Freedom To Be: Joy, Family, & Transgender Rights

It’s why when 15-year-old Daniel wanted to take action against the discrimination he faced from anti-trans legislation in his home state of Arizona, there was no question that his parents, Lizette and Jose, would stand beside him. In May 2023, Daniel teamed up with three other trans teens to organize the country’s first Trans Prom on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. “We wanted to make a place where you could celebrate who you were instead of having to be fearful,” Daniel says.

With the help of parents, community members, other trans activists and the ACLU, Daniel and his co-organizers were able to bring more than 50 trans and non-binary young people to the Capitol for an event that was as much a celebration as it was a protest. Most importantly, the Trans Prom was a chance to allow these kids the freedom to be exactly who they are. It’s what Lizette and Jose have wanted for Daniel his whole life. “All you want is for your child to love who they are fully,” Lizette says. “The trans prom was Daniel saying he loved himself fully and wanted to give that to other kids.”

That effort is built on a foundation of love and trust, his father, Stephen, explains. When Hobbes came out to his father as trans several years ago, there wasn’t the slightest concern that the news would fray their bond. “I was like, ‘If this is who you are, I'm going to support you. I see you the way you see you,’” Stephen says.

Hobbes navigated high school in New Jersey with the support of his family and his broader community, but knew that so many other trans kids around the country didn’t get the same experience. Wanting to speak out about it, he banded together with three other teens to hold the first-ever Trans Prom on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. For Hobbes, it was a chance to build community, advocate for others, and to enjoy “the freedom to be as joyful as I can.”

Dolan-Sandrino is the founder of TEAM Mag, a creative studio and digital zine, and, during the Obama administration, served as an ambassador for The White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for African Americans. More recently, her dreams have expanded beyond merely being seen. For her, the freedom to be is being able to “ to laugh with my friends, with my loved ones, with my family,” Dolan-Sandrino says. “The freedom to express myself and the freedom to create is something that only occurs when all of the requirements that I need in order to thrive have been met.”

But, she learned over time that by speaking and singing out loud she could drown out the negative voices in her head. Now, whether it’s in person as a member of a choir, or online as a social media content creator, Elsy is using her words to build community and advocate for marginalized people. Elsy says that, for her, the freedom to be is the freedom “to use my voice; to take something that I was so scared of … and just turning it into something that can make an actual change, not only for me but like for the world.

Throughout all of it, Porsche has remained centered by holding true to her identity as a Black trans woman. She’s also been able to find creative self-expression — and a living — through drag performance. “When you walk around that curtain, you can be anything you want,” Porsche says. “It gives you power for those four minutes you’re up there.”

Today, Porsche is dismayed to see drag bans sweeping the country. “Drag is not hurting nobody,” she says. Drag bans are just another way for politicians to police freedom of expression, Porsche says. But even in the face of such censorship, Porsche is choosing to practice her art and pursue the freedom to be exactly as she is. “Freedom to be Porsche is to be authentically me,” she says.

It wasn’t until he arrived in Tucson, Arizona to pursue his PhD at the University of Arizona, later joining the university as a professor of family and human development, did Toomey begin to feel the freedom of belonging. He was devastated, however, when he discovered that the university’s health insurance discriminated against him and other trans employees by not covering gender-affirming care. Once again, he was made to feel othered.

Toomey decided to fight for equality in healthcare and filed a class-action lawsuit against the state of Arizona demanding equal treatment in health care. They won when Arizona Governor Katie Hobbes signed an executive order ending the ban on gender-affirming care for trans state employees. For Toomey, the freedom to be means getting to live now as his full self — especially when he’s in nature. “When I'm in nature, there's nobody there judging me,” Toomey says. “The mountains don't judge me. The wildlife that's around me isn't judging me...I can just be.”

After beginning their career as a program coordinator at Gay Men's Health Crisis, managing their transgender program (Project Transcend) and planning events for the community, today Rey is a facilitator and consultant for workplace inclusion at various companies and nonprofits. It’s a labor of love and advocacy that can be mentally and spiritually taxing. Rey relies on movement and meditation as forms of self-care. “Without taking care of myself, I won't be able to pour into my community,” they explain. “The freedom to be authentic for me means that I am able to live my truth without boundaries, without limits.”

Uplifting and celebrating the stories and images of Black trans women has been the driving force of her work as a writer, model, actor, and activist. She was the first Black trans woman to star in a film at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019, and has modeled for fashion brands like Calvin Klein and Chromat. Writing for Out Magazine, The New York Times and others, Jari has called for better treatment of girls like her, and for queer people more broadly. As powerful an advocate as Jones is, always ready to get in front of the camera to make change, she is sustained by the support and caretaking of others. The freedom to be truly herself, Jari says, “looks like being held by many. It looks like being protected without hesitation. It looks like going the extra mile for myself, but also for just black trans women in general.”

Alexander began receiving gender-affirming care, including hormone therapy, when he was 17. For the first time in his life, he was excited. Rather than living in daydreams where one day he would be able to live as his true self, “I knew it was going to happen,” he explains. To help others have that same sense of actualization, Alexander founded Valid USA, which offers free chest binders, packers, and feminine shaping undergarments to transgender and gender-diverse youth up to the age of 24. Amid rampant attacks on gender-affirming care, Alexander has seen first-hand how impactful these resources are for young people, and is grateful that he can serve as a role model of what an adult life can look like as a trans person. The ability to represent a better future is what gives Alexander the freedom to be who he is. “Being able to grow up and live a safe and healthy life where I don't have fears, where I can do the same thing that all my cis friends do … That means in some way I made it,” he says.