I am a 22 year old trans man currently completing my final semester at VCU. I began my transition from female to male at 16, but did not begin HRT until age 18. Because of the policies in place when I attended high school (Class of ‘17) I was unable to use the boys’ bathroom for an entire two years, which resulted in me not using the restroom for over 8 hours a day 5 days a week.
In health class, there was never any guidance on the health of trans bodies, which resulted in me having to find all of my information about gender dysphoria, trans mental health, etc. all online, which gave me some accurate information but a lot of false information as well.
It is 2021. It is time that trans people and especially trans children are given access to the necessary care they deserve to be able to live happy and successful lives just like their cis-gender counterparts. There has been evidence of transgender and gender variant people for centuries and it is unjust to attempt to completely invalidate our exisitence. We owe it to our virginia students to pass this bill and improve their elementary and secondary school experiences.