The Quill/Jean Debiasse
By Sabrina Bush Staff writer
Susquehanna hosted a “Let’s Talk” dinner on Nov. 9 that brought to light the stark reality of transgender discrimination in the United States.
“Let’s Talk: A Transgender Perspective: Life and Violence” took place on in Shearer Dining Rooms 1 and 2.
The event provided students who attended with a meal, and it featured guest speaker and transgender woman Mary Almy, who shared her first-hand account of transitioning in America.
“I lost a lot but I gained myself,” Almy said. “What I earned was a lot more.”
Almy, a Youngstown State graduate, has an extensive resume: she served three years in the United States Army, 18 years as a police officer and spent several more years working overseas in Sudan—all before she transitioned.
Almy’s story starts at the early age of five, which is when she first realized she was “different.” However, she did not transition until 2012.
“People were calling me a boy, but I felt like a girl,” Almy said. “Finally, my heart, my mind and soul were aligned”
However, what happened in between exposes a troubling lack of acceptance in a country that vows “all people were created equal.”
Almy’s transgender identity has made her the victim of decades of harassment, from prejudice in her own home to sexual assault.
Almy described experiencing waves of depression and self-loathing, which were actually accompanied by several suicide attempts.
“I wish more people could have heard [Almy’s] story tonight,” Susquehanna senior Jean DeBiasse said.
“I think they would be inclined to help,” she added.
Transgender discrimination is very real and statistics can vouch for that; according to a National Transgender Survey conducted by transeqaulity.org, those who expressed a transgender identity while in grades K-12 reported that 78 percent experienced harassment, 35 percent experienced physical assault, 12 percent were victims of sexual violence and 15 percent—which is almost one-in-six—left school because the harassment they experienced was so severe.
The lack of acceptance is likely fostered by the fact only 17 of 50 states in the U.S. offer transgender protection. In the 33 remaining states, people who identify as transgender can legally be denied services and health care, fired from their jobs and kicked out of their housing.
Being a transgender woman in the U.S. is like “living who you are, but feeling like you’re always on stage,” Almy said.
So, what can be done to thwart transgender inequality?
Work with state activists and legislators to help pass the Equality Act, support emergency housing initiatives for trans people and expand health care, Almy said.
The “Pennsylvania Fairness Act,” for example, which was introduced in August 2015 , proposes “to update the Human Relations Act to ensure that no one can be fired from a job, turned away from a business, or evicted from a home just for being gay or transgender,” according to legislators.
In other words, it added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of groups of people protected from gender discrimination in the state of Pennsylvania.
This sounds great in theory; however, the bill has sat untouched in the House State Government Committee since early September and likely won’t be going anywhere any time soon, something that frustrated many transgender individuals and supporters.
“When you see a [transgender] person, smile at them, like you would anyone else,” Almy said. “You might save someone’s life.”
