Janet Mock on self-actualization and Redefining Realness

Writer and advocate Janet Mock speaks about her journey to becoming the woman she is today, as chronicled in her new memoir Redefining Realness, and gives advice on what journalists can do better when covering transgender issues in the media. 

The former staff editor of People Magazine discusses her experience in journalism and storytelling and why the media industry must be careful about the way they define people. Mock, who is currently touring for the book, describes that the memoir is "about self-actualization, about love, about revealing your true self." 

She joins guest host Piya Chattopadhyay from New York. 

Nobody's going to save you 

During the interview, Mock referenced the following lines from Gloria E. Anzaldúa:

"Nobody's going to save you. No one's going to cut you down, cut the thorns thick around you. No one's going to storm the castle walls nor kiss awake your birth, climb down your hair, nor mount you onto the white steed. There is no one who will feed the yearning. Face it. You will have to do, do it yourself."

"I learned that if I wanted anything in life, I was going to have to go out there and get it myself," said Mock, who explains that although it's important to seek out support communities, one must ultimately fuel one's own journey with a sense of resolve.