize not only with me but with people who share similar identities, disabilities and experiences. I hope for this space to be an avenue for activism, building on motivation for myself and others to work towards changing what we can for the better.
To challenge myself.
I want to exercise my voice, my ability to put thoughts into organized pieces of writing, prompted by myself and my community instead of an academic institution. Starting this blog is an act of vulnerability; having always struggled with low self esteem and rejection-sensitive dysphoria, one of my greatest fears is to be perceived and disliked. In transcribing and sharing my inner world, I’m embracing the fact that not everyone will appreciate what I have to say. Sometimes I will be in the wrong, I may even offend or cause unintentional harm, and when I mess up I aim to apologize, correct myself, and to do better. Please feel free to share if I’ve hurt you or perpetuated ignorance with my words.
What to expect:
Long form essays, articles, and short posts.
Maybe photos, audio and video when I feel like it :)
Creative writing including poetry will be shared via subscription only.
How to subscribe:
You can sign up to receive new post directly to your inbox with either a free or paid subscription here:
Thanks so much for reading & supporting my work! 💖