Why Might Steinmetz Choose To Be Outwardly Solil?

Group 2
Q3) Explain the significance of Christine Jorgensen. [see p. 40] Christine Jorgensen was one of the first in modern American history to be outwardly transgender. Christine was in World War II as a soldier born George. During her time in the World War II, she started to look for a surgeon to “physically transform him into her” (Steinmetz 40). As a result, Christine was honorably discharged for the army. This story was a headline on December 1, 1952 for the New York Daily News. In a newsletter, Jorgensen wrote, “Nature made a mistake, […] which I have had corrected” (Steinmetz 40). Jorgensen’s story created so much chatter for the transgender world. It was said she, “became a national sensation and led some Americans to question ideas
[see p. 46] I think Steinmetz may have ended the article with the story of Soleil because it shows how cruel people are. Soleil is six years old and is bullied everyday. That makes me sick to my stomach. I liked how Cox did not identify Soleil as a female or male. I think that was the message that Steinmetz was trying to get across through her article. That everyone is perfect, and beautiful as themselves; it does not matter what gender they identify with. Cox says toe Soleil, “Don’t let anything that they say get to you. […] Just know that you’re amazing” (Steinmetz 46); and I believe that is the true message of the article. Children are our future. Thus, “We need to protect our children, […] allow them to be themselves” (Steinmetz 46).
Q12) View the two YouTube clips links below. The first is of Cassidy Lynn Campbell, the transgender homecoming queen. The second is of Laverne Cox, a star in Orange is the New Black, who discusses herself on the cover of Time. How do these two feel about their experiences as transgender individuals?
“America’s Transgender Homecoming Queen Speaks Out” (5:16)
At the age of eleven, she tried to kill herself to end the bullying. She explained, “everyone was telling me that who I was authentically was a problem and I didn’t really know how to be anything else but myself and so I wanted to end it” (7:50 - 7:59). But when she decided to transition, she realized she was not changing who she was, she was just evolving into more of herself. Through her experience she said that biggest mountain she had to overcome was, “to learn to love myself as I am even as I change, even as my body evolves into being more myself” (8:25 - 8:30). Now she wants to educate the transgender community, as well as people outside the transgender community. Laverne explains that conversations about transgender people are hard, but through the world meeting transgender people and seeing them as human beings first and get to know them as a human being then misconceptions begin to disappear. She also said, “there’s not a universal trans experience” ( 6:17 - 6:20), so when listening to someone’s story, let them take the lead on their own story and do not jump to conclusions. Laverne believes that the conversation about the transgender community is becoming easier because, “a lot has to do with the fact that trans people because of the internet and because of social media trans people have our voice now and we are letting our voices be heard and we’re willing to be visible” (1:26 - 1:38). Ultimately,