Ellington

When junior Krystal Johnson — who wishes to remain anonymous but identifies by that name sometimes — wakes up to get ready for school, one of the things he does not forget to do is put on his pink jewel and flower rings. Johnson is physically male but considers himself female at times.

“I don’t identify as male because I feel trapped — but not female either because I feel trapped,” Johnson said. “I consider myself gender-variant. I just like being able to go back and forth as I wish.”

Sometimes, Johnson likes to sit with his legs spread apart and sometimes closed, which is a way he sees himself acting masculine and feminine, respectively. He said even from kindergarten, he knew he had a clue to his identity. Sometimes, he would play wall ball with the boys, and sometimes he would “play house” by the trees with the girls.

“There was also a turning point during the Halloween of when I started school here,” Johnson said. “I showed up without a costume, so my friend made me put on a dress as a costume, and I actually enjoyed it.”

Johnson said he is a cross-dresser and feels comfortable buying a petticoat from the women’s section at Ross. Although he doesn’t openly discuss his identity with his parents unless they bring it up first, he grew to be open to the public about it. He said his parents are very critical and not knowledgeable enough about gender-related topics for him to feel comfortable speaking to them.

Johnson said transgender is the umbrella term for those who would consider themselves as the other sex. He included that there are other terms that branch out of transgender, such as transsexual, which indicates those who have physically transferred to the other gender.

“The transgender can be seen as an active movement as well as the traditional transitional meaning,” said senior Nathan Silpakit, who is studying American ethnic studies and gender, women, and sexuality studies. “Sometimes you don’t transfer; you just occupy the space.”

ASUW Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian & Transgender Commission Director Jennifer Gibbons said she would have a difficult time giving an exact definition of transgender.

“There are so many uses depending on the context,” Gibbons said. “You can ask two people and get two totally different responses. I guess it can be anything in anyone that doesn’t identify as cisgender.”

Johnson said although he has chosen the term “gender variant,” he avoids labels such as transgender, because he thinks there are always stereotypes in the labels that people try to attach to him.

“Some people wouldn’t consider themselves transgender with the definition of transgender that I have,” Silpakit said. “There’s always histories and meanings tied to these terms. It’s always better to ask the person before assuming anything.”

When answering questions, both Johnson and Silpakit agreed that they can tell when someone is just curious about their identities or “if the voice sounds accusing.” They said it’s up to the individual in how they respond, but in the end, it’s always best to be honest.

“I understand that most people would be confused, but they can ask,” Johnson said. “I think they’re worried about offending me. I’m afraid to ask other people too, but it’d be better to go with open-ended questions.”

Silpakit said asking people about their sexuality or identity is no different than asking someone what their race is — that making assumptions about how he identifies can be harmful. He gave the example of how someone can ask another if he or she is Chinese when that person is actually Japanese.

“It’s a language that we just don’t have in our society and culture,” Silpakit said. “Our society has constructed two genders, so we don’t have a way of asking if you fall outside of that.”

Alex Bogh, president of the Queer Men’s Group, said he doesn’t get offended easily when people ask him about his identity.

“If they’re brave enough to ask me rather than making assumptions, I’m glad to educate them with what I know,” Bogh said.

Bogh has had hurtful memories of losing a friend after coming out, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting on heels or make-up to go to school. Sometime in the future, Bogh plans to have surgery .

“I will always consider myself a woman,” Bogh said. “I don’t want people to stare with the look of confusion. I want people to stare because of my beauty and attraction. I want to interact with society without having them looking at me oddly.”

One of the most prevalent constructs that Silpakit and Johnson believe to exist is the gender binary system, which is the idea that people fit into either the category of man or woman.

“The idea that some actions and things are more masculine and some are more feminine — the idea that jobs or different roles can fall into a certain category — is the biggest stereotype,” Silpakit said. “I think if you look at people who are transgendered or intersex, it begins to complicate the notion of men and women. We just take for granted that we are men and women; it’s something we don’t think about.”

Height distribution — the idea that men are taller than women — was given as an example. Johnson said the gender binary system is oversimplified.

“Men, on average, are taller than women, but of course there are men who are taller than other men,” Johnson said. “That’s the same way with gender. All the stereotypes are based on averages, but there are always people on the margins.”

In the end, Silpakit said we have to question where the assumptions of gender come from, and that there are also assumptions about the physical human body.

Johnson said to have access to hormones and gender surgery in the United States, one has to be diagnosed with a Gender Identity Disorder (GID). GID is defined as identifying strongly with the opposite sex, and it is a formal diagnosis listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSRM-IV).

“You have to go to a psychiatrist and prove to them that you have GID, which is a mental disorder in the diagnostic way,” Silpakit said, “and then you have to live as a woman or a man.”

Johnson said some people even put on a show and lie to prove to psychiatrists that they have the disorder. He said some people even go to Thailand because it’s easier to access surgery or hormones.

Johnson said he personally would not need the surgery or any other diagnostic access to fulfill him. He said he doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone.

Gibbons called some of the standardized tests ridiculous. She said one of them is to refuse to urinate sitting down and said there may be men who like sitting down and women who like standing.

The ASUW Board of Directors recently passed a bill to change the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian & Transgender Commission (GBLTC) to the Queer Student Commission. Johnson said the name change could represent the GBLTC becoming more progressive and inclusive toward more identities. He brought up how, in the past, it began with the Gay Students Association, expanding to include both bisexual and lesbian, then added transgender.

Gibbons said queer used to be a derogatory term and was reclaimed to become an umbrella term. Johnson sees queer as a positive word.

“Queer just kind of means odd or strange — out of the ordinary,” Johnson said. “I want to be weird and different; I take pride in being odd.”

Reach reporter Joon Yi at features@dailyuw.com.