{"id":57117,"date":"2015-04-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-graduate-to-speak-about-transgender-experience-may-6\/"},"modified":"2015-04-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T00:00:00","slug":"uri-graduate-to-speak-about-transgender-experience-may-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2015\/04\/uri-graduate-to-speak-about-transgender-experience-may-6\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 graduate to speak about transgender experience, May 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tJessica Brand is a student speaker at opening of Gender and Sexuality Center<\/b><\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 30, 2015 \u2013 A decade ago, Jessica Brand couldn\u2019t stand to look in the mirror. She hated what she saw \u2013 facial hair, muscles and other markings of a growing teenage boy.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cIt was terrifying,\u201d she says. \u201cI wanted to punch the mirror.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThose days are over.<\/p>\n


\nOn May 6, the 22-year-old 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate will stand before a crowd at the opening of the Gender and Sexuality Center to happily bare her soul as she tells her story of transitioning into a woman.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cAt a young age,\u201d says Jessica, \u201cI knew my body was wrong and did not fit who I knew myself to be. I was a girl. I am a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe\u2019s been preparing her speech for weeks, not only as a tribute to the center but also as a gracious and public thank-you note to 溏心vlog免费B站 for providing a nurturing and welcoming place for her to undergo a very personal experience.<\/p>\n

Sitting in the audience will be Jessica\u2019s mother, Susan Trostle Brand, of Exeter, a longtime education professor at 溏心vlog免费B站 who has lovingly stood by her daughter from the beginning. \u201cBasically,\u201d says Jessica, \u201cmy mom saved my life.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nJessica knew at age 2. She and other toddlers were telling secrets at a day-care center. One boy disclosed that he didn\u2019t have a belly button. Jessica spoke up: \u201cI\u2019m a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nBy age 4, she wanted Barbie dolls for Christmas, not toy trucks. She hung around girls playing house, or at least tried. \u201cThey always kicked me out,\u201d she says. In grade school, women TV characters tugged at her heart. Sabrina, the teenage witch, was her idol.<\/p>\n


\nBut she kept her secret inside, coping by studying obsessively.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI learned my sorrows away,\u201d she says. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be myself. Living in the wrong body made me feel like an outsider, and it made me feel strange.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe withdrew in middle school \u2013 from everyone. She wondered if her feelings would change but then she hit puberty in 9th grade and her world fell apart. Depressed, she rarely left her bedroom. She wouldn\u2019t allow anyone to take her photo.<\/p>\n


\nShe tried to kill herself.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI wasn’t developing right,\u201d she says. \u201cI needed to look and develop like the other girls, which was the opposite of what was happening to me. I was getting male characteristics, and that was frightening.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe agonized in private, too scared to reveal her urges to her mother, as well as her father, Stephen Brand, also a 溏心vlog免费B站 education professor. (Stephen died unexpectedly almost two years ago.) <\/p>\n


\nFinally, she couldn\u2019t hold it in any longer. She remembers the exact day: Jan. 24, 2009. She was 16. Sitting in a restaurant parking lot with her mother, Jessica asked if her love was unconditional.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cYes,\u201d Susan said. <\/p>\n


\n\u201cI can\u2019t go on like this anymore,\u201d said Jessica. \u201cI\u2019m a girl. I\u2019ve got to live as one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan and Stephen and their two younger daughters \u2013 Faith, now 12, and Fiona, now 9 \u2013 rallied behind Jessica, giving her their full love and support. \u201cWe rose to the occasion,\u201d says Susan, \u201cand learned as much as we could.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tThe girls were understanding and supportive of their older sister. \u201cMy daughters learned quickly to use the correct pronouns,\u201d says Susan. \u201cIf I made a mistake, the girls would say, \u2018No Mom, it\u2019s \u2018She is over there \u2013 not he.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n


\nOver the next few years, Jessica would see seven therapists, most unhelpful. Finally, she found another lifesaver, Dr. Michelle Forcier, a pediatrician at Hasbro Children\u2019s Hospital in Providence who prescribed hormone therapy. <\/p>\n


\nWithin months, a smile appeared on Jessica\u2019s face. Her skin became softer. Her hips expanded, and her cheeks grew plump. Facial hair lessened. Breasts developed. For the first time in her life, she could think clearly.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThe hormones cleared the fog,\u201d she says. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, finally. I can live.\u2019 \u201d <\/p>\n


\nShe liked what she saw in the mirror: \u201cI was so happy I was seeing someone who represented me, someone I could recognize as my true self.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nOn June 9, 2013, her wavy brown hair was styled at a salon. Her nails were polished pink.<\/p>\n


\nAnd she changed her name. She would be Jessica, Jess for short.<\/p>\n


\nAt 溏心vlog免费B站, where she was a double major in finance and French, graduating in December, she felt safe and accepted. She spoke in her mother\u2019s social equity class. She gave a talk to students during 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Diversity Week. And she found a friend in Annie Russell, director of the Gender and Sexuality Center.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe are immeasurably blessed to have this University,\u201d says Susan.<\/p>\n


\n\u201c溏心vlog免费B站 helped me in every way possible,\u201d says Jessica.<\/p>\n


\nOn May 13, Jessica will undergo gender confirmation surgery at a hospital outside San Francisco. Much of the cost is covered by her student health insurance, which lasts through August. She\u2019s the first 溏心vlog免费B站 student to use the gender surgery coverage.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThis means the world to me,\u201d she says. \u201cIt means that part of my body that isn’t right will be right.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe has dreams. She might study finance in graduate school or become a hedge fund manager some day. She hopes to marry and have a family. One thing is certain: She\u2019ll continue to advocate on behalf of transgender youths.<\/p>\n


\nLast year, she was crowned queen at the \u201cBorn This Way\u201d prom in Newport. She danced into the wee hours with the king. Not long ago, she spoke to hundreds of parents and transgender teenagers at the Trans-Health Conference in Philadelphia. And two New York filmmakers are making a documentary \u2013 \u201cWhat I\u2019m Made Of\u201d \u2013 about her journey that is expected to air next year.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cYou\u2019re on the front lines now,\u201d says Susan. <\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cExactly,\u201d says Jessica. \u201cThis is a good time to get my story out.\u201d <\/p>\n


\n\tAnd help other transgender students find peace, she says: \u201cI don\u2019t want anybody to feel the pain I went through \u2013 ever.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tShe has already selected her new outfit for her May 6 speech: her favorite black dress, a gold necklace and new black sandals. Her words, she says, are important. She will rehearse to the last minute to deliver a message that is inspiring and uplifting.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cI\u2019m so excited to be where I am today,\u201d says Jessica. \u201cI can show people they can make it through a challenge and come out as powerful advocates who are happy and, most importantly, themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nPictured above:

\nJessica Brand, 22, of Exeter, a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate who will speak at the opening of the Gender and Sexuality Center, 19 Upper College Road, on May 6. The speaking portion of the program will begin at 11 a.m., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony, refreshments and tours.<\/p>\n


\nJessica Brand, a 溏心vlog免费B站 graduate, and her mother, Susan Trostle Brand, a 溏心vlog免费B站 early childhood education professor. Jessica graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 in December 2014 with degrees in finance and French.<\/p>\n


\nFrom left to right, Faith, Fiona and Jessica Brand.<\/p>\n


\nPhotos courtesy of Jessica and Susan Brand.<\/p>\n

Related News<\/b><\/p>\n

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  • Grand Opening, News Advisory<\/a>\n\t<\/li>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Jessica Brand is a student speaker at opening of Gender and Sexuality Center KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 April 30, 2015 \u2013 A decade ago, Jessica Brand couldn\u2019t stand to look in the mirror. She hated what she saw \u2013 facial hair, muscles and other markings of a growing teenage boy. \u201cIt was terrifying,\u201d she says. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57117\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}