A transgender student's perspective on identity, gender, growing up in rural Maine
Posted on November 30, 2012
http://arguably.bangordailynews.com/2012/11/30/people/a-transgender-students-perspective-on-identity-gender-growing-up-in-rural-maine/Mea Tavares has always stuck out. The first time someone asked if he was gay was in fourth grade. In sixth grade, a peer said, "I can't believe you've always been a girl." When he was young, his mother had to explain it wasn't OK to only wear shorts when he swam.
For Mea, who was raised in Damariscotta and is now 28, growing up as a child in a female body, but presenting as a male identity, was the beginning of a long journey filled with pain and joy. People who are transgender are often classified as being born into the wrong body. But Mea thinks about it differently.
"My body is trans. It's always been trans," Mea said. "The changes I've made were never an aim at correcting something that was wrong. It was just completing a sentence."
Transgender people feel a persistent difference between their assigned sex and understanding of their own gender. Some undergo surgery and hormone regimens to change their physical characteristics. But Mea doesn't identify completely with either a male or female gender. His sex is female, but he identifies his gender as encompassing aspects both male and female. His gender is transgender.
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How Maine schools can protect transgender students, model respect, fairness
Posted Nov. 30, 2012, at 5:18 p.m.
http://bangordailynews.com/2012/11/30/opinion/how-maine-schools-can-protect-transgender-students-model-respect-fairness/Maine schools must provide a safe environment for all students, including transgender students. Those who have a gender identity different from the sex they were assigned at birth are not being given enough protection, let alone the type of welcoming atmosphere that encourages learning.
Some schools have shown leadership by working closely with transgender students and their parents to ensure their needs are met. They have encouraged the creation of student groups to celebrate diversity and made clear that derogatory language is unacceptable. But too many schools have not taken steps to end verbal and physical harassment.
A continuing legal battle over an Orono school prohibiting a transgender child from using the girls bathroom has drawn attention to the experiences of transgender students in Maine. The case has highlighted how little public understanding there is of the best ways to support transgender students' education.
