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SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Awareness) Presents Stonewall Speakers
On Friday, April 29, 2016, members from the Stonewall Speakers of CT spoke at morning assembly. Stonewall Speakers is an all-volunteer speaker’s bureau comprised of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people and their allies. Their goal is to dispel myths and stereotypes that hurt LBGT people by sharing their personal accounts of their lives. (The choice of “Stonewall” is a tribute to the historical Stonewall Rebellion of June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, which is recognized as the start of the Gay Rights movement in the U.S.)
Four members from Stonewall shared their stories and life-lessons learned. Lori, the mother of a transgender girl, spoke candidly of the “absolute, terrifying fear” as she watched her child transition. Toni and Andrew who came of age in the 1950’s and 1960’s shared their struggle to come out as lesbian and gay respectively, during a time and place where there were no visible allies in sight. And Kerry spoke of “falling in love with the person” regardless of gender and the pain of rejection from her “two families”—her biological family and then her lesbian community. (To hear their stories , please watch the video attached to this story.)
The speakers had an additional opportunity to continue their storytelling in a question and answer session with students, over two block periods, in the Weissman Room. Topics covered ranged from the political to the personal, including how to incorporate LGBT issues in the curriculum, how LGBT issues are reported in the media, and maintaining relationships with family members who are fearful of your journey. In her final remark of the session, Kerry said, “There is a never a bad outcome in letting your child be who they are going to be.”
SAGA is a student club created to promote sexual and gender equality across the Hopkins campus. A special thank you to faculty advisors Kate Horsley and James Gette and SAGA student leaders Annika Eberle, Kai Keevil, Emma Weiss and Maya Russell for bringing Stonewall Speakers to campus.
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