Meet the transgender activist and coffee professional behind the blog Trans and Caffeinated.
BY MARK VAN STREEFKERK
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Cover photo courtesy of Mika Turbo
Arielle Rebekah Gordon is a coffee professional, transgender activist, consultant, and public speaker. Like many other transgender and gender-nonconforming folks, she entered the coffee industry through a company long recognized as an affirming workplace, Starbucks. Having done intermittent media work for GLAAD, they felt the tension to commit to either transgender activism, or coffee. She credits her mom for wisely asking, “Why don’t you do both?”
Their website Trans and Caffeinated has become a platform for other trans voices, which offers resources, spotlights trans artists, and so much more. Arielle was a speaker on Barista Magazine’s panel at this year’s New York Coffee Fest, which took place a week before the city entered COVID-19-mandated closures. It was an honor to interview Arielle and learn more about her incredible work for a “transer future,” both within and outside of the coffee world.
Mark Van Streefkerk: Hi, super excited to interview you! How do you like to introduce yourself?
Arielle Rebekah Gordon: Super excited to be interviewed! I’m Arielle Rebekah Gordon, and I use she/her or they/them pronouns interchangeably. I’m a coffee professional, transgender activist, and private consultant for all things trans!
Tell me about your personal history in coffee.
To explain how I began doing the work I do now, it’s important to give a little background. In 2013, after struggling for years with depression (which stemmed from my grappling with a trans identity that I was not yet ready to acknowledge), my parents sent me to a therapeutic boarding school in Southern Virginia. About two months into my stay, I decided that I had to come out as transgender. I came out publicly, and my therapist quickly responded by outing me to my family and telling them I was doing it for attention. The administration spent the next two years finding every excuse they could to deny my right to transition.
(After) I graduated, I was determined to find an employer that would affirm my identity when I finally decided to transition. I went to Google and typed in “trans-affirming employers?” (The answer was) “Starbucks.” I sent in an application and got hired a few weeks later.
I became fascinated learning about the incredible amount of skill and hard work that goes into producing every single pound of coffee that we sell. To learn more, I started following different coffee accounts on Instagram, which is where I became drawn to experiment with different brew methods (I now own 10). I realized that there was so much more out there.
I moved to NYC to accept a position at the new Starbucks Reserve Roastery, and connected with so many incredible people. There were so many more transgender people in the industry than I realized. I was happy with my decision to stay in coffee, but I still felt like there was a part of me missing, (so) I started Trans and Caffeinated.
If you feel like sharing, what are some challenging things about being a trans person working in specialty coffee? What are some rewarding things?
I consider myself really lucky to work for Starbucks because the company has taken so many steps to support our transgender employees. I’ve witnessed a growing desire among many other coffee shops to learn how to support transgender people in their workplaces. Unfortunately, that’s often where it stops—a desire to support us. A lot of talk, but ultimately very little action. So many shop owners have yet to do the work of challenging their own implicit biases.
The most rewarding piece is that people are often willing to learn, even though the teaching part can be incredibly exhausting. As an out transgender person in coffee, the fact that I’m living in a time where people want to learn about trans identities means that people are willing to consider the messages I share through my blog and social media. This motivates me to continue to fight for change.
Tell me about why you started Trans and Caffeinated, and the themes you tackle.
I started Trans and Caffeinated with the understanding that visibility and understanding will pave the path to acceptance. Whether I’m sharing my story or giving other trans folx the platform to share theirs, the goal is twofold: educating cisgender folx on different aspects or elements of trans identity and existence, and giving transgender folx stories that resonate with all or part of their experience.
Topics I’ve covered so far include: dating, micro-aggressions, access to health care, the fixation on trans peoples’ surgical status, the importance of trans visibility, trans-affirming mental health treatment, emotional labor, and the importance of community. I’ve started publishing more guest posts, which has allowed me to expand the perspective of the website beyond my own personal perspective.
What’s next for you, the website, and your career?
For the website specifically, the next big thing is the TransFormations Marketplace (TFM). This will be a brand-new page of my website, designed specifically to elevate the work of trans and gender-nonconforming artists. This is a free feature, so any TGNC artist who would like to be included can reach out to me via email and I’ll make sure their work gets uploaded.
In addition to my work on the website, I’m also a public speaker. This work started to take off quite a bit right as the world entered quarantine, but I’m hoping to get back into this as soon as this crisis is over. I also facilitate workplace transgender literacy trainings, which is work that I hope to do more of in the future.
*This interview has been condensed and abridged.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Van Streefkerk is Barista Magazine’s social media content developer and a frequent contributor. He is also a freelance writer, social media manager, and novelist based out of Seattle. If Mark isn’t writing, he’s probably biking to his favorite vegan restaurant. Find out more on his website.