Pronouns: He/him/his
Identifies as: Transman
Neighborhood: Edgewater
Life's work
"I just started my first semester as a PhD student in Higher Education at Loyola University Chicago, in order to work towards my eventual 'life's work.' I want to research the gender identity development process of transmasculine students of color, and their college experiences."
Hobbies
"I love documentaries, dancing, beer snobbery, puzzles and going to the beach when it's nice out. I'm also a conference geek and love doing workshops and speaking gigs."
What is the best thing about being trans?
"I think my own experiences across gender have given me a critical lens, to call into question why things are the way they are (around anything), and not be satisfied with 'that's just how it is.'"
Do you consider yourself an activist?
"Now that I'm a student again, I'll be able to get involved in activism again, something that's been missing from my life in the 'real world.'"
Whom do you admire most?
"CeCe McDonald and Leslie Feinberg."
What issues outside of the queer community do you care about?
"I don't consider any social justice issue to be 'outside' of the queer community, because our identities and experiences are interconnected. Currently an issue I care about a lot is that of immigration."
When did you start questioning gender?
"Probably around the time I was first told that little girls aren't supposed to whistle, or put their hands in their pockets. I just did not understand the need for arbitrary gender roles and hated being restricted in any which way."
How do you explain the way you feel about gender to others?
"I don't typically have a standard explanation. My own understanding is always evolving and is often informed by dialogues I have with others."
What do you think is the most pressing issues facing trans people?
"I believe they are the issues that are most faced by the most vulnerable in our communitytranswomen of color, who bear the burden of the intersections of society's transmisogyny, racism, genderism, sexism and many times classism, often brutally - violence, unemployment, poverty, homelessness."
Photo by Tanya Ellison. To nominate a person for T in the life, email: Kate Sosin sosin@windycitytimes.com