brin nesryn

experience

#IAMVANESSAGUILLÉN
founded by Karina Lopez (she/her)

brin is a survivor of Military Sexual Trauma (MST), one of three plaintiffs in the case United States v. Zier, U.S. Department of Defense whistleblower in collaboration with Protect Our Defenders (POD), and a dis/abled veteran living with complex Post-Traumatic Stress (cPTS), chronic pain, and Long COVID. They contribute to initiatives for military justice reform and disclose structural patterns of abuse, corruption, manipulation, retaliation, harassment, and sexual assault within and beyond the Armed Forces. Inspired by the #IAmVanessaGuillén movement, founded by Karina Lopez to confront the concealed sexual violence against Latina military women, and the #MeToo movement, founded by Tarana Burke to interrupt systemic harm perpetuated against Black women and girls—these efforts challenge deeply embedded cultural norms of racism, cisheterosexism, and collective complicity to state-sanctioned gender-based violence (GBV) and intersectional institutionalized marginalization.

COMBAT BROADCAST JOURNALIST
United States Air Force

Public Affairs shapes public U.S. military image by building relationships with local communities and managing networks of international media outlets. Broadcast journalists document multimedia of aerial, ground, sea un/classified missions to “strategically communicate” via social media, radio, and television production.

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
Medical University of South Carolina

Communications Coordinators support human resource initiatives, highlight divisional programs, and relay institutional messaging and services through email distribution, graphic design, website development, and brand management. Additionally, they produce and archive imagery for historical documentation.

CERTIFIED NURSING ASSISTANT
Good Samaritan Society

CNAs support medical staff with hands-on care in treating clients with illnesses, injuries, and disabilities. They are directly responsible for patient hygiene, nutrition intake, therapeutic activities, sanitation, transportation, vitals assessment, chart documentation, and follow strict federal laws on professional ethics and privacy.

FeMo Conference 2025 presentation by brin nesryn (they/them), College of Charleston, South Carolina.
Militarism is an anthropology term conceptualized as a system of political, economic, and social philosophies that prioritize and glorify the aggressive use and expansion of state violence to further government and corporate interests — think culture
The military-industrial complex is the relationship between a country’s military and the ‘defense’ industry that supplies it, which influences public policy, networks of lobbyists, and institutions involved in weapons manufacturing and military technologies — think structures
A not-so-fun fact: 43% of global arms exports are from the united states, making us the largest arms dealer on earth since 1950. That statistic jumps to 61% if you look at 2020 to present day.
This comes at great ecological impacts. Our 700+ bases have a carbon footprint larger than any other institution internationally. Yet, the united states has not been mandated to disclose its exact military greenhouse gas emissions since our united nations exemption in 1997.
Militarization is a criminology term that refers to the process by which law enforcement agencies increasingly acquire and use military-grade equipment, tactics, and training in their operations.
The following are experiences of dis/abled troops, each part of different u.s.-involved conflicts. I have redacted the nations in hopes we’ll be able to identify patterns.
If you’re wondering why I’m speaking about militarism at FeMo, I’d encourage you to read bell hooks’ work about the military-industrial complex. I’d also say we need to get more familiar with our history… “Black soldiers recognized the irony that they were fighting for a democracy they did not experience.” Upon return from Vietnam, they were systemically denied use of VA housing assistance programs and their GI Bill education benefits. We can apply this historical wisdom to contextualize the present… Like transgender veterans who enlisted under the premise of a federal contractual obligation to receive inclusive healthcare upon completion of their military commitments, yet are now being denied access to that care, retroactively, after serving.
And if you’re like, okay, but what does this have to do with me? I would say we all do the work of the oppressor in behaviors as subtle and overt as our language. One of the harshest adjustments to civilian life is how often I’m still exposed to military rhetoric… For example, the academic use of deadline originates from Confederate prisoner-of-war camp fences in Andersonville, Georgia, where Union soldiers who crossed the ‘line’ were shot. If our words can be subconsciously influenced, imagine what else… When our nervous systems are pressured to make major life or career decisions based on assertions of scarcity or chronic fear as opposed to our values, we begin to lose our selves and each other. Our solidarity must begin to reckon with the risks we are taking by not taking risks.
As someone who was literally trained by the empire to kill
Then taught to strategically document this violence in a positive light
And market such lies to the American people to make our mass murder digestible, even heroic…
I am begging us to stop anesthetizing our dissonance, our futures, and our responsibilities to resist. I am not asking for you to share my anti-war politics, but I am asking you to stop thanking me for my service, and instead, join veterans in protest declaring the only pro-troop is antimilitarism. This picture haunts me. Y’all, really look at that smile. I was so desperate to embody my masculinity that I joined the military. How I wish I had the language, community, awareness, and accountability at the time to just be trans. Thankfully, I do now. To my CofC queer and trans community – I am sorry we have been betrayed, but I want you to know I will love you out loud, unashamed and unwavering, every day. I frickin adore you and I am still with you.
This presentation is dedicated to the 157 Palestinian journalists who have been killed, and to name the despicable failure of international law that requires all combatants to safeguard correspondents. I live with each and all of you in this horrifying truth. Thank you.