Being an out transman and a public speaker means that I’m a susceptible target for people who either don’t understand transgender issues or who are fearful, ignorant and immature surrounding things different than them.

I have been fortunate over that years that the transphobia directed at me has not been physically hostile, (verbally is a different story). The newest incident is one that happened while ironically training staff on ways to create a safe and trans-inclusive environment on a college campus. I found out about the incident just after arriving on campus after traveling all morning through airports and by car. The staff person that handled my booking informed me that a poster on campus used to advertise my evening talk had been defaced. My shirtless torso, aligned right of a description of the evening event and directly below my name had been altered, not by a black sharpee or pen, but by items cut out from a magazine and added on top my frame. The transphobic individual first changed some wording on the poster by printing off new lettering and taping over “FTM” to make it “FML.” They then proceeded to find hair and a bra that fit the poster and taped them on me along with two shiny piercings on my lower lip and belly button.

The defaced poster had been found in trash, (obviously someone appalled by it tore it down) and it was taken to the department that was sponsoring my appearance. The college could have not shared this with me, but I’m happy they did because it allowed us to have open conversations and it has allowed me to think more about how to compose and create dialogues that address transphobia. Through conversations with the staff, I knew it was something that shouldn’t be kept secret, it should be talked about and the most powerful person to do it, was the one it was targeted at.