WEBVTT - Daniel: Being a Double Minority in a Red State 0:00:01.280 --> 0:00:03.880 If someone was to like compartmentalize every part of my 0:00:04.000 --> 0:00:07.920 identity onto a map of the United States, maybeing transgender 0:00:07.960 --> 0:00:10.760 would be Rhode Island. It's in that little corner of 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:13.039 like important things, but it's also really small. 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:15.000 So what's your taxes? 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:24.159 Very ahead, Welcome to when You're Invisible. My name is 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.360 Maria Fernanda Dies, but I know not everyone can roll 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.320 there are, so it's also fine to call me Maria. 0:00:31.000 --> 0:00:33.680 When You're Invisible is my love letter to the working 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:37.240 class and others who are seemingly invisible in our society. 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:41.000 I hope to build a community here that will inspire 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:44.240 you to have generous conversations with others that are different 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:47.839 from you, conversations that might help you see life in 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:53.760 an entirely different way. 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.440 My name is Daniel Shuhil. I'm a sixteen year old 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:01.240 transgender boy in Arizona. 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.600 I was excited to talk to Daniel for so many reasons. 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:08.240 One is his enthusiasm. 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:10.559 We're ready, We're ready to get cooking. 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.759 Second, he's a teenager. As a kid, I was fortunate 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.560 to be around adults who took me seriously. Today, I 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:21.800 try to listen to what young people have to say. 0:01:22.200 --> 0:01:25.960 I find their observations fascinating. I love how much they 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.600 surprise me and make me rethink why and how I 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:32.760 see the world, whether it's through their observations, their questions, 0:01:32.920 --> 0:01:36.560 or their own stories and resilience. I've gotten to know 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:39.520 a lot of young people through work. I've taught theater, 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:42.920 classes and activities, and I also tutor students of all 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:46.679 ages in math, history, Spanish, English, test prep. 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:47.520 You knew it. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:49.559 Do you like school or do you find it boring? 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:51.960 I like school because I get to see my friends 0:01:51.960 --> 0:01:53.760 and I get to do like jazz band. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:55.080 Wait, what do you play? 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.960 I'm learning the upright bass, but I'm not too good yet, 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:01.559 And in jazz combo, I'm playing the guitar. 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:04.880 What does like an everyday or an average day look like? 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:09.080 I wake up, make some breakfast, some cereal, I go 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:12.240 to school. I have math. I like math. That's a 0:02:12.280 --> 0:02:17.000 good class. Then History, then biotech. It's just like chemistry okay, 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.919 and jazz ben jazz combo of Spanish. Then I come 0:02:20.000 --> 0:02:23.800 home and I eat, and then I'll play my guitar 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.280 for a little bit, and then I play my craft 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:27.919 and then I go to sleep. 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:28.320 Nice. 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:31.959 Even though Daniel's just a kid. He's had to grow 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:33.040 up fast. 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:33.800 He's had to. 0:02:33.800 --> 0:02:37.600 Think about things that other kids don't have to. Unfortunately, 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:39.720 some people don't just see him as a kid who 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:44.200 likes video games and music because he's trans. In full transparency, 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.400 this is my first time that I've met a Latin 0:02:47.600 --> 0:02:52.040 trans kid. So some of us are learning together and 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:55.560 Daniel does a beautiful job of holding space for me. 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:00.320 And while his trans identity is not his Texas, it's 0:03:00.400 --> 0:03:03.359 not the most important part of who he is, it 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:06.480 does impact his life and his family's decisions. Like when 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:09.120 it comes to figuring out where Daniel goes to school, 0:03:09.680 --> 0:03:13.399 they have to think more actively about things like policy, safety, 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:14.239 and respect. 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:18.720 I also know you travel far for school. Oh my gosh, yeah, 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:19.800 what is that journey? 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:24.160 My parents drive me to a separate district because unlike 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:25.880 a lot of the other districts, in our school, they 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:30.320 have gender and sexuality in their non discrimination policy. And 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:31.920 not only do they have it written down, because some 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:34.960 districts haven't written down, but some districts don't use them 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:37.600 or don't know that they have them. And so then 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.760 we've had a lot of other families face like discrimination 0:03:41.040 --> 0:03:43.000 or like pushback with the school even though it's in 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.720 their policy, and so this school has been on our 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.800 site since day one. That's awesome, But as far, it's 0:03:48.840 --> 0:03:51.520 a far drive, and it's annoying because all my friends 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:53.760 love up there, right, and they're like, Daniel, you want 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:56.160 to hang out, And I'm like, someone's gonna have to 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:57.480 drive me the forty minutes. 0:03:58.320 --> 0:03:59.600 What do you do on those car rides? 0:04:00.080 --> 0:04:02.880 We listen to music, We go on musical journeys. 0:04:03.240 --> 0:04:04.920 What kind of music do you like to listen to? 0:04:05.440 --> 0:04:07.440 I like Kimsic Lamar, I've been listening. 0:04:07.080 --> 0:04:09.120 To him more, Hey as you should. 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:12.120 Then I like the Smiths, It's so great. I also 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:16.360 like Mariaccia music. Sometimes I really like Radiohead and that's 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:17.200 my top one. 0:04:17.480 --> 0:04:19.840 Oh my gosh, radio had a place in my house 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.600 a lot, and like especially when my brothers. I'm gonna 0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:24.039 tell my brother that I'm going to be like, I 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:25.440 met someone who's. 0:04:25.160 --> 0:04:27.640 Your soul, a kindred soul. Yeah, exactly. 0:04:28.600 --> 0:04:31.800 Daniel could choose to just enjoy his life, you know, 0:04:31.839 --> 0:04:34.120 the things he cares about, going to school, trying to 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.760 fit in, focusing on his personal world and well being 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:40.080 the bubble he lives in. But another big reason I 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:43.159 wanted to talk to Daniel Is because he's an activist 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.880 and he cares a lot about the world around him 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:49.520 and making it a better place for everyone, and he's 0:04:49.560 --> 0:04:51.600 been doing that for years already. 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.000 What was it like to speak for the first time 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:57.400 to like your legislator? And how old are you? And 0:04:57.480 --> 0:04:58.960 how many times have you done it? 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:01.680 Oh? I can't count that, But I was nine the 0:05:01.720 --> 0:05:05.680 first time I testified. I had written a small testimony 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:08.680 that was read by one of our representatives on the 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:12.480 house floor. I remember being really afraid, like really nervous 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:14.440 because I was like a nine year old, and I 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:16.120 was like, I really don't want to read this on 0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:17.960 the mic, and I am was like, we can pull 0:05:18.000 --> 0:05:21.760 those strings. So I made this like little scratchy screwbally 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:26.320 thing on like an hotel notepad, you know, and I 0:05:26.360 --> 0:05:28.560 gave it to our representative and she like read it. 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.800 And I had my little stuffed animal, stuffed otter, and 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:36.640 so me and Senor Otter stood like watching over as 0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:40.599 my testimony get read, and I remember being like really nervous. 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:44.120 I was like, whoa, everyone's listening to something I wrote. 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:48.000 My mom found my first little testimony. 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:49.400 Can you read it out? 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:52.240 Loud. Yeah, I'll read it out loud. I haven't read this. 0:05:52.320 --> 0:05:54.760 I actually have no recollection of what it said. 0:05:55.120 --> 0:05:57.400 Great, Okay, we're going to find out together. 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:02.280 Okay, so I said, I'm knowing different, but it's not 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:05.320 right for people to not be treated equally. For me, 0:06:05.839 --> 0:06:09.880 I'm safe at school and home, but for others it's different. 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:15.880 So it's important for truated equal like human beings. Ah, 0:06:16.120 --> 0:06:18.839 nine year old little Daniel preaching out here. 0:06:19.560 --> 0:06:22.440 Daniel may only be sixteen, but he's been on the 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:26.160 front lines of this issue for nearly half his life. 0:06:26.680 --> 0:06:30.880 Arizona is known as a conservative red state. It's notorious 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:34.920 for banning Chicano books, for racial profiling against immigrant workers, 0:06:35.320 --> 0:06:39.560 and for a wave of backlash against LGBTQ and women's rights. 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:42.720 But it is also a region that is incredibly rich 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:47.160 in Latin culture. I wanted to hear firsthand how Daniel 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:50.040 pictured his community, to see what spurred him to fight 0:06:50.120 --> 0:06:51.680 for such a complicated place. 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:54.360 Tell us about where you live. 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:56.440 I live in southern Arizona. We live in the city 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:59.200 of South Tucson. What I really like is I we're 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:04.520 like thirty forty minutes from the border, and so there's 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:07.520 just like a lot of like Mexican food and like 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:10.160 culture is very important. We can go like down the 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.720 street and there's like four of Rospilo places, and then 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:16.240 down the street over here past the church there's my 0:07:16.360 --> 0:07:18.800 favorite little hot dog sand But they always knock on 0:07:18.800 --> 0:07:21.160 me because whenever I go I get I just get 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.200 fun cheese and beans and the like. That's not a 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.120 hot dog. You need to get a hot dog. I'm like, 0:07:26.120 --> 0:07:27.160 I'm not gonna get a hot dog. 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.520 Oh my god, that's hilarious. Do you have like rapport 0:07:30.600 --> 0:07:32.440 with your go to places? 0:07:32.800 --> 0:07:36.480 This warmth and delight makes me smile and definitely picture 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:39.280 a different place than what I would imagine just from 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:43.480 his testimony or the news headlines. Honestly, it reminded me 0:07:43.560 --> 0:07:45.120 a little bit of one of my own homes. 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:48.080 It reminded me of Mexico. Do love Arizona? 0:07:48.640 --> 0:07:50.760 I feel like I love my little pocket of Arizona. 0:07:50.920 --> 0:07:53.760 Tuissan Metro was like one of the first cities in 0:07:53.800 --> 0:07:56.680 America to have a non discrimination policy, and so then 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:58.080 it was like a safe haven for a bunch of 0:07:58.200 --> 0:08:01.560 queer people. And so it's become this like very like 0:08:02.120 --> 0:08:05.920 diverse place and it's like super awesome. Ye, Like if 0:08:05.920 --> 0:08:09.680 you go like Phoenix or Scottsdale, then we get a 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:14.560 little iffy. Are really grateful that right now Arizona has 0:08:14.920 --> 0:08:18.040 a demo kindic governor that's thankfully like blocking out all 0:08:18.040 --> 0:08:21.160 of these anti trans bills that are trying to get past. 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:22.400 I love Arizona for that. 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:25.200 Who do you consider your community? 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:27.880 That was a big one. I had to think about 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.280 that for a second. I was like wow, because I 0:08:30.320 --> 0:08:32.120 feel like I just always say my community, but now 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.960 what is my community? Whoa crazy? 0:08:35.200 --> 0:08:35.360 Right? 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.280 I feel like I have like little pocketed community, like 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:41.160 I have like my neighborhood community, Like in my where 0:08:41.200 --> 0:08:45.640 we're right here, we're like surrounded by queer poc artists, 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:48.199 and I think that's cool and I'm like, y'all just 0:08:48.240 --> 0:08:49.800 gotta let me come over so we can do art. 0:08:50.160 --> 0:08:52.880 That'd be so cool. And but then I have like 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:56.520 my school community, which I feel really grateful for because 0:08:56.679 --> 0:09:00.760 I'm like really happy that my small circle of like 0:09:00.840 --> 0:09:04.320 my grade plus like the little bit o where our 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:08.240 grades blend, yeah, has been really supportive since I've like 0:09:08.480 --> 0:09:12.000 transitioned those also, like my family, that's my community too. 0:09:12.840 --> 0:09:15.600 Daniel is showing us pieces of a world we may 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.479 not have heard about. Knowing our community and feeling connected 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:25.040 personally to our neighbors can be vital for creating safe 0:09:25.440 --> 0:09:28.840 and caring spaces on the local level. As happy as 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.360 Daniel and his family are in this artistic, diverse pocket 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:35.760 of Arizona, they've had to consider what it would mean 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:39.760 to move out of state, especially during the last election 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:43.600 cycle when a Democratic candidate for governor was running against 0:09:43.640 --> 0:09:48.360 a very conservative opponent, Katie Hobbs. The Democrat did win, 0:09:48.440 --> 0:09:52.079 by the way, but still in the past few years, 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:57.880 Arizona's legislature has proposed ignoring pronouns, banning trans kids from bathrooms, 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:01.520 taking away funding for any any sort of quote unquote 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:06.920 drag performance, and leaving schools open to lawsuits for having 0:10:07.040 --> 0:10:09.640 LGBTQ spaces. 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:12.960 For Like, the people who would say, why don't you 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:15.240 just move, what would you say back, We're. 0:10:15.120 --> 0:10:18.280 Really grateful that our whole family like lives in Tucson 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:20.160 or at least Phoenix, and so we get a visit. 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:22.960 Often I feel like some people really forget that people 0:10:22.960 --> 0:10:26.760 are really cemented in culture m hm, Because at least 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:28.440 in my experience, people who have said that to me 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:34.199 are like white Americans who have lived here and culture 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.719 can be found everywhere. For them, it's America, you know, Right. 0:10:36.760 --> 0:10:40.360 But I feel like for our meeting, our family lifting 0:10:40.480 --> 0:10:43.280 up everything and taking somewhere else, can we lift it 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:45.040 up and ticket somewhere else? Like where can my mom 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:47.360 and my dad rebuild their like art business? We have 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:49.840 to restart from like scratch, like things like that. You know, 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:52.720 I feel like there's so many things people forget, Like 0:10:52.720 --> 0:10:55.320 there's a lot of families that just don't have the 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:57.640 funds to go buy another house or rent out an 0:10:57.679 --> 0:10:58.520 apartment somewhere else. 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:02.360 Amen on top of real financial considerations, even if they 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:05.600 were to move, they have to consider what states red 0:11:05.800 --> 0:11:09.160 or blue really have robust protections in place? 0:11:10.200 --> 0:11:12.520 And there's less options than you'd hope. 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:14.800 You can't just pick up and go somewhere. You have 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:17.880 to think about where it is safer transgender people. You know, 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:20.440 where can I go to school safely? Where has safe 0:11:20.480 --> 0:11:22.400 policies for me? Things like that? 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.280 How does that make you feel to have to think 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:25.240 about that as a kid? 0:11:25.400 --> 0:11:27.920 Oh, something that I get really upset about it because 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:30.199 some of the kids I go to school with, or 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:32.240 like some people that I know do not have to 0:11:32.280 --> 0:11:34.719 think about things like that, and sometimes I wish I 0:11:34.720 --> 0:11:36.079 could totally be one of those with us And no, 0:11:36.120 --> 0:11:38.720 I don't really care about politics. I don't get too political. 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:42.199 Oh my gosh, that's like ignorance is bliss. But I'm 0:11:42.200 --> 0:11:45.640 also like, no, we all pay attention here to like 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:49.680 make sure our world's not just like crumble our democracy. 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:54.280 Daniel is constantly paying attention. By the time I was 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:57.240 his age, I also felt a lot of responsibility to 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:00.840 protect the climate, and I was really invested in human rights. 0:12:01.440 --> 0:12:04.400 Talking to Daniel and other young people, it seems like 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.439 that pressure has only grown and intensified, just like the 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:11.280 channels of information that they are exposed to. I also 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:15.200 relate to Daniel being frustrated with his classmates because I 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:17.280 was like that with mine. I didn't think it was 0:12:17.320 --> 0:12:20.200 an option not to care. When you're an in betweener 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:24.040 and you love people of different and intersecting identities, you 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:28.040 see the impact of these issues up close. We'll dive 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.160 deeper into the layers of Daniel's identity and how he 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.720 navigates that and how he's being perceived. 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.440 After the break, I find myself having to like step 0:12:37.480 --> 0:12:40.480 around our eggshells when I'm with just like my white 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:43.000 queer friends who don't always get it, and also the 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.160 same thing with my sister het Mexi. 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:57.800 Friends stick with us, Welcome back. Sixteen year old Daniel 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.600 sounds so confident and sure of himself, which is something 0:13:01.720 --> 0:13:06.760 I absolutely admire. Universally, teenagers are known for having massive 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:11.440 insecurities and constantly asking questions about who they are and 0:13:11.480 --> 0:13:12.320 where they're going. 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.080 Accepting yourself is always. 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:17.840 A journey, and I know for trans folks that story 0:13:17.880 --> 0:13:21.559 can take many forms. I was curious how Daniel came 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:23.800 to understand himself so fully. 0:13:24.360 --> 0:13:25.760 He's known he was a boy since he. 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:29.080 Was five or six, and fortunately he had the foundation 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.760 of family and friends who supported him, and that allowed 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.880 him to flourish. Once the earliest memory in your life 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:39.120 where you felt affirmed, here's. 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.480 A funny story. So when I was like seven, I 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:44.480 was in like second grade and being like really confused 0:13:44.480 --> 0:13:47.320 about why everyone is being so contradictory to my gender. 0:13:48.040 --> 0:13:52.040 That feels like really known to me, you know, and 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.840 so me and my friends, like I would tell my 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:56.520 friends at school, right and then coming like a sheet 0:13:56.559 --> 0:13:58.199 and be like, actually, can you guys call me a 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:02.800 he and they'd be like sure, why not yeah, and 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.199 so it was really funny. It would like try out names. 0:14:05.400 --> 0:14:07.520 There was a class period a math class where I 0:14:07.600 --> 0:14:09.160 was Tony, I love it and I was like by 0:14:09.160 --> 0:14:11.320 the end, I was like, no, I don't think that's 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:11.840 the one. 0:14:12.200 --> 0:14:15.560 Wait, that's awesome. So when did you settle on Daniel? 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.560 My parents are like what if we pick? And I 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:21.120 was like, no, no, you guys are not going to pick. 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:24.600 I'll figure it out. When I picked my name, I 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:27.680 had to be like ten or eleven. I want to sorry, 0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:31.520 be a little younger. Between nine to eleven. It was 0:14:31.560 --> 0:14:34.720 a big Minecraft YouTube fan. I was watching YouTube and 0:14:34.760 --> 0:14:38.760 it was when dantydm. Do you know who that is? No, 0:14:39.560 --> 0:14:44.120 he's like a Minecraft YouTuber. He's very famous, and so 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:46.280 I used to watch his videos all the time. And 0:14:46.360 --> 0:14:47.760 one day I think it was like he made like 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:49.320 a bunch of money and he was on like the 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:53.960 British news and it was like Daniel Middleton has made 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.520 X amount of dollars on YouTube. So cool, and I 0:14:56.560 --> 0:15:00.560 heard that I was like, whoa, that's the one someone 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.440 As I went to mom, can I be Daniel? And 0:15:03.480 --> 0:15:04.080 she was like. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:09.400 Okay, So yeah, I got it. Okay, okay, so that 0:15:09.600 --> 0:15:10.880 is how you got your name. 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:15.280 From alinecraft YouTuber. Great. But my middle name, which is Alonso, 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.800 is from my grandfather because that's his middle name. 0:15:17.920 --> 0:15:18.600 Oh that's sweet. 0:15:18.760 --> 0:15:20.440 We have one meaningful one. 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:22.920 Also, what is it like to have supportive parents? 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:25.640 Look, I know it's crazy that I even have to 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:29.160 ask what it's like to be affirmed, because unconditional love, 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.840 especially love for your child, should be the norm and 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:33.640 not the exception. 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:37.440 I'm very grateful because my parents have given me the 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:41.320 resources I've needed. They see me as like a boy, 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:44.280 only they use my correct pronouns, they use my name. 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.880 They create space, they create community for me, and they 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:49.960 also did it behind a lot of like closed doors. 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:51.360 That way I wouldn't have to see things like that. 0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:53.920 You know. They came out to my family basically because 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:55.760 I was like eight nine, Like how am I going 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.360 to face a room full of people like that? You know, 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:01.000 I'm like a's shy little a Chriel. So they made 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:03.440 they made the community. They built the space for me, 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.960 and they said that they found a space unsafe and supportive. 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:09.040 Then they were not in our space, and so I'm 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:10.000 really grateful for that. 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:12.920 How's your extended family. Do you feel like you had 0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:15.080 to face anything with them? 0:16:15.560 --> 0:16:18.040 I was told when I was younger, I came out 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:22.040 to my cousin before anyone else and because she used 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:23.880 to babysit me, and I was like, I'm actually a boy. 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:25.680 He should call me a heat and so she was like, 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:30.240 let's do it. That's awesome, and so at her house 0:16:30.840 --> 0:16:33.080 and with her husband, but they would just call me 0:16:33.080 --> 0:16:34.720 he and I got to play on the like PS four. 0:16:34.800 --> 0:16:37.720 It was awesome. Little did I know that they were like, 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:38.840 guess what I found out. 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:41.840 Here's the thing is, like, this is the problem with 0:16:42.000 --> 0:16:43.400 like Latin culture. 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:46.600 It's the cheese may we love the gossip. 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:49.800 Daniels and my Latinia. They're different shades, but there's a 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:53.760 lot of overlap. Latin culture is incredibly loving and at 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:57.200 the same time is still grappling with some quote unquote 0:16:57.240 --> 0:17:00.760 old ways of thinking. On the one hand, and making 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.760 sure your people are good and happy is paramount. We 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:08.440 exist for our families. Yet at the same time, there's 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:13.120 this idea of ge vadis. It's the concept that there's 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:13.960 a right way. 0:17:13.800 --> 0:17:14.800 Of doing things. 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:19.040 It's wanting to follow society's rules and caring about your appearance. 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:23.159 Gender equality is something that's still being figured out in 0:17:23.240 --> 0:17:27.720 Latin culture. The expectations of men and women is still 0:17:27.840 --> 0:17:32.000 pretty rigid in many ways. Often queer sexualities and people 0:17:32.080 --> 0:17:36.400 who are gender nonconforming are still not understood. Their identities 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:40.600 are seen as a choice. Within the Catholic tradition, some 0:17:40.760 --> 0:17:44.840 people ask how could God be wrong in how. 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:46.600 They physically made someone? 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:50.000 But how I see it is the Catholic tradition taught 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.240 me that the body is just the vessel. 0:17:52.920 --> 0:17:55.160 What makes me in the image. 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:59.480 Of God is my soul, my mind, my spirit, and 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:03.359 God did not get that wrong, and to me, that's 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.880 why it's crucial to trust others journeys. These ideas are 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:12.760 really ingrained, So even if someone wants to be more 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:16.520 open minded and accepting of their friends and family members, 0:18:16.680 --> 0:18:20.399 someone like Daniel might be coming up against how these 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:26.000 ideas are deeply cemented and take time to unlearn. But 0:18:26.160 --> 0:18:30.520 as a kid up against this, it can feel scary, infuriating, 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:33.480 and unfair to have to wait for adults to respect 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:35.439 you and treat you how you deserve to be. 0:18:36.359 --> 0:18:39.320 At my Lightning and Fleen party, which was just about cars, 0:18:39.400 --> 0:18:41.600 not but gender, they thought that was our way of 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:45.080 coming out, and so they were not happy. It was 0:18:45.160 --> 0:18:47.240 definitely harder me and my mom and my dad. We 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:49.840 stepped away from both sides of the family for like 0:18:50.320 --> 0:18:54.000 two ish years. A lot of them didn't understand, they 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:56.320 didn't want to understand for a lot of other good 0:18:56.359 --> 0:18:58.879 chunks of time. And only so many of them have 0:18:59.000 --> 0:19:02.119 come around. And sometimes they like slip up and they 0:19:02.119 --> 0:19:05.359 say the wrong things, and sometimes they say really wrong things. 0:19:05.600 --> 0:19:07.640 You know, in the beginning they are not all for it. 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:10.840 But I'm grateful that at least a good majority of 0:19:10.840 --> 0:19:11.320 them are. 0:19:12.040 --> 0:19:14.520 Shout out to all the caregivers and parents who have 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.439 been put in in the work. Daniel told me that 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:19.880 this isn't the case for some of his friends' families. 0:19:20.600 --> 0:19:24.359 Their parents will quote unquote forget that their kid came out, 0:19:24.640 --> 0:19:26.760 refuse to let go of the child they thought they 0:19:26.760 --> 0:19:31.040 were raising, or they think using pronouns is enough and 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:35.560 don't provide other forms of support. According to the Trevor Project, 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:39.520 the sad reality is that nearly forty percent of homeless 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:43.760 youth are LGBTQ kids who have been rejected by their families. 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:47.080 So what are the ways in which you feel like 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:51.679 you think people should be supportive. What are the resources 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.840 that you think every queer kid needs or trans kids need. 0:19:55.640 --> 0:20:00.960 I feel like step one is having parents that are 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:03.040 willing to do the work. Because once you have a 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:06.480 family or like a space that is going to be 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:09.920 safe and supportive for you, then everything comes a little 0:20:09.960 --> 0:20:14.199 easier because, for example, my parents they were like, okay, 0:20:14.640 --> 0:20:17.360 we got it. And so that's when we went to school, 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.399 like archs just for a school and had a meeting 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:22.480 and was like, hey, our kids trans you have to 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:25.119 accommodate a B and C. And some schools are going 0:20:25.160 --> 0:20:27.320 to be crazy and be like now we're not going 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:29.040 to do a B and C for you. As that's 0:20:29.040 --> 0:20:31.080 when I'm like, okay, cool, our kid's not going to 0:20:31.119 --> 0:20:31.760 go here no more. 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:35.440