Navajo transgender shares story

By Andrew Beale | Daily Lobo
Last updated: 8 hours ago

http://www.dailylobo.com/index.php/article/2010/11/navajo_transgender_shares_story

Mattee Jim always knew she wasn't like the other kids she went to preschool with.

"I felt I was a little girl instead of a little boy running around in jeans," she said.
Jim, a transgender Navajo, shared her life story with students and community members at the Ethnic Center Foyer in Mesa Vista Hall on Monday. She said growing up different in Gallup presented constant challenges.

"I experienced transphobia at a young age," Jim said. "In preschool, my teacher stuck me in a room with only boys' toys. She had taken all the girls' toys out and she left me there. For the whole hour and a half, I didn't touch anything. I wanted to play with Barbies."