Published in Overland Issue 230 Autumn 2018 · Uncategorized what even r u? | Judith Wright Poetry Prize, second place Rae White non-normative flags whip pink f*g umbrellas out of our trans- -gressive / expressive hands we’re marching / crawling / squirming on our tattoo-tanned bellies out from under the wind-whipped rainbow a man on the footpath leers at / up my swelling skirt … but in a romantic way / normative way / innocent way … (aside : i lost my innocence to this bloke branded the Gendered Healthcare System & his love of inflexible formal binaries) in truth, i’m flexible about discrimination : see also : new msg : ur a genderfree male, yeah? new msg : i get it – ur *just* a non-gendered female?! ur a general lack of person / per- -centage / reference point / pride? a flimsy foundation of cluttered pronouns & threadbare symbols? new msg : wait, r u *just* an emoji? let me try again : r u 1 of those tr*nnys? hey, i heard (on the news / on facebook / on this scrawl of foot- -path propaganda) … that ur identity lacks identity / definition / something i can cling to because : i’m shook / a sook / a sock monster wagging my tail / working myself into a state called ‘unable to show you the slightest respect’ in truth, i’m *just* fucking tired of the marching, the crawling (see also : indulging) : see also : exhausted / pooped / snoozed out of the cis-tem & sick-to-choking on ur systemic lasagna-layered revulsion let me try again : Read the rest of Overland 230 If you enjoyed this poem, buy the issue Or subscribe and receive four outstanding issues for a year Rae White Rae White (they/them) is a queer non-binary transgender writer and poet. They are the award-winning author of Milk Teeth, Exactly As I Am, and All the Colours of the Rainbow. Rae is the Creative Director of Uplift Poetry, a community poetry initiative; and Founding Editor of #EnbyLife, a journal for non-binary and gender diverse creatives. More by Rae White › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 3 June 20263 June 2026 · Reviews The past in the object: Vanessa Berry’s Calendar Courtney Powell In her latest book, Calendar, Vanessa Berry explores the relationships that are formed between people and material culture, both fleeting and sentimental, and how they can come to represent us. 1 June 2026 · Culture We were all workers on GeoCities Maria Dudko GeoCities remains an important reminder that collective labour on the internet is not new — and that recognising ourselves as workers is the first step towards organising as such.