Love as a Verb, For Those Who Struggle With It
Self love is not for the faint of heart, especially when you're trans. We get a lot of messages about self love that are based in practices that simply don't track for most trans folks. If positive affirmations fall flat for you, if you can't imagine being okay with your body, let alone loving it, this is the workshop for you.
LOVE YOUR TRANS SELF is about cultivating a relationship to yourself that is based in consent, agency, respect, and actual love. Together we go deep on love: what it is, how to cultivate it within yourself, and why you would even want to. I focus on the intricacies and complexities of loving yourself when you're trans - loving yourself when dysphoria is big, loving yourself when your internalized transphobia hits, and loving yourself through hard social times like right now!
As we continue navigating these challenging and uncertain times, we need these tools now more than ever. In LOVE YOUR TRANS SELF, I guide you through new ways of thinking about love, but crucially, we also focus on new ways of doing self love. If you're tired of self hate but can't seem to find your way past it, this workshop will provide you with multiple grounded practices and forms of support.
Workshop & Workbook
This 2 hour recorded workshop includes conceptual information about the following:
- What is love? (Hint: we're bringing in bell hooks)
- Love as nurturing your own growth
- The capitalist myth of love-as-consumption
- The trans-specific challenges of self love
- Self-love is a relationship, and relationships can be built and changed
- Loving yourself through dysphoria, internalized transphobia, and societal anti-trans backlash
As well as 3 practical exercises that you can do along with the live participants! There is also a robust Q&A!
The 15 page, full color workbook contains:
- More information and instructions
- in-depth, extended versions of the exercises from the class
- Resources for self-love
The workshop is fully (human) captioned, and the workbook comes with printable versions
Sliding Scale Pricing Options
Please note: Sliding scale is not a discount! Please choose the option that is within your financial capacity.
Course access is granted immediately on signup.
What people are saying
LOVE YOUR TRANS SELF gently guided me through new ways of being with and taking care of myself. I can tell that these teachings will be with me for the rest of my life.
— Workshop Attendee
I appreciated your warmth and kindness, which shines through in your offerings. The techniques which you have cultivated through your own challenging times are so rich and real. The ideas of the 5% and the 85% are so generous and welcoming of humaness and feel satisfyingly counter to the 'must do it all and right now and all the time or you've failed' indoctrination of the capitalist culture. Thank you for bringing this invitation of compassion, kindness and softness. It is so needed!
— Workshop Attendee
I loved the concrete activities to cultivate and practice self love. And Eli was, as always, so warm and knowledgeable and nonjudgmental. He makes the time fly by, and I always leave his workshops wanting to learn more!
— Workshop Attendee
I am so glad I attended LOVE YOUR TRANS SELF. It felt so validating to have the topic of self love be from a trans perspective. I got a lot out of this workshop - concepts, tools, resources. I am excited to start reframing my relationship with my body and use the tools we learned!
— Workshop Attendee
I LOVED the earthiness of this workshop! Thank you so much for the opportunity to participate! It was such a loving, gentle but real space, like there was space for my whole self, shadow parts and shame gremlins included. The exercises were tangible and pragmatic.
— Workshop Attendee
I feel like I will be able to apply these tools to grow into more compassion for myself and it's energizing to imagine moving through some of the disassociation and self-meanness I've grappled with for my whole life. I've always found it so murky to articulate what I need, it's like learning a whole new language. I cannot tell you how serendipitous this has been, especially the Four of Wands, that resonated so much! I feel more hopeful, connected and like I'm waking up to some inner magic and wisdom.
— Workshop Attendee
FAQs
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You can watch the video directly on Payhip using the course player. The workbook is a downloadable PDF that comes in 3 versions - 1 for digital use, 1 for high quality printing, and 1 for less-ink printing. The content is the same for all three versions of the workbook.
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yes! The recording has been captioned by a human being, so the captions are accurate and well-timed.
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The original workshop was in April of 2024.
Eli Lawliet, Ph.D., The Gender Doula
Eli Lawliet, Ph.D., (he/him) is the dreamer and weaver of The Gender Doula. In addition to a decade of experience researching trans healthcare, law, policy, and history, he has formal training as a full spectrum doula, breathwork facilitator, and tarot reader, as well as many years of surviving the world of poverty wages and retail work. The broad scope of his experience directly informs the equally broad spectrum of his work as The Gender Doula. Eli has been seeing clients since January of 2020 and has worked with hundreds of trans folks nationally and internationally in sessions, classes, and workshops. Though he was born in Oklahoma and raised in Missouri, Eli currently lives in Los Angeles (Gabrieliño-Tongva, Chumash, & Kizh land) with his partner, three cats, a dog, and four snakes.