LOCAL FEATURE taken matters into his own hands. Camera, who works for the American Civil Liberties Union, a national nonprofit organization, says it’s no secret that there is a major lack of advocacy for civil rights in this nation as a whole. “We focus on civil rights and civil liberties issues in Colorado, through law, litigation, and advocacy,” Camera said. “So we take on civil rights cases in the courts.” Camera believes that the path to change is through effort and consistency: “We try to pass and defend legislation for civil rights and civil liberties. We also do community advocacy for civil rights issues,” he said. Camera’s position is in community advocacy, focusing on LGBTQ+ issues in general while also working on other issues like immigration. Camera was recommended for the position through an internship, and although his degree was in communications and anthropology, he chose this path because it aligned with his cause. “I was able to transfer my passion for those issues into civil rights,” Camera said. “And that was right at the beginning of my transition. It was the perfect time, and Trump had just been elected. I was worried about my community, not only mine, but immigrants, minorities.” Camera was initially drawn to civil rights matters in high EMMA PARKS. CREDIT: CAT EVANS trans folks face may be more obvious to those outside their community, while other challenges are pocketed or swept away for the sake of “fitting in,” or trying to get by. There is much avoidance tied to the desire to experience normalcy, thus day to day life can be tricky and sometimes daunting for those who are not out or are out in some spaces and not others. For many transgender people, the experience of coming out is one of extreme vulnerability and a time when perception of protection – or lack thereof – is highly relevant. IN SEARCH OF PROTECTION Consider 11-year-old Avani’s story. Born male, now identifying as female, she is no stranger to the turbulence of a society that will forever look at her differently. At such a young age she has already experienced rejection based on her identity, beginning with her father’s response. “Her dad was still seeing her every weekend,” Avani’s mother said. “We weren’t allowed to grow her hair.” Avani, who lives with her mother, first asked for girl clothes on her ninth birthday. It was all that she wanted. Her mother cried, mostly out of fear for her child, but agreed nonetheless because she knew her child was living a secret life at home and at school. Her father reluctantly agreed, only to demand when picking her up from school a short time later, that Avani remove her female clothing the second she got in his car. “I was just so mad; I didn’t talk to him the whole way to the house,” Avani said. “Like, literally right when I got in the car, he gave me [boy’s] clothes. I don’t even think he said hi to me.” Avani’s mom recalls her father’s blunt rejection of Avani’s femininity and how he would try to make her act like a boy. “She couldn’t scream a certain way; it was too girly,” Avani’s mother said. “She was under a magnifying glass. He would make her do crazy things to make her more manly. That was one of the biggest fights we ever had. He would make her do things like go on roofs, put her in dangerous situations — like, why?” Avani’s coming-out experience is common. There are numerous factors that contribute to resistance and dismissal from family members, including religious background, politics, gender roles, gender expectation, fear, societal implications, and an overall lack of understanding. Bridging these gaps can seem overwhelming, especially when such a small portion of the population is visible. According to GLAAD, a nonprofit advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, in 2017 roughly 3% of the nation identified as transgender. The fact that transgender people comprise a comparatively small portion of the population sheds light on the ways in which legislation can be ineffective and can fail to translate into improvements in people’s daily realities. In Avani’s case, although she lives in Colorado. where there is legislation in place to protect her, these laws have no impact on her daily existence. She describes her coming-out experience as traumatic and filled with fear. She did not feel protected within her immediate surroundings. With long, dark brown hair and a full rosy face, Avani is female-passing; you would never know that just a few years prior she was seen as a boy to the outside world. As she began to fully embrace her long-awaited femininity in physical form, she changed schools to avoid the potential social repercussions from her peers who knew her as “he.” That didn’t stop news from traveling, and she was bullied by a “friend of a friend” who blurted out in the middle of class, “That guy only likes her because he doesn’t know she’s transgender.” “I started to cry; I was bawling my eyes out,” Avani said. “I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never been in that situation. No one has ever said that.” Before she left school that day, one of her teachers made the situation even more hurtful by pulling her out of class and asking, “Was it really necessary to call your mom?” Avani is grateful that her mother has been understanding and supportive of her experience. Currently, her mother is in the middle of deciphering the legality and protections for her daughter in the school system. There is only so much that can be done on a legal level, as microaggressions are both prominent and subtle. THE PATH TO CHANGE Julian Camera, a trans male born and raised in Denver, has AVANI. CREDIT: CAT EVANS school while learning about racism and feeling utter disgust in both what had occurred and what has become. Having experienced the feeling of being a minority himself, initially identifying as a lesbian and ultimately deciding to follow his truth into full transition to male, there was really no other route for him. Already having a passion for civil rights in general, it seemed only right to continue his pursuit, and as a highly visible transgender male, there is much impact to be had through varying advocacy, and much to be learned, analyzed, and applied en route to a safer world for those who are fighting to exist in it. Reflecting on Colorado’s role in advancing protections for the transgender community, Emma Parks stresses the goodness of what has come so far but is quick to mention that there is a lot of work to be done. “Laws are impactful,” explains Parks, ”but there is much room to fill in regard to true acceptance of what is thought to be different.” ■ July 2021 DENVER VOICE 9
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