Personal Narratives
BEYOND MAGENTA
Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed transgender or gender-neutral young adults and compiled transcriptions of their stories in Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out. After briefly introducing each of the teens in the following three sections, I include excerpts from their interviews with Kuklin.
CHRISTINA
Christina felt from a young age that she wanted to be a girl. Her classmates and teachers had trouble understanding when she came out as a trans woman; they insisted that she was mistaken, and that she was actually a gay boy. While Christina seems to be more outwardly aggressive toward her bullies, her resilience towards hate reminds me a lot of Gray. Like Gray, it is also important to her that she appears feminine and is able to pass in society. How else are Christina and Gray alike? How are they different?
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P32-36 (Intro; Christina; Christina’s First Name)
P40-44 (Boys’ Retreat; What’s My Purpose?; Gender Bending; Becoming Christina)
P63-66 (Friends, Pronouns, and Vaginas)
P66-69 (Christina’s Mother; Matthew Becomes Christina)
MARIAH
When Mariah was little, she believed she was a girl; it was more than a feeling. But she received no support from her parents, and only minimal support from her grandma. Growing up in a low-income community, Mariah did not have access to resources for trans children. Mariah's teachers reported her to the Department of Social Services for wearing "girl" clothes. She was diagnosed with mental and behavior disorders, and was repeatedly sexually abused. Even after her transition, Mariah doesn't feel safe in her neighborhood wearing feminine-presenting clothes.
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P73-74 (Intro; Mariah)
P76-77 (This Boy Wears Dresses)
P81 (Placement)
P89-91 (Becoming Mariah; Guy to Guy; Transition)
CAMERON
Cameron defines themselves outside of a gender system dictated by society. They see gender as more than a spectrum, because the fluidity of gender is not restrained between endpoints. Cameron went through a lot of different phases of gender-expression, proving how you don't have to identify with one gender your whole life. Now, Cameron likes to be recognized as not a boy and not a girl. They emphasize that there is no one way to be trans; it is unique for each trans person. In Growing Up Blue, Blue also refuses to conform to gender norms. Just because they see themselves as a mother (or future mother), doesn’t mean they need to wear dresses and present femme. Blue’s version of trans is different than Gray’s version of trans, which is also different from anyone else's.
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P95-97(Prom Night)
P98-108 (Pictures)
P109-117 (A History of Weird; A Bunch of Phases; Coming Out Trans; The Plan; Hormones; Male Privilege)
P118-119 (Stand Together)
Q
When Q was a young child, his mother could tell he was not comfortable in his body. He often expressed his dislike of his body. He would compare himself to his classmates and complain about how much he does not like being in his body. His mother, Francisca, decided to take the first steps and give him more masculine and comfortable clothing for Q, and he began to feel comfortable in his body. How does Francisca’s reaction to Q compare/contrast to Charlie and Chelsea’s reaction to Blue?
See Francisca’s story: