Transgender School - Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families, A Panel Discussion, Part 2 of 2

Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families, A Panel Discussion, Part 2 of 2

09/05/23 • 46 min

"When I told my lesbian love that I was transitioning, she sat with me for four hours, and I said, I don't know what this means for us. Because I didn't know any families who looked like us, any couples who were a trans man with a lesbian. I found out later that there's a lot of us."

In today's episode, you’ll get to hear the second half of our very special conversation with Peggy Gillespie, author of "Authentic Selves," and with Lana, Ted, Joseph, Tamira, and Christian, who shared their stories in Peggy's book.

In this second part of our conversation, you'll learn about Christian, a suburban trans man, who was always told that it’s not okay to be out. He now embraces infinite, unconditional love, which he uses to teach his kids not to be ashamed of who they are or who their family is. You'll also hear about Joseph, a trans man, and his wife Tamira and their experiences parenting a trans kid.

Additionally, we talk about couples that stay together after one of them transitions, Peggy talks about the importance of sharing her book and promoting these discussions, and much more.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

A bit about Christian's background and upbringing story (3:20)
Christian's coming out story (9:20)
The scary trans person the media warned you about (13:40)
About couples that stay together after one of them transitions (18:10)
How is it to be a Queer mom of a trans kid (25:40)
How Peggy's book humanizes trans and nonbinary people (27:20)
A bit about how Peggy's non-profit works (34:00)

Resources:

Book: Peggy Gillespie - Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families
Family Diversity Projects: a non-profit organization with award-winning traveling photo-text exhibits, co-founded by Peggy Gillespie and Gigi Kaeser

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Additionally, we talk about couples that stay together after one of them transitions, Peggy talks about the importance of sharing her book and promoting these discussions, and much more.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

A bit about Christian's background and upbringing story (3:20)
Christian's coming out story (9:20)
The scary trans person the media warned you about (13:40)
About couples that stay together after one of them transitions (18:10)
How is it to be a Queer mom of a trans kid (25:40)
How Peggy's book humanizes trans and nonbinary people (27:20)
A bit about how Peggy's non-profit works (34:00)

Resources:

Book: Peggy Gillespie - Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families
Family Diversity Projects: a non-profit organization with award-winning traveling photo-text exhibits, co-founded by Peggy Gillespie and Gigi Kaeser

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families, A Panel Discussion, Part 1 of 2

"I want other parents to know that it could be a life-or-death decision if you don't handle it right. Love your child. Carry the same love you had when they first came out of the womb, and you first saw them."

In today's special episode, we’re joined by Peggy Gillespie, author of "Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families." Peggy's book, with a foreword by Jazz and Jeanette Jennings, depicts life stories and portraits of transgender and nonbinary people and their families. We get to know some of the stories in "Authentic Selves" first-hand since we are joined by Lana, Ted, Joseph and Tamira, and Christian, who are featured in the book and also in the award-winning traveling exhibits that Peggy organizes through Family Diversity Projects.

In this first part of our two-part series panel discussion, you'll learn more about Peggy's background and motivation for developing her beautiful works of art, not only for the trans and nonbinary community but for society as a whole. You'll hear a little of Lana’s story and her struggles coming out as a transgender woman within her Caribbean-American culture, and you'll enjoy meeting Ted and hearing about his wonderful rainbow family.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

About Peggy's background and how this extraordinary project was born (3:40)
The importance of starting meaningful discussions with our children (9:50)
A short introduction to the panel's guests and their stories (13:10)
Lana shares her experiences coming out as a transgender woman (24:20)
The moment Ted realized his assigned gender wasn't aligned with who he was (32:00)
About a rainbow family with three dads (35:50)

Resources:

Book: Peggy Gillespie - Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families
Family Diversity Projects: a non-profit organization with award-winning traveling photo-text exhibits, co-founded by Peggy Gillespie and Gigi Kaeser

Connect with Jackie and Bridget:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Support for LGBTQ+ College Students with Whitney Workman, Manager of the CSUN Pride Center

College students should be able to focus on their education without having to spend time and energy battling for fundamental rights like being addressed by their correct pronouns or having their gender expression acknowledged. This is one of the many reasons that Pride Centers at universities are essential.

In this episode, we were so happy to be joined by Whitney Workman (fae/they), Manager of the California State University, Northridge Pride Center. We talk about faer work with LGBTQ+ students, the holistic view of the Pride Center at CSUN, their thoughts on the best ways of spreading awareness of LGBTQ+ issues on college campuses and more.

A trailblazer in faer teen years, as the second person in their high school to come out, Whitney immediately recognized the needs in the Queer community and hasn't stopped working to improve lives and create safe spaces for students in their early stages of transition or exploring their own sexuality and gender.

Throughout this episode, you'll hear about Whitney's journey from being an organizer at feminist organizations and working with reproductive justice to making it to the CSUN Pride Center. Fae then provides a detailed list of the Center's services, how it supports LGBTQ+ college students, and how to learn about their services and programs. We also discuss the best ways of spreading LGBTQ+ awareness, free speech, hate speech, censorship, and much more.

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

A bit about Whitney and their background before becoming the manager of the CSUN Pride Center (2:20)
What kind of support LGBTQ+ students will find at the Pride Center (18:30)
Who should have access to students' legal names (23:30)
Why the CSUN Pride Center is crucial for LGBTQ+ students (33:40)
Whitney shares faer thoughts on the best ways of spreading awareness (42:40)
Safety tips the Pride Center offers to LGBTQ+ students (54:40)
Don't trust the Campus Pride Index, go to a college’s LGBTQ+ Center website to see what they offer (1:02:50)

Connect with CSUN Pride Center: