'Transgender' Activist Speaks

A national "transgender" activist last night told a group of 12 undergraduates, graduate students and alumni that traditional gender categories are limiting and should be transgressed.

Some participants held hands during the meeting, which was the first gathering of the Transgender Task Force. The group was founded by Alex S. Myers '00, the transgender student who last year pushed the Undergraduate Council to add gender identity to its non-discrimination clause.

The transgender movement has recently been gaining publicity. Tonight, Myers will be featured in a story on NBC's PrimeTime Live. He has also been interviewed by newspapers and magazines including Newsweek and The Baltimore Sun.

"There is enormous power to be claimed by residing in middle ground, in eschewing categorization," said Nancy Nangeroni, director of the International Foundation for Gender Education, to the students.

Nangeroni, a male-to-female transsexual, described the prejudice she faced when she "transitioned" at the age of 38. She recounted growing up in a family where "to be queer was the worst thing imaginable."

"Identity is a dynamic thing," she said.

Nangeroni also said she gained support for the transgender movement by proving that she was an integral part of the engineering firm where she works. She said her approach to activism has been to "try to make everyone want to join our party."

Last year, Nangeroni was influential in getting the Cambridge City Council to add gender identity to its non-discrimination clause.

Myers said the goals of the Transgender Task Force are to educate the student body about transgenderism and, eventually, to include gender-identity in the University's non-discrimination policy.

To that end, he said he wants the College to add a mandatory session on "transgenderism" to next year's first-year Orientation Week.

Some students said they attended the meeting because they were interested in learning more about transgenderism.

Others, such as Courtney F. Powell '00, said she hopes the queer and transgender communities begin to work together.

One participant, an undergraduate, said she transitioned from male to female six months ago and was deciding "how out to be."