ABC Spotlights A Transgender Man's Story In The Wake Of North Carolina's Anti-LGBT Law
Written by Media Matters Staff
Published
From the April 14 edition of ABC's Nightline:
GLORIA RIVIERA: This is a day he's dreamed about. But he says it was almost unimaginable when he was growing up in North Carolina.
REEVS O’NEAL: In North Carolina, it definitely wasn't safe for me to transition. It was terrifying. Like the consequences I'd have to face.
RIVIERA: His home state has become the latest battleground for transgender and LGBT rights. Last month House Bill 2, the so-called “bathroom bill,” was signed into law. Requiring transgender people to use public bathrooms matching their birth certificates, the governor is saying it's meant to protect girls in bathrooms.
[…]
RIVIERA: Young people like Reeves, born Reva to a southern Baptist family in North Carolina. From an early age he knew something didn't feel right.
O’NEAL: I don't know, I was probably like 7 or 8, refusing to wear the church dresses, because, you know, the representation that came along with wearing a dress.
RIVIERA: But it wasn't until much later that he learned, on social media, what it meant to be transgender.
O’NEAL: You never heard that word. It was just like this ah-ha moment.
RIVIERA: What was that like?
O’NEAL: Scary. It was so scary.
RIVIERA: When you realized, I'm transgender, your next thought almost about your parents was what?
O’NEAL: I can never tell them.
[…]
RIVIERA: Family rejection, discrimination, and violence -- facts of life for many in this community. It turns out that one in five transgender people end up homeless at one point in their lives. And according to one survey, close to half attempt suicide.
O’NEAL: We live in a system that's not made for us. Our society isn't for transgender people. We're still having to fight to make space for us. Yeah, there's still a lot lacking.
RIVIERA: Reevs says the “bathroom bill” just passed in his home state will not only make his life harder but more dangerous. What do you make of these laws in North Carolina?
O’NEAL: They're BLEEP. People are going to get harmed.
RIVIERA: What's the biggest risk?
O’NEAL: The biggest risk is murder. Being killed.
[…]
RIVIERA: Despite his hardships, Reevs knows he's been more fortunate than others. He's now mending his relationship with his mother back in North Carolina. She's told him she'll even stand up against the new “bathroom bill.”
Previously:
15 Experts Debunk Right-Wing Transgender Bathroom Myth
Watch A Transgender Activist Debunk The “Bathroom Predator” Myth On CNN