TRANS TEENS NAVIGATE THE STRIFE IN LIFE
About 1.6 million people in the world identify as a different gender than what they were assigned at birth; they fall under the umbrella term “transgender.” Each person has their own unique journey and how they came to find themselves and learn to embrace themselves.
It’s all a part of the journey we all call “being yourself,” which is a lot easier said than done. For some unique people, that journey can be even more confusing and difficult. It can be trialing and hard to find out who you are. It’s easy to know you’re different; it’s harder to understand why.
“There was always a little part of me that knew I wasn’t a girl, I just didn’t figure out what that feeling was till years and years later,” Trans Individual Sam Stepps said. “I kinda always knew that.”
Being trans comes with risks, though there shouldn’t have to be. If someone wanted to paint their walls a different color to express their love for their new favorite color, you wouldn’t blink an eye. However, to some, being trans can be more complicated. Having support is always a concern, especially when it comes to friends and family.
There are some times when family is supportive, but that shouldn’t be considered lucky: it should be standard.
“As with my experience as being trans I’ve been extremely lucky. My mom and her side of the family are very supportive and never gave me any crap about who I was, especially my mom. I’ve been lucky enough to have friends who all supported me and accepted me and I never really had any trouble,” Sam said, “Of course there are just rude people out there who just don’t understand, but I learned over time to just ignore them and focus on the people I really care about.”
Currently in the US there are about 570+ anti-trans bills that exist. It can be dangerous, and it can be scary to be someone that is trans in our world. It is often alienated and pushed away as if it is a crime to be who you are and express yourself. Trans people are people too, but sometimes others act like they are not.
“It’s hard to be you when the entire world hates you,” Sam said. “So much is happening to fight the negativity and to normalize being trans and LGBT, but it’s definitely hard to focus on that when the people who want you “‘erased’” are so much louder.”
Sam continued to explain how being trans can be scary and isolating. There is so much negativity and misconceptions about trans people and how they live their lives. People are uneducated of the topic, and that all derives from false information. Since there is so much negativity in the world about trans individuals, representation and any form of support or visibility is rare.
“Yes, because if there was more trans visibility and representation shown more and shown as a normal thing, then I think everyone would be happier,” Trans Individual Karlie Wilson said. “It would make everyone a lot more open minded and understanding to communities they may not be a part of or may not like.”
Low representation and visibility in any form leads to more misinformation and leads to more uneducated, close minded people. The more people that are close minded, the more the negativity towards trans people increases. That can be extremely harmful to someone’s mental health. In someone’s journey of finding and embracing themselves support is vital.
“Nothing will ever change if we don’t normalize the fact that everyone is different,” Sam said. “Having trans awareness in media like tv shows, movies, really anything is a great thing and can make things more easy and positive.”
“To any trans or LGBT people out there, know you’re not alone. Someone somewhere is feeling almost the same way you are, and there are people out there who will accept you for you. You’re not alone. I promise,” Sam said.
Positivity, support, and, most importantly, acceptance is important in a trans person’s life. It helps make them, or in this case Sam, feel more comfortable and confident in themselves.
