#cooltrans

[crossingthedividefilm]

Kylar Broadus: My Selection for Transgender Person of 2014

In 2012 Kylar made history by becoming the first openly transgender person to testify before the U.S. Senate. He was speaking in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. His truthful speech touched me then, and he continues to fight for transgender people now.

Kylar Broadus founded the Trans People of Color Coalition, and is a #CoolTrans man who inspires us!

[crossingthedividefilm]

Dean Spade is an Associate Professor at Seattle University School of Law. He has been an activist for many years, and in 2002 founded the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, a nonprofit that provides free legal services to transgender, intersex, and gender nonconforming individuals in New York who are low-income and/or people of color. Dean works towards transgender rights, and racial and economic justice as well. He envisions “a world without prisons, without state enforcement of gender categories, without homelessness or poverty, and where every person can access full health care that includes gender-confirming health care for trans people.”

[crossingthedividefilm]

Most people choose to come out in slow stages, slowly broadening the circle of people who know their truth. Not so with Laura Jane Grace, after she came out to her family and band she came out as trans in 2012 in a Rolling Stone article! Grace is the front woman of Against Me!, a punk band who last year released their most recent studio album Transgender Dysphoria Blues, a very well received album. While continuing to tour and record with Against Me!, she also released a series of videos called True Trans talking more about her life, her music, and her transition. Find out more here http://bit.ly/1NYdsj0

[crossingthedividefilm]

Crossing the Divide is the story of one trans person, Alia. Over the next few months, as we film Alia and his story, we are going to post some profiles of cool trans people who inspire us. There are so many awesome trans people doing excellent things, hopefully we can introduce you to someone you didn’t know of before!

Geena Rocero is a successful Filipina model, who started Gender Proud to empower marginalized transgender communities around the world. Geena worked as a model for many years without the fashion community knowing that she is trans, and as the years added up she grew anxious, fearing that she would lose everything if she came out. Finally, she had had it with the tension, and came out to the world in a TED talk. Since then she has started Gender Proud and become an international activist, focusing on the trans communities in the Philippines, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Her TED talk is great, and quite inspiring, go check it out!

[erzaskydel]