Wear Your Voice has made history by appointing a transgender woman as Editor-in-Chief. The intersectional feminist, digital magazine has named Ashlee Marie Preston, an African American transgender woman, writer, and activist, to the senior level position.
Preston expressed gratitude for being given the opportunity to helm a publication that provides exposure to global news stories, and takes an in-depth look at social topics including LGBTQIA rights, race, gender politics, and sex positivity.
"My objective is to transform the traditional media landscape while redefining social norms and dispelling myths associated with feminism," said Preston in an interview. "Growing up I felt underrepresented in mainstream media. I knew that someday I was going to change that by holding space for those that felt as I did. As women, those of color, and LGBTQ people, we're often silenced while others speak as experts on our experiences. No one can tell our stories better than we can. The work WYV is doing is revolutionary because we are reserving space for diverse communities to tell their own stories."
Ravneet Vohra, the founder of Wear Your Voice, said, "I didn't have to explain our mission to Ashlee Marie because she was already living it through her very existence.
Vohra, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, started the publication in 2014 as means to empower herself and provide an outlet for women and marginalized people to tell their stories. She is confident that Preston will continue Wear Your Voice's mission of "digging for the non-gendered truth and amplifying the collective voices of today's generation."
Preston's appointment comes on the 48th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a pivotal moment in the LGBTQ liberation movement in which transgender activists of color Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and other LGBTQ protestors raised their voices in unity against police brutality.
"As a fierce advocate for people on the margins of society, Ashlee Marie's vision is going to inspire our audience and change lives," Vohra said."
