The Journalistic Experience

The Advanced News and Feature Writing class was an amazing experience. I feel as if I learned so much in just four months. Covering the transgender community of Northern Colorado opened my eyes to a community that goes through so much in order to be happy. Not only did I learn exactly what it means to be transgender, but also I was able to get to know the transition process inside and out.

            I came into the class wanting to sharpen my writing, editing, and reporting skills and I feel as if I did just that. Besides conducting interviews and tying together stories, I learned how to capture the reader’s attention, and deliver controversial stories that were both educational and heartfelt. I would say my favorite story to write was my profile story on Ariel Armelino, the partner of a transgender man named Collin Eagen. With Armelino’s cooperation, I was able to tell the other side of the story; the partner’s transition, too.

            I think what was most difficult for me was making sure I could tell stories that were both interesting and informal, yet controversial and would cause readers to think. I didn’t want to be repetitive with my stories, so I tried my hardest to tell stories that hadn’t been told. I think I did a good job of this, and I was able to get really in depth with my stories.

            I have become a better writer and editor since I entered this class and the University of Northern Colorado’s journalism school; I think the class has prepared me to take on the journalism world. With the skills sharpening that has happened, I feel very confident that I can be a great writer and editor for a newspaper or a magazine, and I’m ready to get my feet wet and contribute as much as I can to the world of great journalism.

Transitioning Health Care

During these harsh economic times, one major issue health care. Transgender health care is always transitioning, and for those in the community, it is not easy to find a sufficient physician. Sure, there are GLBT friendly clinics and such, but that doesn’t necessarily mean doctors know how to handle the complicated health matters that arise during one’s transition.

Less than a month ago, the National Coalition for LGBT Health hosted its National LGBT Health Awareness week and released Health Care Rights and Transgender People, a guide stating the rights transgender people have when it comes to health, as well as the protection they deserve. Although many Americans would benefit from the Affordable Care Act, members of the transgender community could definitely gain immense benefits if it were to pass.

One of the struggles transgender people go through when it comes to seeking health care is humane treatment. Many in society have yet to be educated on what it means to be transgender, but that is not an excuse for health care providers to be ignorant of the term nor the community. Although health care procedures for the trans community can be complicated, there is no reason why health care providers should discriminate, refuse treatment, and refuse health insurance that should cover all issues like it would for any person who pays for health insurance. There’s no need for injustice.

Hormone therapy, genital reassignment surgery, and removal of sex organs are procedures that people who are not transgender sometimes have to go through. Physicians and clinics know how to handle these processes. What difference does it make if a transgender person makes the decision to fully transition, using some of these procedures? Hospitals and clinics need to take safe zone training and treat their transgender patients the way they should be treated; like human beings.

The Cisgender Looking Glass

Reporting on the transgender community has been a complete learning experience for me. Not only have I learned to report better, but I feel as if I have also become a part of a community of people who have gone through so much emotionally, psychologically and physically, just to be happy. The stories I have written were told from emotion and firsthand experience. I have learned what it feels like to be rejected by society and loved ones while managing to wake up every morning with a smile.

I have gained the partner’s perspective and understanding; it isn’t easy watching the person you love go through so much agony and change within months or even years. What I liked most about reporting this beat so far is getting to know different people and how they view sexuality and gender roles. Ariel, the partner I interviewed for my profile story, identified as a lesbian before her partner Collin’s transition. Since his transition, she has said she still loves women, but now realizes that one truly falls in love with a person, not their gender.

  

I think what’s been most frustrating for me is the lack of transgender resources in Greeley and Loveland. This is what I dislike the most about this beat and I wish I was more aware of it before I attempted to cover it. I think I have done a good job on interviewing my sources and gathering information, but I think I can work on making my stories more intriguing. It is a very controversial and interesting topic I’m writing about, so I would like to provide readers with stories that want to make them spread tolerance and to help them understand what it means to be transgender and how community members live the average lives.

"It's Immoral to Raise Your Kids That Way!"

Coming out as transgender can be hard for anyone, but I believe a certain group of transgender individuals have a hard time being “believed,” if you will. I apply this assumption to transgender youth. The perspective of a transgender youth is often overlooked and covered up with phrases such as “He’s too young to know that,” or “It’s impossible for her to know that she’s a man trapped inside a female body.”

           

            I feel that youth are not taken seriously, far too often. Sure, children can be quite naïve and certainly not have many things figured out. However, when a child is able to identify as a certain gender or feel they were born the wrong sex, without being properly educated on the topic, I would definitely give them the benefit of the doubt. It is a controversial topic because many people who do not fully understand what it means to be transgender have a hard time accepting children who identify as being transgender.

            Lack of education on this topic opens a door for intolerance and fear. I’ve read blogs from parents of transgender children and one of the most common things said is that people judge them for allowing their children to express their gender desires and that it is somehow immoral. This statement confuses me. How is it immoral? Gender is a socially constructed institution and what we consider to be “masculine” and “feminine” is made up, too. I think it is absurd for others to judge parents for supporting their children on something extremely valid.

            Until tolerance for transgender individuals is a widely taught concept, transphobia and judgment will continue to be perpetuated throughout this society.

The Blogging Experience

Through my own perspective as a non-transgender woman, I believe the purpose of this blog will be to educate the ignorant on what it means to be transgender and to relinquish my own thoughts on the experience transgender people go through in order to present as they gender they feel they are. In addition to this, I am hoping to not only become comfortable as a blogger, but to grow as a writer and be able to write about diverse topics.

I had a curiosity for the print world as a child and took part in clubs that sent me to what was then The Rocky Mountain News office to learn how journalists reported stories and edited them. My hunger for this medium grew as an adult in college. Being a part of the journalism program at the University of Northern Colorado has allowed me to sharpen my journalism skills by taking classes and working at the campus newspaper, The Mirror, as a copy editor, reporter, and the Arts and Entertainment section editor.

I am lacking in blogging experience. I have taken part in forums and the like, but I have never really had a personal blog that wasn’t visionary. I am nervous about my blog not being interesting and that my writing style will not reflect the things I’ve learned.

I’m looking forward to exploring this type of journalism by being able to report my beat, the transgender community of northern Colorado, with facts, personal experiences, and my opinions.