[Music]
you
when I was in elementary school I
insisted to my family that I was a
tomboy to which I got the response
you’re the girliest girl in the family
but I’ll tell you right now
that is completely untrue I’m the
girliest boy in the family
I’m genderqueer I’m somewhere between
two genders and no gender at all which
confuses a lot of people and I get that
but this confusion removes many of the
assumptions people can make about me
you can’t label the box if you’re not
sure which box I go in to begin with
being genderqueer for me means that I’m
transgender my gender does not align
with societal expectations of my sex
assigned at Birth one could even say
that it transcends it unfortunately it
also means that I am up against the
widely supported statistics that say
that 40% of trans people commit suicide
or attempt attempt suicide compare that
to the national average of half of 1% in
addition the likelihood that will be
murdered increases every year which
rings even more true for women of color
between these stats according to NPR I’m
not likely to live past the age of 30
for reference
I’m almost 26 and four years is not
enough I refuse to accept that I might
only have four years left
which is exactly why I’m in the field of
education following alongside my
father’s footsteps he is such an
inspiration to me as a kind and
determined human being and I would be
lucky to end up half a man he is of
course being genderqueer I might
literally be half the man he has
this subject can be hard for me to talk
about so four more years I refuse to
accept that and that’s not even the fear
that media outlets sensationalize they
like to talk about surgery and bathrooms
and completely skip over the problems
that should actually matter to the
general public like the stats from UCLA
which tell us that 10% of the population
is lesbian gay bisexual or transgender
commonly referred to as LGBT and even
though only 10% of the population is
LGBT 40% of homeless youth are LGBT to
give you an idea of what that looks like
if this audience was comprised of
homeless youth everyone to my left would
be LGBT that’s not okay the best part of
being an education for me is that is a
faith that students have in me I have
students who come in regularly looking
for advice resources even just someone
who’s willing to listen without judgment
I have one student who comes in once or
twice a week who came in one day sat me
down and was the subtle confidence said
I think I’m a girl it’s not that
anything anyone says the mean of my
students say shocks me at this point but
the idea that someone is trusting you
this is an aspect of their identity
especially a marginalized one never gets
old and that’s why I do what I do I get
to be part of this story I get to be
representation for them where I have
none I still look at my job and my
school and my state and see hardly
anyone like me and in some aspects I see
no one like me so if I’m going to make
it past four more years
am I going to change myself
fit this world where am I going to
convince the world to love me exactly as
I am that I’m worthy of that love that
I’m worthy of human rights can I be
representation for the underrepresented
so what can we do what would you say if
your father your sister your child if
one of those people came out to you if
one of those people told told you that
they are that they are gay that they are
transgender would you be shot would you
be silent will you believe them would
you reject them or could you take this
opportunity to learn more about their
identity to love them to accept them to
validate them and take the time to learn
more much of the confusion
misunderstanding and rejection of LGBT
people comes from a lack of education so
I invite you to educate yourself go to
an LGBT sensitivity training do online
research websites like The Trevor
Project there where you can find
resources on how to respect a
transgender persons pronouns like he she
or they what to do when someone comes
out to you how to address a name change
and more the only thing standing in the
way of true equity is education which is
within your grasp you can stand out and
speak out against injustice
you can vote with me in mind you can
even change my life expectancy thank you
[Applause]
you
when I was in elementary school I
insisted to my family that I was a
tomboy to which I got the response
you’re the girliest girl in the family
but I’ll tell you right now
that is completely untrue I’m the
girliest boy in the family
I’m genderqueer I’m somewhere between
two genders and no gender at all which
confuses a lot of people and I get that
but this confusion removes many of the
assumptions people can make about me
you can’t label the box if you’re not
sure which box I go in to begin with
being genderqueer for me means that I’m
transgender my gender does not align
with societal expectations of my sex
assigned at Birth one could even say
that it transcends it unfortunately it
also means that I am up against the
widely supported statistics that say
that 40% of trans people commit suicide
or attempt attempt suicide compare that
to the national average of half of 1% in
addition the likelihood that will be
murdered increases every year which
rings even more true for women of color
between these stats according to NPR I’m
not likely to live past the age of 30
for reference
I’m almost 26 and four years is not
enough I refuse to accept that I might
only have four years left
which is exactly why I’m in the field of
education following alongside my
father’s footsteps he is such an
inspiration to me as a kind and
determined human being and I would be
lucky to end up half a man he is of
course being genderqueer I might
literally be half the man he has
this subject can be hard for me to talk
about so four more years I refuse to
accept that and that’s not even the fear
that media outlets sensationalize they
like to talk about surgery and bathrooms
and completely skip over the problems
that should actually matter to the
general public like the stats from UCLA
which tell us that 10% of the population
is lesbian gay bisexual or transgender
commonly referred to as LGBT and even
though only 10% of the population is
LGBT 40% of homeless youth are LGBT to
give you an idea of what that looks like
if this audience was comprised of
homeless youth everyone to my left would
be LGBT that’s not okay the best part of
being an education for me is that is a
faith that students have in me I have
students who come in regularly looking
for advice resources even just someone
who’s willing to listen without judgment
I have one student who comes in once or
twice a week who came in one day sat me
down and was the subtle confidence said
I think I’m a girl it’s not that
anything anyone says the mean of my
students say shocks me at this point but
the idea that someone is trusting you
this is an aspect of their identity
especially a marginalized one never gets
old and that’s why I do what I do I get
to be part of this story I get to be
representation for them where I have
none I still look at my job and my
school and my state and see hardly
anyone like me and in some aspects I see
no one like me so if I’m going to make
it past four more years
am I going to change myself
fit this world where am I going to
convince the world to love me exactly as
I am that I’m worthy of that love that
I’m worthy of human rights can I be
representation for the underrepresented
so what can we do what would you say if
your father your sister your child if
one of those people came out to you if
one of those people told told you that
they are that they are gay that they are
transgender would you be shot would you
be silent will you believe them would
you reject them or could you take this
opportunity to learn more about their
identity to love them to accept them to
validate them and take the time to learn
more much of the confusion
misunderstanding and rejection of LGBT
people comes from a lack of education so
I invite you to educate yourself go to
an LGBT sensitivity training do online
research websites like The Trevor
Project there where you can find
resources on how to respect a
transgender persons pronouns like he she
or they what to do when someone comes
out to you how to address a name change
and more the only thing standing in the
way of true equity is education which is
within your grasp you can stand out and
speak out against injustice
you can vote with me in mind you can
even change my life expectancy thank you
[Applause]
Please follow and like us: