Levi Rojas says Laverne Cox’s visit will “open the door for this community.”
Students and celebrities represent transgender perspectives at the university
Photo/Josie Luciano
TAL O T
TRANSPARENCY by Josie Luciano
L
evi Rojas
is a 21-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Reno. He is originally from East Los Angeles, calls his mom his hero, and is a transgender male. He claims he can eat an extra large pepperoni pizza by himself, followed by an order of chicken wings. At first I had my doubts about whether Rojas can actually put down that much food—he’s not a large person—but then he told me what he ate for breakfast, an entire package of string cheese, and I realized that I had to take him at his word for us to move forward from a place of trust and mutual understanding. Questionable diet choices aside, this example of taking Rojas at his word is about the best analogy I can come up with to illustrate the complicated relationship the transgender community has with the media. In response to my request for an interview, Rojas preempted our meeting with an email that I can only guess he has sent many times before. It read, “I would be more than happy to meet with you … [but] I refuse to answer any questions about my medical transition, my genitals, or my sex life as those are always topics which are proposed and I always shoot down as that is no one’s business but mine.”
16 | RN&R |
APRIL 2, 2015
At first, the tone in his email caught me off guard, but if you take a minute to Google “transgender media coverage,” it becomes clear that the cynicism is more defensible than defensive. After being categorically ignored or cast only as sex workers in crime dramas, some recent national news coverage about the transgender community has been aggressively voyeuristic at best, and disrespectful and abusive at worst. Comments like “When did you decide to become a boy/girl?” or “I never would have been able to tell if you hadn’t said something!” dominate the national media narrative. Closer to home, Kimi Cole, Transgender Allies Group director and transgender woman, has also had a few face-palm inquiries directed her way over the years. “Have you had the surgery?” “Do you want the surgery?” Worst of all, “So, how do you do it?” Although Cole usually views these questions as teachable moments for what not to ask, she is justifiably horrified nonetheless. It all comes down to the fact that—for most of us—people do not question our basic identities. But for individuals who identify as the opposite gender than they were biologically born, it is a facet of daily life, and it can be an uphill battle for recognition. As Levi puts it, “You are
