Episode 9 - Transfemme

In kin•dom campfire chats, we asked camp participants to think of a question that they wish someone would ask them about their life journey. With a friend and in their own words, the campers tell their stories of struggle, love, support, and a community found. 

Episode 9:
Camper 1 - 15yo - They/She
Camper 2 - 15yo - He/Him

"Sometimes, it's hard feeling alone, but recently I've gotten more representation in the media."

Find out more about us by visiting our website, kindomcommunity.org. There you can find information about kin•dom camp and consider supporting our work with a one-time or recurring donation. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @kindomcommunity to keep up with all the important information.

Transcript

music  0:00  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build, let's build a place we can go”]  

Narrator  0:09  
Thank you for tuning in to kin•dom campfire chats, a podcast of kin•dom community. This podcast features the voices of LGBTQIA+ persons, both youth participants and adult staff who attended kin•dom camp in Texas in the summer of 2023. We asked the camp participants to think of a question that they wish someone would ask them about their life journey with a friend and in their own words, the campers tell their stories of struggle, love support, and a community found, we invite you to listen with an open mind and an open heart. 

music  0:50  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "This is the place”] 

speaker 1  0:55  
How is it being a trans femme in a mostly trans masc community? 

speaker 2  1:00  
It feels isolating sometimes. Because I can connect to the experiences of a lot of trans masc people, but in– in real life, I don't have any trans femme friends. There's, there's just not very much like representation. And it causes a lot of people to be, to be less accepting of trans femme people. It's a very like common thing to like, be like, oh, like I've– I've heard someone literally say, and like this is kind of the trans, the queer equivalent, the gay equivalent of this, where they are they're like, 'oh, lesbians, okay, but gay men are disgusting.' And I feel like a lot of people have the same thing with trans mascs and transfemmes like transmascs are okay, but transfemmes are weird because of the patriarchy.

speaker 1  1:56  
Yeah, it's definitely felt because I feel like we as a society have this - especially with like, our young, like our boys, how we raise them, it– we're very strict about 'this is how a boy's supposed to act.' So I guess when one does decide that they're not one, it becomes an issue.

speaker 2  2:17  
And sometimes it's hard feeling alone. But recently, I've got more representation in media and stuff. So that feels good. The, the reason that so many people have this feeling, I think, is because the– if, if in a male dominated society, if there's other males, then there's like, then it's not like, you're not attracted to them if you're transphobic person. Generally you're not gay if you're transphobic. So they, so it's like, it's not like this weird like, 'oh, what? I'm attracted to a trans woman? That's weird.' And, like, if someone can, if someone can willingly leave being a man, then it means that being a man is not necessarily better.

speaker 1  3:19  
How did you come out to yourself?

speaker 2  3:22  
So, for a while, I either hated myself when I realized I was queer through internet exploration - that's the nice way of putting that - and it caused me to hate myself very much. And I, I wanted to– I didn't want to keep going anymore like this. So it was a really dark time before I came out. And so eventually, I started like, going to camp. And I learned, like, what non-binary meant and stuff. And I was like, 'Wait, I don't have to be- I don't have to be what they say I have to be.' And I allowed myself to be me, and express myself in my own ways. 

music  4:24  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build, let's build a place we can go”] 

Narrator  4:33  
Thank you for listening to kin•dom campfire chats. This podcast is a production of kin•dom community. You can find out more about kin•dom community by going to kindomcommunity.org or by searching kin•dom community on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Baylee  4:58  
Hi y'all, it's Baylee. I'm the Creative Director of kin•dom community.

Andy  5:04  
And I'm Andy, the Program Director of kin•dom community.

John  5:07  
And I'm John, the Executive Director of kin•dom community.

Baylee  5:10  
We wanted to talk a little bit more about kin•dom camp and how you can get involved.

Andy  5:15  
kin•dom camp is an opportunity for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 17 to feel safe and free to show up as their full selves. Campers will have the chance to experience all the fun that camp has to offer in a week filled with affirmation community and celebration. This camp is intentionally created to be affirming space. It affirms all genders, sexualities, identities, and varieties of belief. The only thing we expect is a commitment to welcoming and celebrating everyone where they are as they are. 

Baylee  5:44  
And this isn't just any summer camp - we're talking rainbows and glitter everywhere. kin•dom camp will include plenty of traditional camp activities and recreation, plus some specialized programming to incorporate activities and conversations around mental health, yoga, embodiment, and LGBTQIA+ history and culture. Now more than ever, LGBTQ youth are in need of unconditional love and acceptance. kin•dom camp is a space for just that.

John  6:14  
We're always looking for fully affirming, welcoming and loving adults to help us make kin•dom camp a success. This will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with, mentor, and learn from our youth. But most importantly, we ask that you are ready to celebrate everyone where they are as they are.

Andy  6:33  
Both registration for campers and applications to be on camp staff are now open. You can find these links on our website kindomcommunity.org/camp. If you have any questions you can't find the answers to you can email me at Andy at kindomcommunity.org.

Baylee  6:48  
Also, be sure to check this out on socials @kindomcommunity on Instagram and Facebook. We post all of our important announcements and fun camp moments so you'll want to follow along. 

John  7:00  
Thanks for listening to kin•dom campfire chats. We are proud to be a safe space for these campers and we are even more proud of them for sharing their stories. We hope you'll keep gathering around the campfire with us as we celebrate all of the stories that make us this kin•dom community.

music  7:17  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build”]  

Transcribed by https://otter.ai