Last night was my much anticipated visit to Laverne Cox's speaking engagement at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She did not disappoint!!!!She began with a short bio of growing up as a poor black boy in Alabama, and slowly bringing her life along to where it is today.
Several of her basic messages hit home to me, including her belief a woman in not born-she is created over her life. (They happened to be born female and grew into women.) Laverne said the first time she read that from powerful , well known women thinkers-she knew she would be a woman-on her own terms.
Obviously along the way, she wove in the influence and plight of trans women of color and why seemingly they have the most difficult times within their own races.
Then, she positively drove a knife in my heart when she related her stories of people screaming "Hey that's a Man!"
What I learned and walked away from her presentation was; a new found respect of who I was. How difficult it was to get here, yet how far I still had to go.
Thanks Laverne! Today I'm just a little more secure and happy with who I am. In many ways, I'm still the 14 old kid feeling there has to be something wrong with me and I am so alone. After last night- I don't feel so alone again!!! (Wow, such a famous, successful and yes beautiful transgender woman as had some of the same life experiences as I?)
If you ever have a chance to see her-do it!!!!
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