Trans Youth Are Resilient: Wren's Story

Outright recognizes that LGBTQ+ youth are the experts in their own lives, with unique insights and experience to lead change wherever they are. We are thrilled to share with you a series written by Vermont youth, sharing their experiences and perspectives on issues that impact them, their peers, and their communities.

Wren is a Youth Organizer and student athlete. She shared the following at the Vermont Statehouse on Leadership Day.

Two years ago I was the center of a lawsuit involving another school’s snowboard coach being fired for commenting on my identified gender.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. The air was cold, the type of cold that bites at your face. I was looking down at the rails and boxes dotting the course from my perch atop the jump. My hype music was playing as tricks flashed through my head. Then I remember hearing the harsh screech of a megaphone ring out, "Ten minutes till girls drop, be ready on deck!"

I can still hear the crunch of their Burton boots breaking the fresh corduroy as my friend approached me. They said, "Wren, do you have a minute?" I saw the concern on their face. They continued, "My coach was talking to the team and you got brought up. He said that we have to compete extra hard today because a boy pretending to be a girl was trying to steal our win." My eyelids stung as I did my best to hold back tears.

That coach later sued the school and the state, claiming protections under freedom of speech and religious beliefs. He was backed by a designated hate group who funded his lawsuit and he told his story every chance he had. He tells a story of a respectful conversation that took place in the lodge during a “break” in the competition about physical advantages for males. His recollection of the story was very different from mine.

I watched his story unfold online and in my community, but my story was never told. I was the one who reported him to my coach. I reported him only because students on his team who heard his comments were gender nonconforming themselves. I was protecting them. I do not know about that coach's conversation in the lodge, but I do know his comments that I reported were made during the competition. I never thought he would be fired, I never imagined a lawsuit, and I never imagined members in my community had so much hate.

The pain and guilt were all consuming. I spent hours searching the internet. I read everything I could. I was obsessed with the case. I was ashamed and scared, but my friends, family, and community gathered around me and I felt safe. In these times we need community. The Queer community is under attack in all facets of life and we need to stand up and fight back.

I stand in front of you as a proud Trans woman who has suffered for my own truth. My name and identity has been dragged through the mud by the media as my enemies and haters have been placed on a pedestal. But I will always get back up to fight on and speak out both for myself and those who are yet to find their own voices.