Our November 2020 Shero of the Month is Tranisha Arzah (she/they) of New Orleans, Louisiana. Tranisha has been a member of the PWN Board of Directors since 2015. “One of the things I value most about Tranisha is the way she brings her full, fierce self to everything she is doing,” said PWN Director Naina Khanna. “Tranisha has helped remind me of the many ways that reproductive justice, pleasure, joy and fun are key to organizing for our dreams. She is tremendously compassionate, a great listener and always willing to support others. I’m so grateful to work with Tranisha.”

Tranisha was born with HIV, so stigma is something she has lived with most of her life. But she says that internalized stigma has been the biggest challenge. “I had a lot of self-shame and anxiety about my diagnosis for a long time, and I didn’t have a community to talk to about it for over half of my life,” she explained. “In a lot of ways, I addressed my experiences of stigma in the past by being authentic with myself and connecting with sisterhoods and communities that I can share my life lessons and hopes with. I was encouraged and inspired to share my story in intentional ways, which helped me heal in ways that I needed more than anything. One of my earliest storytelling adventures was my first time inside the rotunda of my state capitol in front of the Washington state governor, various HIV organizations, and HIV advocates after spending the day advocating for the issues impacting people living with HIV and their loved ones. It was a surreal experience, and I will be forever grateful for that opportunity to open up, be vulnerable, and share my truths.”

PWN Board of Directors, 2015

That quest for connection, authenticity, and community is a big part of what drew Tranisha to PWN and what has kept her serving on the Board of Directors. “The PWN Board of Directors is an incredibly unique and special board like no other. It’s led and driven by women who share this bond of living with HIV together. They’re all so passionate, vulnerable, and real about what it means to serve on a board like Positive Women’s Network. It’s been important for me to sit on the PWN board because it can provide greater access to network with other women living with HIV and the opportunity to continue learning and growing in different leadership styles.”

A particular area of focus for her activism and advocacy has been around sex worker rights. “As I’ve grown into myself as a queer Black femme, my relationship with sex worker rights has grown too,” she said. “Once I started examining the criminalization system and the people who were impacted by this system, it became very apparent that many of these communities are treated unfairly based on assumptions and stigma. As a woman living with HIV, oftentimes my diagnosis becomes only about sex and the safety of others. This is such a harmful position to be in; no one should solely be viewed as just that. We all are more than what is expected of us or seen in public, and people should have the freedom to express themselves and provide consenting services to other consenting adults. I have always had a strong passion to uphold social issues that impact marginalized communities that I too am part of. I started to listen and share space with a variety of different kinds of people who are connected to sex work, and I was taken back by the amount of strength and humanity there is in sex work. Therefore, sex worker rights are incredibly powerful to me. There’s power in intentional intimacy and trauma-informed care, and sex work is part of that.” 

Tranisha with her colleagues from BABES Network – YWCA in Seattle

Tranisha has also been a part of several youth-driven advocacy campaigns. “Youth are so incredibly resilient and empowering, and as adults, we should uplift and encourage their power,” she explained. “It’s not only important to have and support youth visibility in movements, but it’s important to understand that when youth rise up, amazing things happen for them and everyone else.”

So what’s next for Tranisha? “Just a few months ago, I moved to New Orleans from Seattle to pursue my calling in the South, so I’ve been taking this time to practice my spirituality again and rejuvenate while still working on placing both of my feet onto the ground. With that said, I am happier here than I’ve been in a long time, and I am grateful for the continued support of my friends and family during this transition in these unpredictable times. So what’s next is that I am just open to any and all new experiences and opportunities–even if it’s completely different.”

We look forward to working, growing, and advocating with her for many years to come!