Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Debra Davis is a hugger. She describes herself as a parent, grandmother, good friend and good neighbor. She’s also a transgender person.
Davis will be relating her experiences in her presentation “Transgender: The New Face on Campus” tonight at 7 at the Courtside Room in the Burge Union.
The presentation, of which Davis has given more than 1,000, has taken her to campuses across the Midwest, including previous visits to the University. Davis said she enjoyed speaking at each school because of the experiences she had at each one.
KANSAN
Davis focuses her presentations on her life as a transgender person. She said people often asked her what it was like to transition from male to female. Davis dedicates a portion of her time to tell stories about her life and the transition process, which started when she was a high school librarian. She also reserves time for questions from the audience. She said being led in new directions by the students’ curiosity was the most exciting part of her tours around the Midwest during the past several years.
“I never know where people will bring me,” Davis said. “That’s what’s really fun about it. Plus I’m hard to embarrass, so people can ask anything.”
Ashlynn Horras, Knoxville, Iowa, junior, and member of KU Queers and Allies, said she had listened to Davis on one of her previous visits. Horras said the presentation was effective because Davis was open and honest about transgender people. Horras, a Queers and Allies member, said members of the LGBT community, which stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, sometimes failed to realize that the community was more diverse than gay and lesbian.
“The T part of LGBT gets ignored or marginalized too often,” Horras said.
People in the LGBT community aren’t the only ones who sometimes ignore transgender people, Davis said. She said that her identity didn’t revolve around being a transgender person, but sometimes that was all people chose to see.
“People just struggle with diversity,” Davis said. “No matter what it is.”
Davis said although she was generally well-received, people at some schools had not been as accepting. Davis said she had received hate mail and death threats scribbled on the sidwalk in front of venues where she was scheduled to speak. Schools have advised her on several occasions to allow guards to accompany her during her visits.
She kindly refused the offers.
“I go where I’m asked because people are curious,” Davis said. “No one is required to be there. We all need to be accepting and loving.”
Rachel Gadd-Nelson, Kansas City, Kan., sophomore and public relations manager for Queers and Allies, said awareness for transgender people would not come immediately, despite the efforts of people such as Davis. She said that misunderstandings regarding transgender people were common, even in the gay and lesbian community. Gadd-Nelson said the problem stemmed from difficulty defining gender for transgender people.
Davis said the point of her presentation was to explain how people become transgender individuals. She said the issue was not clear-cut.
“I don’t know if I even understand the whole thing,” Davis said.
break box
Debra Davis:www.debradavis.org
Today is Queers and Allies’s Transgender Awareness Day, which is one reason Davis will be on campus this week. Nelson said Davis’ presentation sould help people understand more diverse communities.
Horras said accessibility to diversity was what college was all about.
“We’re college students and we’re here to learn,” Horras said. “And not just in the credits we’re enrolled in.”
— — Edited by Mary Sorrick
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