Pride Month started this year on Tuesday, June 1, and is a time for everyone especially those in the LGBTQ+ community to be authentically themselves. Those who are a part of the transgender community sometimes have it rougher than others when it comes to expressing themselves. This article hopes to help those in need, while also educating others on what transgender is and the ins and outs of the lifestyle. This article will be an interview with Ellie Baird, a transgender woman, who officially changed her name on May 14, 2021, to Elodie but goes by Ellie.
Baird, came out in 2017 to family and friends, but knew she was transgender for a while.
“I was 25. I grew up in the Midwest and didn’t know transgender was something you could be. They didn’t give out that kind of information out there. I always knew something was off though,” said Baird.
Growing up in the Midwest, Baird got mixed reactions on how family and friends took the news.
“My father was surprised and confused, he thought I was coming out as gay but was married [my wife]. My mother passed away in 2008 and I haven’t talked to her side of the family since then. My father’s side took it well, as well as my wife. There was a point when my wife was a little sad about her husband disappearing after such a short time but I think she would have been more disappointed in me had I not come out and remained unhappy myself,” said Baird.
One of Baird’s top priorities is safety.
“I am hyper aware of my safety and I no longer walk to work. I am more privileged than most because I live in a very accepting area and I realize it is harder for transgender women of color,” said Baird.
Safety is a huge thing for the transgender community, along with being able to get the treatments and surgeries needed to make the full transition. Not all people in the transgender community will under go the treatments and surgeries, but for those wish to it is really important to them.
“I was way more emotional. Emotional commercials or adoption websites bring on a lot of emotions for me. I have been on [hormones] for about 2 years and my emotions are just more if that makes any sense,” said Baird.
Figuring out who you are and being able to express yourself is difficult no matter the age.
“I hate the idea of kids not knowing themselves. There are puberty blockers for transgender kids to make the decision themselves. Parents should listen to them and let them take the blockers because if they think they are transgender they probably are. Let them take the puberty blockers to let them get to know themselves during their high school years,” said Baird.
There are many challenges the transgender community faces in today’s society, one being the transgender sport bans that are coming out country wide.
“Transgender kids are just like any other kid and shouldn’t be excluded. I used sports like most kids to get out of doing piano lessons. I think it is nonsense for any kid to be excluded no matter their gender. In professional sports transgender women have been competeing with cisgender women in the Olympics for years and there is testosterone testing done. Transgender women actually have lower testosterone than cisgender women, and by the way a transgender woman has never medaled in the Olympics,” said Baird.
There are many obstacles and challenges the transgender community faced today. Hopefully, Baird’s personal experience can help our readers who relate to Baird and those who may be struggling to navigate this part of their life. We would like to thank Baird for their time and courage for doing this interview.
Sara Collins
Staff Reporter