Kennesaw State computer science major Samantha Melton expressed the trials of being a transgender woman on a college campus while being in a male-dominated field.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, transgender is defined as “an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth.”
Of course, being trans cannot simply be reduced to a 25 word definition. The experiences of trans people differ, each person facing various ups and downs.
Discrimination because of her identity is rampant around campus. For instance, there was an occasion where Melton and her friends were walking through a parking lot one evening and a man made negative facial expressions at them before verbally confronting them.
“He was just this white boy who was acting all tough, like he was going to throw hands. So that was a bit of a traumatic event,” Melton said.
She also faces microaggressions — instances of subtle discrimination — whether it be while using the women’s restroom or being called ‘him’ or ‘he.’
“Microaggressions are generally small, individual occurrences where you may be, as a trans person, misgendered,” Melton said. “You may be at the end of a blunt joke. They are just little things that attack you, but over time turn into big things … It may be things that people don’t know that they are doing, but it is something you pick up as social cues.”
Although Melton notices a difference between the number of glances on the Marietta campus versus the Kennesaw campus, her experiences at KSU have not been all bad. She has found a sense of community within the students at KSU’s LGBTQ Resource Center.
“There are a lot of LGBTQ people in the center that are always there for support and they are always welcoming,” Melton said.
According to the coordinator for cultural and community events Dani Alexander, the LGBTQ Resource Center is a community space for students to gather, create new friendships, study and gain access to resources.
Within the center, students are presented with opportunities to learn about various aspects of queer identity and how queer identity intersects with other identities they may carry.
Among the many programs they provide, a few specific initiatives and programs include the “Clothing Closet Pop-up Shop,” “Campus Connection” and “What’s the Tea?”
The “Clothing Closet Pop-up Shop” uses donated clothes to help provide a wardrobe for transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming students. It is a more accessible way to shop and also allows for these students to express themselves through fashion.
The “Campus Connection” program helps students network with on-campus staff and teaches the ins and out of KSU.
“What’s the Tea?” is a discussion group that gives students within the LGBTQ community opportunity to talk face-to-face about current events. The roles that LGBTQ people and allies at KSU play in and outside of campus are analyzed.
Thanks to this program and the existence of the LGBTQ Resource Center, Melton feels like she has a community to support and accept her.
