For most of us, the journey for self-acceptance can be incredibly difficult. The world around us gets in the way of our discovery. But for 23 year old Charlie Dill, as a member of the transgender community, the journey was at times more complicated than most.
M: Where are you from? What was it like growing up?
C: I'm from Tampa, Florida. Growing up was...interesting. I mean it was a lot of awesome interspersed with periods of terribleness, really. It'd take forever to get into all that though. I had my share of troubles but it was very far from all bad. I'm grateful for the not-so-pleasant circumstances that shaped me even though they were bad at the time because I'm quite pleased with the person I grew into.
M: At what age did you begin to realize who you were, or did you always know?
C: Gender confusion has always sort of been there and became more prevalent in my teen years but I didn't really figure out my identity until three years ago or so.
M: How did your family react to your coming out as transgender? Your friends?
C: My family doesn't really know what to think of the whole thing, to be honest. They are super supportive and for that I am extremely grateful because I know a lot of people aren't as accepting about this whole thing. I don't think they really fully understand it, but that's okay. My friends are amazing about the whole thing and those that are close to me have shown unwavering support and understanding.
M: What was it like realizing who you were? Was it a difficult process?
C: It was a very long and denial-filled process, really. At first I was scared to identify as male completely and thought I just might be genderqueer (identifying as both male and female). It took me some time to realize that I was just fooling myself about that bit to keep things more familiar while I got used to the idea. Accepting my identity as male fully was the most amazing thing, though. It made a lot of things make sense and it just felt right. I didn't have to lie to myself anymore. It felt like coming home.
M: What’s your preferred pronoun, and do people actually use that (or do they dismiss it)?
C: My preferred pronouns are male. He/him/his and all that. My family has difficulties with the pronoun business but I understand it, old habits die hard. My friends have always been really good about it for the most part. I've had issues with the occasional friend not taking it seriously but after I've talked with them things got sorted out.
M: Was there more positive or negative reaction when you came out? How did you take that?
C: Definitely more positive reaction and I was extremely relieved about that. As I touched on before, I'm so so grateful for having a supportive environment around me. A lot of trans people get disowned or even hurt for their identity so I am always so thankful that I have it so good.
M: What’s the number one question you get the most, or do people ask anything at all?
C: The question I get the most is about surgeries. Whether it's asking about what different procedures there are or asking which ones I plan on getting done or even asking if I've had “THE surgery” yet (which is frustratingly vague there's not just one surgery, transitioning from one gender to another is much more complicated than that and transitioning is different for everyone), it seems to be a topic that people are super interested in.
M: What do you want all cisgender people to know about transgender issues/people?
C: I think the most important thing is we're just like you. Which is especially important when it comes to the genital question or the “how do you have sex?” question. If you'd be uncomfortable answering those questions yourself, don't ask someone who's trans those questions unless you know they're comfortable with it.
M: Do you feel like in the LGBTQA rights movements that trans issues are overlooked?
C: The thing about the LGBTQA community is it seems very far from a unified front a lot of the time. It's like in high school, everyone has their own cliques. So yeah, trans issues (and bisexual issues, and asexual issues, and a myriad of other groups' issues too) tend to seem pretty overlooked by people who aren't actually members of those specific sub-communities. I do think, though, that things are getting better and a sense of unity is increasingly easier to spot.















