Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Christine D. on TGNCNBI Rights and Support
1:54:02
ยท
135 sec
Christine D. shares their personal journey as a transgender individual growing up in a conservative family and working as a teacher in NYC public schools. They express support for all bills on the docket and emphasize the importance of standing up for LGBTQ+ youth.
- Highlights the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in family, education, and professional settings
- Emphasizes the acceptance and support received from students when coming out as trans
- Calls for continued support and recognition of TGNCNBI rights and experiences
Christine D.
1:54:02
Afternoon.
1:54:03
There we go.
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My legal name is Christine DeGlandria, but you can call me Dico.
1:54:07
I use theythem pronouns and I support all of the bills on the docket today.
1:54:11
And don't mind these crutches.
1:54:13
I'm fine.
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That's just what I get for playing rugby twenty years ago like every other gay kid.
1:54:17
I mean, you can't see me standing but I'm five foot three and weigh a hundred pounds.
1:54:21
But it was totally worth it because that college rugby team was the first place I felt safe to come out.
1:54:28
You see, I grew up in a blue collar conservative Catholic family in Ridgewood, Queens, and when I was in middle school, I remember asking my dad what it meant to be gay, and he said it was disgusting.
1:54:39
When I started going out with a girl in college, I didn't tell my parents about her.
1:54:43
In fact, I didn't come out for two years.
1:54:47
I waited until the night before I graduated from Yale University because as the first in my family to go to a four year college, I thought that was the moment they would be proudest of me.
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And still, I remember my dad yelling at my mom on that phone call and telling her it was her fault for not wearing enough dresses around me.
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Speaking of dresses, when I started teaching eighteen years ago in New York City public schools, I didn't know what to wear.
1:55:14
All the men wore ties and all the women wore blouses, so where did that leave me?
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And then when I cut my hair, my assistant principal demanded to know who all the gay teachers were in a faculty meeting.
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When queer students were being outed forcibly by administrators to their parents and they came to me for help, my principal told me that if I started a gay straight alliance, I would be quote out by June.
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When I put on my first tie in the classroom, my dad saw a Facebook picture and said it was the ugliest picture of me he'd ever seen.
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But you know who didn't flinch?
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My students.
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When I started wearing suits to work and told them it wasn't Miss Decalandria anymore, it was just Deco, they didn't blink.
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Kids in New York City stood up for me twenty years ago when I came out as trans, and now I'm standing up for them.
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One last thing, to all of the queer kids here today who are speaking, thank you for being here, for sharing your stories.
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We see you, we hear you, and we will fight for you.
1:56:17
Thank you.