Here We Are.

With support from the SRE Network, Lilith selected eight participants to engage in Here We Are, a yearlong program of intensive writing (and processing) experiences of gender-based harm or trauma in Jewish spaces. The goal of our project “Here We Are: Personal Stories of Gender Injustice” has been to focus an intersectional lens on gender justice in two unique ways: utilizing Lilith’s tested mix of deep, first-person narratives—in this case from emerging writers who have not told their stories for publication ever before—along with vigorous social justice reporting.

The first year of our project was designed to support and enable survivors to tell their own stories to process, heal and build community—and work towards enacting long-lasting change.

The participating writers come from diverse backgrounds, representing a spectrum of gender identity, sexuality, age, Jewish observance, location and experience. The Here We Are group committed to telling their stories while hoping to spare others from such experiences. This has been an honor to witness.

We will continue to publish these stories in Lilith, as well as deeper reporting and analysis. Here are the first four pieces of writing to emerge from this brave and talented cohort.