Host Beau Bradley (he/they) welcomes back Season 2 guest, Valina Eckley (her/she), to talk all things transgender including Val's personal experiences growing up in rural Wyoming, her coming out story, and how she came to found CHEER Salt Lake, an all volunteer non-profit and sibling team of CHEER Seattle!
Valina blesses listeners with vulnerability, lots of important insight - especially on asexuality, honest information about the Transgender community, and her signature humor - despite Valina's insistence that she isn't punny!
The pair discuss high school and second puberty, what it was like growing up knowing your were different - but not knowing quite well, agreeing that right now is the best time in both of their lives. Then Valina shares the story of Mathew Shepherd, a freshman at the University of Wyoming who was violently murdered in October 1998 following in a horrific act of homophobia, and what it was like to be the only out/openly transgender student at the University at that time. She credits this incident as a part of her hormone journey which included a move to San Francisco!
Discussions turn to her upcoming vulvaplasty, and her decision to have that procedure versus a vaginoplasty, Val's feelings on transgender participation in sports, especially following the influx of anti-transgender legislation across the country. Highlighting Utah's recent ban on trans girls in sports. Valina, shares her perspective as a trans athlete, and leader, team founder, and the true trailblazer that she is, including what she and CHEER Salt Lake (CSL) are doing to fight back including telling her personal story publicly on Transgender Day of Visibility, and CSL's involvement with Genderbands on getting children's books with trans and non-binary representation in the shelves of every public library in the State of Utah. Like we said, trailblazer!
We could keep sharing what Valina and Beau discussed, or you could listen yourself to absorb all of the information you can get from this pair.
Find out more about CHEER Salt Lake at @CheerSaltLake or https://cheersaltlake.org AND check out their book project, where you can also donate at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/cheer-salt-lake/transgender-children-s-book-drive
Find Valina's TikTok at @TransCheerVal
Find out more about Gender Bands at @GenderBands
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Beau my God is a unique space for trans and gender nonconforming individuals and their allies to rumble about the things going on in our community, all things queer, what it's like to exist in a world that generally doesn't understand us
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