Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“For someone like me, feeling good about the way you look is so important. It adds to your self-esteem. It defines how you function in everyday life. If you look in the mirror every day and say, ‘I don’t want to look like this,’ you won’t have the will, the drive, to be anything in life.”

Jessy, as a transgender man, reflects here on wanting to become a doctor for the trans community. He is speaking in the context of recalling his sessions with his therapist, Nicole, as he struggled to decide whether to start taking hormones. This quote captures why The Harm of Social Rejection can be so severe. A society that works to silence and punish transgender people, rather than accept them, by nature limits their freedom to express themselves and their access to medical transition. It forces them to remain in a state that is perpetually draining, undermining their ability to reach their full potential.

“This is me! The world will just have to deal with it.”

This quote from Jessy reflects a key milestone in Self-Discovery as a Journey as he describes overcoming his trepidation about starting to take hormones. It also captures a sentiment at the heart of Beyond Magenta. Transgender people face a constant and difficult choice: work to hide their true selves for the comfort of society, or stand up to society daily by openly being themselves. Jessy’s phrasing here reflects the resolve to accept himself that his