By: Winter Wilson
Growing up, I always felt very out of place. I noticed everyone else was happy being called their name, unbothered. However, I never was. I always hated my name and even more so when I was called 'she' in class.
This only got worse in seventh grade when we started sex education. After hearing the instructor talk only about heterosexual sex and explain that biology is all that matters, I left feeling like I needed a shower and even more time to think. I may not have known at that moment that I was transgender, but I did know that what I had heard was not correct.
Reflecting back on that day in my seventh-grade class, I remember looking at my then partner and thinking, "What about us?" "Is no one going to talk about us?" I quickly learned that they had no interest in talking about LGBTQ couples. My partner and I left feeling confused, scared, and angry.
This was the ideology that I carried with me for many years. Fear of sex, fear of being a disappointment, and fear of being wrong. I was scared that I was doing the wrong thing for the way I identified. When I discovered that I was trans, these feelings were only amplified. Every time sex education was mentioned my heart dropped and my mind raced. I thought, "Can I fake being sick again?" or "What if I don't bring the permission slip home?" I wanted a way out. This was a recurring feeling until I graduated. Gender identity was never something addressed in any school sex education that I ever received.
The year I graduated, I attended my second ever STAY Summer Institute. At the Summer Institute, I heard phenomenal things about the Sexy Sex Ed workshop that was being taught, so I talked myself into going. It couldn't be that bad if everyone had something good to say about it. I was absolutely right! The instructors actually talked about LGBTQ bodies. They talked about sex in a way that didn't make me feel fear, but empowerment.
While the lessons from Sexy Sex Ed had a positive impact on me and the way I felt toward my body, I left the workshop feeling angry. Angry that my classmates did not receive this education. Angry that it took me 18 years to receive the sex education I knew I needed and deserved. I knew this was a problem that I wanted to help solve. I didn't want to watch more generations of young people come out of high school with so many questions about their bodies.
I became a peer educator through Sexy Sex Ed where I now teach workshops and share resources. I also became an Ambassador with All Access EKY, a project that works to ensure young people have access to the full range of contraceptive options. Through those projects I've watched the area around me become a place that is gaining resources. That transformation is absolutely incredible to see!
If you would like to help these organizations in any of the amazing work they do, visit https://www.sexysexed.org or https://allaccesseky.org to find out how you can help.