Transgender artist, advocate and performance poet Linda LaBeija expresses what dating/meeting men was like when she first began her transition, on latest spoken word piece SKINS. The piece. produced by Skyshaker (FUTUREHOOD) is layered, vacillating between LaBeija’s struggle with desire, feelings of unworthiness, and the incessant repeating of bad choices- when being with the wrong person seems to be better than being alone. Stream SKINS below, and check out the full interview at The Fader. (Pic by Bianca Townsend)

Linda LaBeija:

“SKINS was inspired by the harsh realities I faced in my dating life when first beginning my transition. The more feminine I presented, the more I was solicited for sex randomly in the street. I also seemed to attract men that led very complex lives. Either they were “closeted” and did not want anyone to know that they enjoyed engaging in sex with trans women or they were heavy drug users, mentally ill, homeless, disabled, or just interested in the fetish women like me are perceived to be. Regardless, mutual attraction became a rarity after transitioning.”