Our National TRUTH Council works to uplift the stories and truths of trans young people throughout the US. In this project, Southern member Willow uplifts the story of Carmen. Read Carmen’s interview here!
Q: What is your name/pronouns/identity and what does that mean for you?
A: My name is Carmen, I use she/her pronouns, and I identify as a transwomxn. This means that I have a very different experience from most women and at one point in my life I was a boy. This is just my personal definition of my own womanhood and this doesn’t apply to everyone.
Q: How do you navigate being a transwomxn in the south?
A: Well, as a community organizer I’m already on the front lines fighting for equity. But I’m very careful in public as to how I express my identity for safety reasons. I live my life openly but guarded at the same time.
Q: What are some of the biggest struggles that transwomxn face in the south?
A: Having good access to healthcare all around, not even trans specific healthcare. We need safety nets in place in terms of housing discrimination, employment discrimination, and lack of sisterhood and community.
Q: What could transwomxn benefit from in the south?
A: We need more community spaces and centers that aren’t centered around activism and we need more people engaging in legislation here to make sure there are laws protecting us.
Q: What has been your experience doing community work?
A: A lot of it has been unpaid, a lot of it has been trial and error and learning from my own mistakes and gathering my own resources because my political knowledge hasn’t been taught formally. A lot of it hasn’t offered way for upward mobility.