November is transgender awareness month. On Thursday, Penn State’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity hosted alumna Mara Keisling at University Park.
Almost 40 years ago, Keisling graduated from Penn State. Today, she is the founder and executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington, D.C.
In the late 1970s, when Keisling knew she wanted to transition from male to female, there were no resources for her.
“We really saw times where policy was made about us but without us and that never turns out well,” said Keisling.
Keisling started the organization to make sure transgender people have a voice in legislation. She thinks there is still work to be done.
“There’s still thousands of tragedies happening every day to trans people. People being thrown out of their families, people losing their jobs, people having judges take their kids away, people being murdered, and so we need to keep working and we need to keep fighting,” Keisling said.
For information about transgender awareness month contact Penn State’s Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity at lgbtq@psu.edu or call 814-863-1248.
