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Speaker 1: School of Humans.

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Speaker 2: This is Queer Chronicles.

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Speaker 3: This is my personal entry, Queen, this.

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Speaker 2: Is Queer Chronicles.

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Speaker 4: Adults often assume that the next generation will automatically have

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Speaker 4: easier lives. I know I did, especially as a queer

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Speaker 4: trans woman who grew up in the late nineties and

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Speaker 4: early two thousands. I mean, it's undeniable that our culture

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Speaker 4: has shifted in the last two decades. Sis gender queer

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Speaker 4: people started popping up more in the media. Then trans

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Speaker 4: folks started popping up more in the media. Marriage equality

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Speaker 4: became a thing, and it seemed like today's youth had

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Speaker 4: the space to discover who they are and that our

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Speaker 4: country had finally caught up to the power of queerness.

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Speaker 4: But within the last few years, something else shifted. Conservative

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Speaker 4: politicians started carrying out a plan to silence and stifle us,

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Speaker 4: and their political backlash to our progress gained ground.

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Speaker 5: There will be a new law in Arkansas banning doctors

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Speaker 5: from treating any children going through any transitioning procedures or treatment.

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Speaker 2: Republicans have now passed a bill that would ban transgender

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Speaker 2: girls from competing in female athletics.

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Speaker 6: Look where Kentucky lawmakers have overridden the veto of a

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Speaker 6: bill regulating access to gender transition care. The bill would

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Speaker 6: ban access to certain surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy

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Speaker 6: for anyone under eighteen. It also restricts.

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Speaker 4: Which as you can hear, there's nothing easy about being young,

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Speaker 4: queer and trans right now.

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Speaker 1: Sure, there's been.

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Speaker 4: Progress, but it's clear that the ignorance, bullying, and violence

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Speaker 4: never fully went away. Now it's just being bolstered by

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Speaker 4: these louder and stronger threats to our existence. Since the

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Speaker 4: start of our production on Queer Chronicles, we have believed

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Speaker 4: that one of the greatest remedies to ignorance about our

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Speaker 4: community is authentic storytelling. Then, just weeks before we were

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Speaker 4: set to launch, a story emerged that we couldn't ignore,

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Speaker 4: and it was a stark reminder of the realities for

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Speaker 4: trans and queer youth across the country and why we

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Speaker 4: wanted to make this show. Recently, the death of Next Benedict,

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Speaker 4: a sixteen year old teen from Oaso, Oklahoma, rocked the world.

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Speaker 1: Next use he.

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Speaker 4: Him and they then pronouns, and has been identified as

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Speaker 4: non binary and transgender. According to loved Ones. Next has

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Speaker 4: also been remembered as being fiery and a talented artist.

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Speaker 4: He had a full life like any other young person.

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Speaker 1: He had a.

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Speaker 4: Family, friends, hobbies, and a future, but it was all

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Speaker 4: whisked away. The details surrounding Nexu's death are complicated, but

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Speaker 4: we know there was bullying, violence, and someone died far

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Speaker 4: too young. Amid the heaviness of collective grief, Nexu's death

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Speaker 4: has reverberated throughout the US, inspiring countless vigils, and it's

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Speaker 4: shone a light on the experiences of queer and trans

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Speaker 4: youth in this moment. We hope this show can help

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Speaker 4: illuminate their inherent power. This season will do this in

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Speaker 4: honor of Next Benedict In all of the queer and

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Speaker 4: trans youth who deserve safety to speak their truths boldly

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Speaker 4: and unapologetically, and to express themselves fully and freely. So

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Speaker 4: let's get into it, y'all. From School of Humans, The

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Speaker 4: Outspoken Podcast Network, and iHeart Podcasts, This is Queer Chronicles,

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Speaker 4: a show where queer folks document their personal lives and

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Speaker 4: experiences in their own words, and I'm your host, Raquel Willis.

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Speaker 4: This season, we asked a group of thirteen to nineteen

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Speaker 4: year olds across the country to record voice memo diaries

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Speaker 4: over the course of eight weeks, they shared their perspectives

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Speaker 4: growing up as queer, trans, and gender not conforming while

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Speaker 4: living in mostly Red States. We also interviewed them and

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Speaker 4: held roundtable discussions so they could dig deeper, and throughout

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Speaker 4: this season we'll get to know their dreams, fears, and interests,

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Speaker 4: meet those closest to them, and step into their inner worlds.

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Speaker 4: In our first episode, let's dive into what self expression

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Speaker 4: means to our teens. But first let's back up. Let

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Speaker 4: me share a little bit more about who I am

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Speaker 4: and my role here. Clearly, I'm your host, but I'm

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Speaker 4: also a journalist and activist who spent years elevating the

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Speaker 4: experiences of queer and trans folks and media, and as

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Speaker 4: you can imagine, I have a pretty queer life myself.

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Speaker 4: I'm a black trans woman from the South Georgia specifically,

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Speaker 4: and I'm constantly inspired by how ferociously the next generation

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Speaker 4: of queer and trans folks express themselves.

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Speaker 7: Self expression is one of the ways that shows people

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Speaker 7: that I am who I am. If I wasn't able

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Speaker 7: to express what it was through the things I put

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Speaker 7: on my body and face, and I wouldn't stand out

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Speaker 7: in the ways that I want to.

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Speaker 4: For some people, self expression is about wearing that outfit that.

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Speaker 1: Makes them feel comfortable in their skin.

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Speaker 4: For others, it's something like art or sports or sharing

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Speaker 4: this new song that just blew their mind.

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Speaker 8: I think I just have a really strong relationship with

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Speaker 8: my hair because it's like the intersection of like my

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Speaker 8: gender but also my race.

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Speaker 4: Self expression can also be that thing that makes you

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Speaker 4: feel whole when you're all alone, like journaling to process

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Speaker 4: your feelings.

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Speaker 1: Whatever that is for you, you know it when you feel it.

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Speaker 9: I've got to the point where I'm just like, why

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Speaker 9: don't I just exist?

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Speaker 10: You know?

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Speaker 9: And that's something that has been really important to me recently.

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Speaker 9: Is just like letting myself exist as I am without

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Speaker 9: trying to force it in any way.

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Speaker 4: Today you'll meet some of our incredible teens, starting with Sully.

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Speaker 7: Being too spirited is not just my personality who I am.

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Speaker 7: Being masculine and feminine is who I am. I'm not

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Speaker 7: going to grow out of it and mature into something different.

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Speaker 7: It's always going to be who I am.

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Speaker 4: Sully is eighteen and lives in Montana. He has an

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Speaker 4: enviable beard and long flowing hair. Sully is two spirit,

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Speaker 4: which is an Indigenous term used to describe someone who

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Speaker 4: embodies gender in a beautifully expansive way. In most tribes,

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Speaker 4: these folks historically weren't considered men or women, but belong

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Speaker 4: to another distinct gender identity all together.

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Speaker 7: I don't always wear things like high heels or off

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Speaker 7: the shoulder tops, because not everyday calls for it. Some

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Speaker 7: days I just feel like covering my body and pretending

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Speaker 7: I'm a blob underneath my big sweaters. But yeah, especially

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Speaker 7: myself through my clothes. I could do it through many

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Speaker 7: forms of clothing, through different pants. I wear skirts, shoes, tops, accessories.

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Speaker 7: I like being the odd one out. I like when

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Speaker 7: people look and stare at me and wonder why does

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Speaker 7: he do that, or he looks that way, or he

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Speaker 7: goes out of publicity like that, Because I do, I'm

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Speaker 7: not afraid to have feminine features along with the full beard.

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Speaker 4: Standing out from the crowd is important to Sally, and

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Speaker 4: it matters to plenty of other queer folks too. But

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Speaker 4: to keep it real, many of us aren't always in

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Speaker 4: spaces that appreciate, much less celebrate, our differences, and Sully

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Speaker 4: School felt entirely too restrictive for him.

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Speaker 7: Started out with small things like my makeup was a

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Speaker 7: little too dramatic, or oh, your earrings are too long,

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Speaker 7: little nitpicky things that didn't make sense.

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Speaker 4: Then those tiny things grew into a bigger issue, and

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Speaker 4: Sully was constantly reprimanded for not following dress code. Back

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Speaker 4: in twenty twenty two, his school was celebrating Red Ribbon Week,

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Speaker 4: a collection of events that encouraged students to live drug

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Speaker 4: and alcohol free lives. One day, students were allowed to

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Speaker 4: dress up in themed outfits to celebrate his native American culture,

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Speaker 4: specifically his crow heritage. Sully wore a traditional ribbon skirt.

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Speaker 4: It was pale, pink, green and blue, and the coolest

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Speaker 4: thing about it his mama made it. Unfortunately, it didn't

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Speaker 4: take long before he was called into the principal's office.

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Speaker 7: She's like, still, you're a boy, you can't wear a skirt.

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Speaker 7: And I'm like, who says just the whole I'm a

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Speaker 7: guy and I need to be more masculine talk and

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Speaker 7: how what I do isn't write. I told my principle like,

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Speaker 7: I'm too spirit I have the right to dress the

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Speaker 7: way I want like this, It's part of my culture.

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Speaker 7: And she goes, you can't pull that card on me, Solomon.

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Speaker 7: I've read about two spirits and they have to follow

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Speaker 7: the institution that they're at, so you have to follow

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Speaker 7: what we were telling you, And I'm like, that's not right.

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Speaker 4: So you should know that Sully was attending a private

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Speaker 4: Catholic school with a policy requiring students appearance and pronouns

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Speaker 4: to be in accordance to their biological sex. This was

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Speaker 4: implemented after Sally had enrolled. More often than not, dress

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Speaker 4: codes and posed in schools can lead to a discriminatory

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Speaker 4: environment for queer students, and of course we can't deny

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Speaker 4: the impact of colonization on certain standards. All of those

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Speaker 4: expectations led to judgment and isolation, and they weighed heavily

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Speaker 4: on Sally.

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Speaker 7: I'm not gonna lie to take a little toll on

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Speaker 7: my mental health to realize that the things I said

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Speaker 7: might be true because they never directly said it, but

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Speaker 7: I always got the feeling that they were always thinking

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Speaker 7: the way you dress is never going to get you

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Speaker 7: anywhere in life, and that the way you act, you're

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Speaker 7: always going to be littler than people who are normal.

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Speaker 7: And I always thought, maybe they're right, Maybe I have

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Speaker 7: to change myself to fit into society. Maybe I'll never

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Speaker 7: get the job I want if I act the way

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Speaker 7: I am, or maybe I'll never find the person that

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Speaker 7: I truly love if I'm not who I am. They

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Speaker 7: think that I'm doing it just to grab attention on

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Speaker 7: other people, when it's to feel free. It's more than

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Speaker 7: just oh, I look really cute today. It's I feel

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Speaker 7: great wearing these clothes because they make me feel nice

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Speaker 7: about myself.

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Speaker 4: The skirt incident, Sully was suspended for a week. A

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Speaker 4: little while later, he got in trouble again for wearing

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Speaker 4: high hill boots, and after months of feeling targeted by

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Speaker 4: the school staff, Sully had enough, and this time his

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Speaker 4: mom decided to unenroll him. He now attends a public

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Speaker 4: high school that's more affirming, and despite those earlier obstacles,

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Speaker 4: Sully remains optimistic. He's not changing who he is for

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Speaker 4: a school dress code or for anyone.

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Speaker 6: I know.

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Speaker 1: That's right.

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Speaker 7: I'm glad I stick out through through self expression because

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Speaker 7: I don't want to blend in. I had to do

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Speaker 7: that so much going through high school that now how

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Speaker 7: that I have the chance to explode my wardrobe and

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Speaker 7: everything else about me going to because now I have

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Speaker 7: that option, I'm gonna take advantage. I'm not gonna miss

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Speaker 7: the opportunity to do that because of what makes me happy.

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Speaker 7: You know, what makes me feel comfortable in my own body. Yep,

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Speaker 7: thanks for my ted talk.

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Speaker 4: We'll hear from some of our other teens about what

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Speaker 4: they're doing to express themselves.

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Speaker 1: After the break.

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Speaker 7: Hello, I'm at least I am frank.

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Speaker 4: In the summer of twenty twenty three, we had the

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Speaker 4: opportunity to hang out with Libby, a thirteen year old

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Speaker 4: from Texas, and her family. You just heard our producer

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Speaker 4: at Elise meeting Libby's dad and petting her dogs. Libby

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Speaker 4: led us in on her idea of a perfect day,

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Speaker 4: which involved some serious thrifting, munching on dumplings, and sipping

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Speaker 4: boba teeth. Prepare to be a tad bit jealous because

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Speaker 4: we even got a chance to take a peek inside

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Speaker 4: Libby's closet to check out all of her favorite things.

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Speaker 2: I wore this to the Taylor Swift concerts. Oh sure,

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Speaker 2: skeleton's on it playing music? Yeah, or they're just wearing

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Speaker 2: cowboy hats and every mine.

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Speaker 1: That's Libby.

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Speaker 4: One of the first things you might notice about her

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Speaker 4: is that she loves a good black eyeliner. But one

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Speaker 4: crucial aspect of her intersectional identity is that she's a

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Speaker 4: swifty Oh yeah, Taylor's that's her girl, and just like

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Speaker 4: her fave, she has big dreams for her future. She

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Speaker 4: wants to be a fashion designer, which makes sense because

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Speaker 4: Libby already has an iconic sense of style.

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Speaker 2: So it's like a it's a black sweater or like

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Speaker 2: sweater best and then a white buttoned down shirt with jeans.

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Speaker 4: But the statement piece is a clock purse with a

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Speaker 4: vintage flare, which is exactly what it sounds like, a

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Speaker 4: huge round purse with a real clock on it. Libby

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Speaker 4: loves it and quiet as it's kept. It could steal

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Speaker 4: attention on any runway.

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Speaker 2: I got so many complements on this purse step for

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Speaker 2: run Fair, and I was like, my mom's like, don't

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Speaker 2: tell them you got it on Amazon, and I was like,

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Speaker 2: I did a kitten weather making class.

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Speaker 7: Good to know I can get it on Amazon.

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Speaker 2: Can't get it to move like I put a battery

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Speaker 2: and everything here. It's only going to be right twice

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Speaker 2: a day.

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Speaker 4: A lot of our teens, like Sally and Libby, talk

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Speaker 4: about personal style being central to their expression, and it

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Speaker 4: makes a lot of sense. The right clothes can do

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Speaker 4: so much for your self confidence and help you feel

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Speaker 4: safer and braver. But on top of finding clothes that

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Speaker 4: make her feel more herself, Libby does a little bit more,

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Speaker 4: or maybe a lot more. She makes the clothes she

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Speaker 4: wants to see.

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Speaker 2: I really like sewing. I have made many things for myself.

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Speaker 2: I've made my entire family a bunch of stockings, I've

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Speaker 2: made my sister some dresses and skirts, and I've made

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Speaker 2: myself a teddy bear. But I especially love that fashion

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Speaker 2: gives us the ability to personalize our own style and

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Speaker 2: show the world who we are. I really want to

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Speaker 2: be one of those like very big like designers like

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Speaker 2: Gucci or like Christian Dior.

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Speaker 4: Beyond a love of fashion, Libby has been involved in

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Speaker 4: activism with her family since she was seven years old.

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Speaker 4: In fact, in twenty seventeen, they made a splash when

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Speaker 4: they went to testify at the state capitol against the

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Speaker 4: bathroom bill that would have banned trans folks from using

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Speaker 4: public restrooms that affirmed their gender identity. It was the

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Speaker 4: first of many fights against a hateful conservative agenda. Here's

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Speaker 4: a clip of speaking at the Texas House of Representatives

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Speaker 4: in twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 3: Hi, my name is Libby, and I represent myself and

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Speaker 3: I oppose to HB twenty five. The first time I

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Speaker 3: sat in one of these rooms to ask you to

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Speaker 3: stop attacking me, I was six.

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Speaker 2: Now I'm eleven.

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Speaker 3: I had to miss school again to come here and

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Speaker 3: ask you to just let me be a kid. Stop

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Speaker 3: attacking trans kids.

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Speaker 1: Now that's what I call power.

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Speaker 4: It's been a couple of years since that recording, but

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Speaker 4: Libby still goes to testify at the Capitol and always

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Speaker 4: owns the mic and the adults sho's up against.

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Speaker 2: I have been advocating for other trans kids, for myself

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Speaker 2: and other trans kids for more than half of my life.

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Speaker 2: I find advocacy empowering, but it's also honestly really hard.

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Speaker 2: I feel like no kid should ever have to do this.

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Speaker 2: I also know, oh nothing will change if those of

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Speaker 2: us who do have safety in our lives stay silent.

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Speaker 2: So I made a decision to keep showing up as

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Speaker 2: long as I can.

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Speaker 4: But at her core, Lippy is still a teen with

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Speaker 4: endless ambition. Hearing her go from talking about social justice

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Speaker 4: to hopes of being a designer one day is just

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Speaker 4: so incredible. Her goals are layered, and I hope she

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Speaker 4: carries on with that exuberant spirit and sticks with whatever

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Speaker 4: feels right to her.

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Speaker 2: It's super scary to face a bunch of legislators you

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Speaker 2: don't know anything about you at all. But it's also

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Speaker 2: super scary to sit back and watch them try to

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Speaker 2: just legislate us out of existence. So I keep showing up.

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Speaker 2: We will always exist and we will definitely not look

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Speaker 2: take away a joy no matter how hard they try.

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Speaker 9: I have gotten to the point where I'm really happy

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Speaker 9: with myself as a person generally speaking, because I don't

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Speaker 9: like having like a name.

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Speaker 7: For example.

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Speaker 9: That's something that is something that I've just recently realized

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Speaker 9: that feels weird to me. Is like names for myself.

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Speaker 4: It has entered the chat and it is a nineteen

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Speaker 4: year old living in Arizona. The best way I can

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Speaker 4: categorize it is as a free spirit.

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Speaker 1: And you may have noticed, but it going.

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Speaker 4: By It says a lot when gender constructs and pronouns

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Speaker 4: like he, she, and they failed it. The decision of

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Speaker 4: what to go by came into focus.

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Speaker 9: I've gone through forty plus names, mostly online. You know,

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Speaker 9: trying to figure out what name feels right, and every

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Speaker 9: time it just felt wrong. And I realized recently that

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Speaker 9: like what if I just didn't have one? And I

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Speaker 9: had already been using its pronouns exclusively for a little while.

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Speaker 4: For trans folks, deciding on a name can be a

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Speaker 4: major decision, and not to make it about me right now.

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Speaker 4: But when I was a drag performer in college.

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Speaker 1: I went by Rebel.

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Speaker 4: The persona was like a mix of Roxy Heart from

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Speaker 4: Chicago and Angel and Me me from Rent with a

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Speaker 4: dash of Rihanna. But my drag name didn't feel like

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Speaker 4: the one for my true self as a trans woman,

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Speaker 4: and I did the same thing it did, wrote a

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Speaker 4: bunch of names down and read them over and over

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Speaker 4: until I found one that felt.

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Speaker 1: Right Rock hel Rock hel Yep that felt like me.

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Speaker 9: And I was like, I might as well just say

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Speaker 9: my name is it and I use it it's pronouns, And

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Speaker 9: that has made me feel like more close to myself.

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Speaker 9: I think that I exist outside of identity.

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Speaker 4: I love what it says about existing outside of identity

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Speaker 4: because we're all disrupting something in our own way. Its

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Speaker 4: name journey is reflective of its life experience too. It

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Speaker 4: has always felt in a state of flux, and this

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Speaker 4: extends to its living situation as well.

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Speaker 9: So I am currently in transitional housing. I was in

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Speaker 9: a shelter before this, and before that, I was in

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Speaker 9: a hotel, and then before that I was CouchSurfing. I

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Speaker 9: got kicked out pretty soon after I turned eighteen, and

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Speaker 9: I ended up, you know, figuring out some stuff with

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Speaker 9: like where to stay for like a week or so.

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Speaker 9: For now, I have, you know, posters on the wall, flags,

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Speaker 9: my decorations and stuff that make me feel a little

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Speaker 9: more comfortable. I don't. I have not in my life

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Speaker 9: have I ever really felt consistently at home anywhere. It's

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Speaker 9: very much a bouncing around. So it's nice to just

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Speaker 9: kind of feel like okay for a little while.

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Speaker 4: Its circumstances are unfortunately pretty common. According to an LGBCQ

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Speaker 4: youth survey by the Trevor Project, twenty eight percent of

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Speaker 4: respondents said they experienced being unhoused or having some kind

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Speaker 4: of housing instability in their lifetime. Even though it is

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Speaker 4: currently in transditional housing, there's hope of finding a permanent

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Speaker 4: place soon.

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Speaker 9: I'm hoping for the next step to be permanent assistant housing,

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Speaker 9: but I'm not sure if that's going to be completely

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Speaker 9: attainable right away. I know that the next step is

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Speaker 9: going to be a housing program of some sort, and

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Speaker 9: since I'm already in the system and everything for those

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Speaker 9: types of things, it is going to be easier for

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Speaker 9: me to find help, hopefully.

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Speaker 4: Housing instability is an additional burden for many trans teenagers

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Speaker 4: who are already grappling with understanding their queerness. Dealing with

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Speaker 4: this while living in a world that often expects conformity

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Speaker 4: can be a lot, and it tries to approach this

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Speaker 4: with a ton of grace. It is facing some incredibly

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Speaker 4: challenging and dancing odds, but it has remained resilient throughout

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Speaker 4: this journey.

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Speaker 9: Something that I'm trying to embody more because I feel

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Speaker 9: like I tend to be a pushover bad and working

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00:25:07,365 --> 00:25:11,365
Speaker 9: on trying to, you know, become a person who will

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Speaker 9: say how they feel more often than not is something

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Speaker 9: that's important to me. My identity has rapidly changed and

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Speaker 9: evolved over the past few years, and I think that's

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Speaker 9: natural because, first of all, you know, being only nineteen,

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Speaker 9: still a teenager. It's like, of course throughout you know,

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Speaker 9: going to high school and like dealing with like various

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Speaker 9: regular teenage things on top of being queer is obviously

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Speaker 9: gonna impact the way I see my identity.

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Speaker 4: Its radical approach to self expression is right there in

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Speaker 4: its name.

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Speaker 1: How beautiful is that.

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Speaker 4: It is essentially saying to the world, there are things

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Speaker 4: I know, and there are so many more that I

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Speaker 4: don't know, and that is who I am, someone who

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Speaker 4: is most comfortable leaning into that beautiful chaos instead of

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Speaker 4: away from it.

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Speaker 2: I would say that.

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Speaker 9: The things that make me feel most myself are just

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Speaker 9: kind of confusing people.

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Speaker 2: I guess.

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Speaker 9: It helps me to feel legitimate when other people are

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Speaker 9: also as confused as I am, because I think that

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Speaker 9: I'm in like a constant state of like I don't

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Speaker 9: know what's going on like with myself. So yeah, my

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Speaker 9: identity has changed quite a lot. What makes me happy,

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Speaker 9: how I present myself has changed, and I'm really happy

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Speaker 9: with where I'm at right now, and I can't see

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Speaker 9: I can't wait to see where it goes in the future.

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Speaker 1: You know, I don't know.

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Speaker 8: I guess like for me, Hair, it's just like everything.

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Speaker 4: And here's Safara. She's eighteen and is another one of

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Speaker 4: our youths who lives in Texas. She has a bright,

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Speaker 4: welcoming smile and an unshakable confidence.

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Speaker 8: I'm like a natural girl, you know, and you know,

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Speaker 8: like a natural like black woman like.

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Speaker 4: Sfar reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger.

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Speaker 4: Come to think of it, one of my first protests

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Speaker 4: as a kid was growing out my hair and avoiding

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Speaker 4: the barbershop at all costs. When I started my gender

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Speaker 4: transition around twenty, I grew my hair out again, but

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Speaker 4: this time it was in service to get a relaxer

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Speaker 4: because back then, just over a decade ago, the dominant.

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Speaker 1: Hair trend was sleek, straight hair.

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Speaker 4: Think Jennifer Annison or Jennifer Lopez. Hell, all of the Jennifers.

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Speaker 4: You got bonus points if your hair was long, and yes,

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Speaker 4: those were the ideals, even for black women.

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Speaker 8: I think I just have a really strong relationship with

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Speaker 8: my hair because it's like the intersection of like my

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Speaker 8: gender but also my race. The history that like black

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Speaker 8: hair has, especially in America, just from like the sixties,

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Speaker 8: the natural hair movement really inspired me to just like

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Speaker 8: love my natural hair and like learn how to properly

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Speaker 8: take care of it. You know, a lot of people

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Speaker 8: in the black community and like black people's long hair.

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Speaker 8: We always talk about like how we hate wash days,

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Speaker 8: but for me, I've realized that washed days are like

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Speaker 8: so sincerely cathartic, but they just like hold a lot

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Speaker 8: of emotion for me, and I've learned to like really

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Speaker 8: fall in love with my wash days.

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Speaker 4: If you have curls or coils, you know, wash days

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Speaker 4: are no joke. And no, this isn't an ad, but

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Speaker 4: I love sofar A's connection to her hair. Taking the

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Speaker 4: time to maintain and care for it is an act

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Speaker 4: of self love and reclamation.

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Speaker 1: And while we're talking.

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Speaker 4: About roots, still not an ad. Sfara's name was also

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Speaker 4: important for her and she drew inspiration from her heritage.

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Speaker 8: Sofara it means golden fire so far as like an

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Speaker 8: African name, but it's it's used in Africa sometimes and

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Speaker 8: it's just I don't know, like golden fire, like it

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00:29:59,205 --> 00:30:03,085
Speaker 8: feels like the passion burning inside of me, like change

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Speaker 8: the world, and like just I feel like it just

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Speaker 8: represents me so well and so for me, like I

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Speaker 8: think a lot of like black revolutionaries in America changed

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Speaker 8: their name Asada chaqueur, Like I just think Malcolm X.

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00:30:19,965 --> 00:30:22,445
Speaker 8: A lot of you know revolutionaries, and so for me,

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00:30:22,525 --> 00:30:24,725
Speaker 8: I wanted to like follow in that spirit of like

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Speaker 8: choosing my own name that like represented me.

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00:30:30,365 --> 00:30:34,125
Speaker 4: Can I just say, so far chose the hell out

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00:30:34,125 --> 00:30:39,485
Speaker 4: of her name. It feels singular and powerful. It's giving

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00:30:39,525 --> 00:30:45,845
Speaker 4: me all the big mononyms Darling, Madonnas and Daya Beyonce.

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00:30:47,125 --> 00:30:51,005
Speaker 4: She's a good company because she's not afraid to stand

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00:30:51,045 --> 00:30:52,885
Speaker 4: out and make herself known.

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Speaker 8: And so for anyone listening to this, I would say,

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Speaker 8: do your passion as much as possible, because it'll you apart.

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00:31:07,045 --> 00:31:11,245
Speaker 8: And especially as like a trans youth. Universities are looking

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00:31:11,285 --> 00:31:16,325
Speaker 8: for different people. They're looking for unique stories and perspectives

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00:31:16,405 --> 00:31:19,605
Speaker 8: and unique works, and so if you just do what

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00:31:19,685 --> 00:31:25,765
Speaker 8: you love, they'll see it and they'll value it. And

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Speaker 8: that's what they did with me.

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00:31:30,205 --> 00:31:34,725
Speaker 4: As a teen. Your life is constantly changing and evolving,

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00:31:35,365 --> 00:31:39,885
Speaker 4: whether that's on a physical, emotional, or social tip. You

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00:31:40,005 --> 00:31:42,925
Speaker 4: can't be expected to have it all figured out. And

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00:31:43,005 --> 00:31:47,285
Speaker 4: trust me, we adults definitely don't have it all figured out,

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00:31:48,085 --> 00:31:52,365
Speaker 4: nor did many of our ancestors and transcestors. There's one

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00:31:52,685 --> 00:31:57,205
Speaker 4: icon though, that I think about a lot, Marcia P. Johnson,

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00:31:57,805 --> 00:32:03,525
Speaker 4: an outspoken, unapologetic trans and drag pioneer who demanded her

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00:32:03,645 --> 00:32:07,725
Speaker 4: dignity along with many others during the Stonewall Riots of

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Speaker 4: June nineteen sixty nine.

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Speaker 9: Why are you here today, Darling?

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Speaker 1: I want my gay rights now.

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00:32:15,485 --> 00:32:18,445
Speaker 2: I think it's good time the gay brothers and sisters

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00:32:18,445 --> 00:32:21,845
Speaker 2: got their rights, and especially the women.

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Speaker 4: Those riots were a queer militant uprising against the brutality

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Speaker 4: of the New York Police Department. You see, during that time,

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00:32:32,445 --> 00:32:35,805
Speaker 4: you could be arrested simply for not wearing enough articles

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00:32:35,845 --> 00:32:40,005
Speaker 4: of clothing that corresponded with the gender you were assigned

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Speaker 4: at birth. But Marcia had had enough of that mistreatment. Still,

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Speaker 4: she didn't always feel that power she felt during those nights.

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00:32:51,485 --> 00:32:55,565
Speaker 4: In fact, Marshall once described feeling like no one, nobody

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00:32:55,765 --> 00:33:00,125
Speaker 4: from Nowheresville in her youth. But just like our teens,

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00:33:00,605 --> 00:33:06,205
Speaker 4: her journey was undetermined and unwritten, and her life wasn't

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00:33:06,245 --> 00:33:10,325
Speaker 4: only about struggle. Marcia had joy and beauty throughout her

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00:33:10,405 --> 00:33:15,005
Speaker 4: days too. Actually, there's this one photo and in it

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00:33:15,165 --> 00:33:18,245
Speaker 4: she's smiling big at the camera and her head is

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00:33:18,285 --> 00:33:23,565
Speaker 4: adorned with a beautiful flower crown full of roses, purple violets,

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00:33:23,645 --> 00:33:29,285
Speaker 4: and Lily's complimenting her hot pink dress. Of course, around

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00:33:29,325 --> 00:33:34,525
Speaker 4: her neck there's gold lace, shiny ribbons, and gorgeous beads.

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00:33:35,085 --> 00:33:38,245
Speaker 1: She looks amazing and right in her element.

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00:33:38,965 --> 00:33:43,325
Speaker 4: About fifty years later, this image is now an emblem

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00:33:43,405 --> 00:33:47,845
Speaker 4: of queer and transliberation and its images like these that

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00:33:47,965 --> 00:33:51,405
Speaker 4: have become a blueprint for what expression and joy can

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00:33:51,485 --> 00:33:55,845
Speaker 4: look like for queer and trans folks. Through our clothing,

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00:33:56,165 --> 00:34:00,645
Speaker 4: our hair, our accessories, and our art, we find ways

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00:34:00,645 --> 00:34:02,765
Speaker 4: to express ourselves to the world.

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Speaker 1: On our own terms.

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00:34:04,885 --> 00:34:08,605
Speaker 4: And that in and of itself is an active protest,

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00:34:09,205 --> 00:34:13,605
Speaker 4: a declaration of self worth and self love. And what's

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00:34:13,685 --> 00:34:17,805
Speaker 4: clear is that all throughout Marsha's life, she was a

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00:34:17,845 --> 00:34:23,125
Speaker 4: person who deserved her fears, hopes and dreams. And throughout

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00:34:23,165 --> 00:34:27,885
Speaker 4: this series we'll follow our teens and witness their fears,

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00:34:28,045 --> 00:34:32,405
Speaker 4: hopes and dreams, and they've got plenty of them. For

498
00:34:32,685 --> 00:34:37,005
Speaker 4: moments like voguing at a fabulous ball there we got

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00:34:37,365 --> 00:34:46,045
Speaker 4: lost the ball, to experiences with their gender transitions.

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Speaker 7: I would say the voice is the main thing I noticed.

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00:34:49,485 --> 00:34:52,045
Speaker 9: I think it took like two weeks for my voice

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00:34:52,085 --> 00:34:54,285
Speaker 9: to start cracking, maybe a little less than that.

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00:34:54,845 --> 00:34:59,245
Speaker 10: And falling in love one of the questions is a

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00:34:59,365 --> 00:35:09,045
Speaker 10: crush oh I School and the beginning of the month.

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Speaker 4: You're in for a journey. Thanks for listening and join

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Speaker 4: us next week. Oh and don't forget to express yourself.

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00:35:26,685 --> 00:35:30,325
Speaker 4: Queer Chronicles is a production of School of Humans, The

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00:35:30,365 --> 00:35:36,765
Speaker 4: Outspoken Podcast Network and iHeart Podcasts. I'm your host Raquel Willis.

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00:35:37,405 --> 00:35:40,485
Speaker 4: You can find a list of resources in the show notes,

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00:35:40,565 --> 00:35:43,085
Speaker 4: including trans Lifeline and.

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00:35:43,125 --> 00:35:44,205
Speaker 1: The Trevor Project.

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Speaker 4: This show was written by Jordan Bailey, Eediis Perez, Aaron Edwards,

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00:35:49,645 --> 00:35:54,445
Speaker 4: and me. Our story editors are Aaron Edwards and Julia Furlan,

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00:35:55,325 --> 00:36:00,965
Speaker 4: Produced by Jordan Bailey, Julia Flan and Eedilys Perez. Our

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00:36:01,045 --> 00:36:07,085
Speaker 4: senior producer is Amelia Brock, directed by Eily's Perez, Sound

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00:36:07,085 --> 00:36:12,045
Speaker 4: design and mix by mb al Raheem. Theme song composed

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00:36:12,085 --> 00:36:17,205
Speaker 4: by Jesse Niswanger, casting by Jordan Bailey and Julia Furlan,

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00:36:18,045 --> 00:36:23,285
Speaker 4: fact checking by Savannah Hugley. Our production manager is Daisy Church.

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00:36:24,005 --> 00:36:28,205
Speaker 4: Executive producers include Jay Brunson and Me from The Outspoken

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00:36:28,285 --> 00:36:33,405
Speaker 4: Podcast Network, Michael Alder June and Noel Brown from iHeart Podcasts,

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00:36:33,885 --> 00:36:38,205
Speaker 4: Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr and Elsie Crowley from School of

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00:36:38,285 --> 00:36:42,685
Speaker 4: Humans and the Cats Company. If you're enjoying the show,

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00:36:42,885 --> 00:36:46,245
Speaker 4: please share it with friends and family, and don't forget

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00:36:46,285 --> 00:36:49,285
Speaker 4: to rate and review in your favorite podcast app.

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Speaker 1: Tune in again next week