The school district heard our stories and said that something needs to be done but that’s a thing that we’ve always heard and nothing ever came out of it. All of us sat in a meeting with some folks from the Philadelphia school district and with the parent. I shared my experience, as three other young folks at the Attic. How did this policy come about?Ī University of Pennsylvania professor wanted to get protections for her trans daughter, so she came to the Attic Youth Center. You co-authored the School District of Philadelphia’s Policy 252 that put in protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming youth.
NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US FULL
Trans is a gender identity that is thrown into an acronym full of sexual identities that often gets conflated, which is why service providers aren’t always adequately equipped with best practices when working with trans folks. The resources and the best practices when working with trans youth are different from working with LGB youth, and that’s important to recognize as well.
And predominantly cis and straight folks are the ones making the policies and making the legislation about trans people and about LGB people. “Cisgender,” C-I-S, meaning “same” in Latin, means your gender identity and assigned sex align. Ĭisgender folks don’t know all of the necessary needs of trans folks. If youth, and specifically trans youth, are not given seats at the table to be able to bring their perspectives and their experiences and the ways that they could be best supported, then the policy or the legislation or whatever the rule is will not adequately support. I read the following quote by you: “Nothing about us, without us, is for us.” What meaning does it hold for you? That was also one of the most empowering moments for me, where I knew I had a gift of being able to share my story and to inspire folks. After the workshop, my old principal came up to me and said, “The student is now the teacher,” with tears in his eyes. I was one of the co-facilitators doing the gender and sexuality training for 86 of my old faculty members. Over time, within doing the work at the Attic, my old school actually requested a sensitivity training. That’s what made me a youth leader in the trans community. It’s an internship for LGBTQ youth of color to talk about their experiences in systems of oppression and also educate youth and adults on different intersecting systems of oppression. Then I found an internship on social media at the Attic Youth Center called the Justice League. I felt like there’s no point finishing this conversation, so that’s why I packed up my stuff and never went back to that school as a student. Y guidance counselor said, “You are a boy,” and at that moment, I felt like she was using her own internal bias to dictate the ways that she did her job. I just wanted to be able to express my gender, but I had no problem with the uniform. The guidance counselor was telling me that I couldn’t get my hair done, my nails done or wear makeup, even though none of these things were against the rules. He had no idea what I was talking about when I was trying to explain my gender identity to him, so he brought in the guidance counselor. My principal wanted to have a conversation about my absences and tardies, and I realized in the middle of the conversation that I was not able to explain myself without telling him that I’m trans and that not feeling comfortable at this school was a result. I started doing my activism work when I was pushed out of my single-sex school in Philadelphia. How did you become an advocate and youth leader for Philadelphia’s trans community? She spoke with Teaching Tolerance about her school experiences, her activism and how educators can be the advocates trans students need. Now 20, she serves as an educator and outreach specialist with the Attic Youth Center, the only independent LGBTQ youth center in Philadelphia.Įdwards recently earned her GED and is focused on starting her undergraduate studies she eventually plans to pursue a career in social work and art therapy for trans youth. At just 18 years old, she co-authored a policy for the School District of Philadelphia that established protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming students. Meet Hazel Edwards, a passionate advocate and youth leader for Philadelphia’s trans community.
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