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Georgia Transgender Oral History Project: V

Voor, Riley

Interviewee: Riley Voor (she/her and they/them)
Interviewer: Ashby Combahee
Date of interview: August 26, 2021

Biography:
Riley Voor (she/her, they/them) grew up in Louisville, Kentucky before moving to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech. She has been active in the trans community in Midtown and expresses gratitude for community spaces such as the Bakery, My Sister's Room, and Charis Books. Riley has been a member of the Atlanta-based cybersecurity-themed funk band, Two Factor Authentication. She is vocal about intersecting marginalizations, and in particular the  intersection of queerness and neurodiversity.

Abstract:
Riley Voor introduces herself as a graduate of Georgia Tech and a member of the Atlanta-based funk band, Two Factor Authentication. At the time of the interview, Riley mentions that she lives in Midtown in Atlanta, but that she is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, where she grew up in the suburbs and was raised Catholic. Riley talks about understanding her relationship with gender and sexuality gradually, through interactions with queer friends. She discusses embracing her identity after graduation, which involved navigating familial and work relationships and confronting challenges within the Georgia legal process as she sought to change her identity documents. Throughout the interview, Riley stresses gratitude for online spaces that have connected her with peers at the intersection of trans and neurodiverse experiences. On this topic, Riley discusses how having ADHD and possibly autism has informed her queerness, pointing out the significance and solidarity of living under intersecting marginalizations. She states that being a nonbinary woman has been complicated by societal impositions around who is a legitimate trans person. Finally, Riley talks about queer life in Atlanta, noting places like The Bakery, My Sister's Room, and Charis Books as personally meaningful community spaces. She also briefly discusses local activism, mentioning her own participation in Communities Over Capitalism, a police abolition movement. 

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