Outgoing American University Student President Comes Out as Transgender

This post comes from HRC Intern Tucker Cholvin:

http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/outgoing-american-university-student-president-comes-out-as-transgender

Outgoing American University Student Body President Sarah McBride managed to make waves on campus even on her very last day as Student Body President, announcing in her farewell speech that she considers herself transgender and identifies as a female. She made use of the occasion to release an op-ed in The Eagle, an American University student newspaper. She writes:

"As SG President, I realized that as great as it is to work on issues of fairness, it only highlighted my own struggles. It didn't bring the completeness that I sought. By mid-fall, it had gotten to the point where I was living in my own head. With everything I did, from the mundane to the exciting, the only way I was able to enjoy it was if I re-imagined doing it as a girl. My life was passing me by, and I was done wasting it as someone I wasn't.

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Op-Ed: The Real Me
May 1, 2012

http://www.theeagleonline.com/opinion/story/the-real-me/

also at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-mcbride/the-real-me_b_1504207.html

Yesterday, I ended my term as AU's student body president. I have learned and grown so much over the last year, both personally and professionally. As proud as I am of all of the issues we tackled together, the biggest take away, for me, has been the resolution of an internal struggle.

For my entire life, I've wrestled with my gender identity.  It was only after the experiences of this year that I was able to come to terms with what had been my deepest secret: I'm transgender.

For me, it has been present my whole life, but, for the longest time, I couldn't accept it.

Tim McBride, American University student body president, comes out as transgendered
May 8, 2012 - 11:02 pm

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/05/tim-mcbride-american-university-student-body-president-comes-out-as-transgendered--75776.html

The most recent student body president at American University made a big revelation while stepping down from the position.

[...]

While it was Tim who took office, it's Sarah who will be leaving it.

After 21 years, McBride says she finally feels like she's in the right skin.

"I go to school in an environment that's accepting.  The hardest part for me was coming to terms with it in relation to my ego, in my relation to my ambitions and my dreams," McBride explained.

Those dreams, political ones, which is why she served in the Undergraduate Senate, vice president of College Democrats and eventually Student Government president.

Sarah Smiles
After years of struggling with gender identity, AU student president comes out as transgender to supportive campus

By Will O'Bryan
Published on May 10, 2012, 5:20am

http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=7339

As April turned to May, change was afoot on D.C.'s American University campus. For starters, April 30 marked the end of Student Government President Tim McBride's term. The next day, The Eagle, AU's student newspaper, featured a column from the outgoing president titled ''The Real Me.''

''For my entire life, I've wrestled with my gender identity,'' McBride wrote in part. ''It was only after the experiences of this year I was able to come to terms with what had been my deepest secret: I'm transgender.''

With that, Sarah Elizabeth McBride came out as a transgender woman about as publicly as possible. The reception she's gotten from her AU community has been, in a word, ''overwhelming.'' In a good way.

Sarah McBride: The Autostraddle Interview

Posted by Carmen
on May 16, 2012

http://www.autostraddle.com/sarah-mcbride-the-autostraddle-interview-138025/

I took the opportunity to talk to Sarah more about her experiences and put her beautiful face on Autostraddle because I know her personally; it is my expert opinion that her story not only exemplifies the personal triumph of coming out, but also illustrates the bravery and sense of responsibility often linked to non-normative identities. Before we begin, I will be clear: I am immensely proud of her. It is my honor and privilege to be her friend.

Sarah McBride and I met in May of last year, when we began our terms in the Student Government. She was my boss - I was Director of Women's Initiative and she was the President - but in the beginning of her term I called her "Tim."  When she came out to me, I was sitting in the backseat of her beige Toyota Highlander and had just gotten back from New Jersey. She had just come out to her parents. She wore a dress to the metro and told me as soon as I sat down in the cold leather seat. It was December 29.