Yesterday, June 1st, marked the start of national LGBTQ+ pride month in the United States. It's a month of recognizing the discrimination the LGBTQ+ community has faced, learning the erased history, and celebrating the parts of our identities that have been attacked, and preparing for a stronger future. I wasn't planning on celebrating this pride month the way I normally would. I spent this pandemic getting disowned for being trans. I've been putting in a lot of effort to support myself, and taking the steps necessary to be independent. However, a few weeks ago, I was contacted by Drexel's Office of Equality and Diversity to be a panelist in their panel Honoring Pride Month: A Frank Conversation About Gender and Sexuality. The panel happened this morning and I'm really glad I was lucky to be a panelist. I was the only student panelist alongside professors, directors of offices, and the University Registrar.
The panel was really well structured. It started with a quick education segment talking about the history of pride and the LGBTQ+ rights movement in America. Then, it covered different terms that may be unfamiliar to audience members. We then discussed a few questions regarding who we were and our experiences, representation, and inclusion on college campuses. The conversations we had were really amazing. We started by introducing who we are and how we attend the panel. All of us exist as ourselves all 365 days a year, not just the month of June. I am a transgender man everyday, not just during pride month. In addition to that, being a transgender man is not my entire identity. Having that conversation to introduce the panelists was really wonderful.
We then talked about the representation we saw through our lives. The general consensus of the panel was that while we've seen parts of our identities represented, we've really never been able to see our full identity properly represented in media. For example, I'm a femme transgender man in computer science. I will never see a computer geek in a movie that's a transgender man. I've seen femme cis men as the "hacker" in TV shows, but that's not entirely me. We also talked about bad representation versus no representation. Is it worth it to be represented in media if its a harmful stereotype or fetishizing a community?
We moved onto talking about LGBTQ+ inclusion at college campuses. We talked about student and faculty and alumni groups that create communities for people who need them. I added a lot here about my experiences and opinions. I talked about the different layers to inclusion. It's first the aspect of safety. Are LGBTQ+ students safe to express themselves on campus, or will they be subject to hate crimes? If hate crimes occur, how are they handled? Is the victim supported? Are the perpetrators punished? Does the campus do anything to prevent this from happening in the future? Then we move onto the next "layer" of inclusion. Preventing harm is the first step, but how do we make students feel safe an appreciated. Many LGBTQ+ students don't live in an environment where they feel safe to be themselves, and spend many years hiding who they are. Do colleges provide the communities to allow students to relax and show who they truly are? Are there students groups? Are offices acknowledging LGBTQ+ issues and hosting conversations and events? From there, what is the quality of these groups and events? The panel hosted by OED was incredible and tackled many issues, however, also for pride month, Drexel's campus engagement group hosted a tie dye event. How does tie dying create a more inclusive community? How does this draw attention to the issues LGBTQ+ students face? How does this educate and raise awareness? After creating a safe community, we then need to focus on the systemic issues faced. Are there LGBTQ+ specific scholarships? This may seem unnecessary at first, however, LGBTQ+ students are significantly more likely to be disowned by their parents and lose financial support that way. I am currently being affected by this issue. My parents spent four years telling me to not be concerned with financial aid because they would always cover it, and it was my job to focus on my classes and do well. Now I have been disowned and have no contact with either of my parents. I am struggling to pull together funds so that I can attend Drexel my senior year and graduate. I am not the only LGBTQ+ student who has faced this problem. Many of my LGBTQ+ peers have needed to drop out or take time off of school after being disowned. Do colleges recognize this struggle? Do colleges have funding in place for students affected by these issues? Colleges also provide health insurance for students without it. Does this health insurance cover trans healthcare? As a trans person, I need to get blood work and see my doctor every 3 months. I also need surgeries that cis people don't need. These surgeries are most times misunderstood and considered cosmetic and unnecessary. Are these necessary surgeries covered by the health insurance that colleges provide? Are mental health services covered in that health insurance? After providing explicit systemic support, what other systemic barriers are removed that show the college understands this community? For example, I'm working with Drexel's College of Computing and Informatics to get pronouns added to our faculty and staff directory in addition to providing waste bins for menstrual products in the men's restrooms. Small things like this show a deeper understanding of LGBTQ+ issues and how to build a more inclusive campus. There's so many layers to creating a safe place for LGBTQ+ students to not only survive, but thrive and grow.
We ended the conversation with a much lighter note of how we plan on celebrating pride month. Not only is the month a time of reflection and education, but also a time to celebrate. I will admit I wasn't honest with that I didn't plan on celebrating. I threw together a quick response that I'm getting my name changed in July, and that's what I'm looking forward to. One panelist is getting married soon. Others talked about focusing on self care. Another talked about traveling now that they're vaccinated. It was a good way to come full circle and humanize ourselves.
I was honored to be a panelist on this panel. Despite being the only student, I felt like I still had opinions to offer. I don't have a recording of the panel yet, but once I do, I'll add a link.