Your Own Voice: Gender, Experience & Perspective

Chloe identifies as an openly transgender woman and prefers the pronouns she and her.  Chloe shared the journey of embracing her gender identity and gender expression, long before most people had ever heard the word ‘transgender’.  She also spoke about the urgent need for people to discuss human dignity, to recognize the secular moral values that define a truly human life - and to grasp how central gender identity is to that awareness.

Rose identifies as a cisgender queer woman and prefers the pronouns she and her. Rose grew up in a socially conservative home out West.  We discussed the recent rise in use of LGBTQIA vocabulary, and how the introduction of these terms into popular culture is creating opportunities to ‘convert vocabulary into understanding’.  We also touched upon how gender can impact our willingness to take risks and fail.

Amanda identifies as a bi-racial woman and prefers the pronouns she and her. Early in her career Amanda witnessed the results of sexual violence against children, which led her to seek the root causes of these problems.  Among other things, we discussed dealing with double standards for women in the workplace, and the importance of ‘getting outside your bubble’ in the current political environment.