ASU’s School of Social Transformation held a discussion at the Beus Center for Law and Society Thursday evening to educate and enable attendants on issues facing the Transgender community.
The event aimed to shape a better dialogue when discussing the transgender community and community-related policies.
“There are such fundamentals that are missing,” said President of the Arizona Trans Youth and Parents Organization Rob Chevaleau. “We have to have this basic 101 knowledge before we can talk about bathrooms, before we can talk about anything else.”
Panelists shared their stories and experiences throughout the discussion. Audience members snapped their fingers to show their agreement with the points being made.
“People really don’t understand that we’re human beings,” activist and transgender man Decker Moss said. “We do what every other human being does.”
The panelists all agreed laws relating to transgender individuals can’t make progress until culture changes. There was also a consensus society can’t tackle transgender issues as a whole, but instead should aim to address them in pieces.
“You don’t change laws until culture changes,” said associate professor at the School of Social Transformation Marlon Bailey.
When asked what the biggest current challenge facing the transgender community was, Moss said he believed it was President Donald Trump.
“It’s okay to bully because we have a bully in the White House,” Moss said about Trump.
According to data from the Transgender Education Program at ASU, 80 percent of transgender students feel unsafe at school and 59 percent are unable to use the bathroom of the gender they identify.
The Transgender Education Program works with K-12 teachers and educators to help them understand the emotional, social and educational needs of transgender students and create an inclusive environment where all students can learn.
Director Cammy Bellis said the university is making strides in transgender rights and that people want to know how they can be supportive.
“I am proud of the students at ASU,” Bellis said. “We created the first faculty and staff transgender support guide.”
Bellis said the support guide helps direct staff on how to best support transgender students, including topics like how to sensitively deal with students’ coming out and how to avoid unintentionally ‘outing’ them.
Several people in attendance had transgender friends or family members and showed their support by wearing “Proud Dad,” “Proud Sister” or “Equality” shirts.
Connor Thomson, an ASU student who sported a “Proud Brother-in-Law” shirt, said he and his family heard about the event on Facebook and came to show support.
“It’s not an easy process on its own… even just having one person to support can mean the world,” Thomson said. “As long as we can provide that support, it can make all the difference.”
Contact the reporter at Maia.Ordonez@asu.edu.
