“Balancing Act is a waist piece that touches on my experience as a gender queer individual, trapped inside a body that has caused me physical pain. Because of my gender queerness, I find myself struggling to relate to issues that are seen strictly as ‘women's issues’ even though harmful anti-contraceptive legislation affects myself and other queer and trans individuals. This piece was created to show my frustrations with feeling controlled simply because I live in a body with female reproductive organs, and my internal struggle with deciding to get on hormonal contraceptives as a way to relieve myself from the physical pain that organ was causing me. As a gender fluid person, living in a female body has both affirming and dysphoric qualities, and experiencing severe pain from menstruation made me feel powerless and undervalued in my own identity. Recently I decided to get a hormonal IUD (intrauterine device) as a way to regulate my menstruation. I was very nervous to get on hormonal contraceptives, mostly because of the stigma and lack of research involved in reproductive healthcare for people who menstruate. Now that I am on hormonal birth control, I’ve found it's not only helped me with the pain of menstruation, but it was also a form of gender affirming care for me. Falling under the trans spectrum comes with difficulties that go beyond internal identities, many of us need physical changes and the right to get the proper medication to live happily and safely. For me, there was nothing more exhausting than living in a state where I was physically reminded of the kind of body I lived in. Having the choice to get the care was the missing link to connect to my true self, and it's something queer people and ally’s need to keep pushing for as a human right."