As the nation continues to mark Transgender Awareness Week, advocates say it’s an important time to amplify the stories of trans people while also acknowledging the challenges the trans community is facing.
Tarren McDonnell is well aware of those challenges. While life for the 22-year-old is great now, there was a time when things were a lot more difficult.
“When I was 15, I was so depressed,” said McDonnell.
At the time, she was struggling as a student at Perkiomen Valley High School, but things changed when she started to change.
“I came out when I was 16, and I started transitioning when I was 17,” said McDonnell, a transgender woman.
Last year, she used her voice to speak out in front of the Perkiomen Valley School Board against a controversial bathroom policy that critics said was anti-trans.
“I got up there. I spoke out. I said what I needed to say. I shared my story,” she said.
It’s the kind of story that’s put into the spotlight during Transgender Awareness Week.
“Our vision of an inclusive and hopeful future still remains very strong,” said Ash Lazarus Orr with The Advocates for Trans Equality.