Speaker educates students about sexual reassignment
Iliana Deanda
At first glance most people wouldn’t be able to recognize that Ally was born a male. On Nov. 17 Ally spoke to students about her life story on being transgendered.
At age four Ally knew that something was wrong and that she felt different.
“I would look at my sisters and look at how they interacted with my father and how they were dressed and thought shouldn’t I be that way? Why am I different?”
“Just knowing who you are in the core and being told your something different (but) knowing your instincts are incorrect, that’s how I knew.”
Not having enough resources because of society’s limitations is what prevented Ally from questioning her feelings at a young age.
“I didn’t know enough to bring it up. It just wasn’t in scope (back then). I was born in 1962, so you’re talking about (transgender) not being out there. There was no one, Renee Richards didn’t exist yet and Christine Jorgensen did but as a fantasy,” Ally said.
Ally kept her true feelings supressed for 31 years before coming out to her family.
“I had a great up bringing and I was brought up as a very pragmatic person. My parent’s weren’t so much upset that I was doing this, they were upset that they hadn’t noticed that I had gone through this amount of pain, and were afraid for me,” Ally said.
” They were afraid for what it would be like, how I would survive. For the longest time people who knew me would look at me (her name as a male),” Ally said.
“So when someone new meets me nobody sees anything but a mother and a daughter. Once they saw that, they began to be more comfortable and that’s when they thought she can survive.”
For students in a similar situation Ally recomends gaining support from others.
“Absolutely seek out support. You can’t do it alone, it’s too hard. That support could be a therapist or transgendered support groups, just find the right one,” Ally said.
“Don’t let anybody push you further then you want to be, but don’t let anyone hold you back. It is a much more acceptable thing today then it has ever been. Live who you are. The world allows for that now but be careful.
