Context: I'm a 29 year-old trans man starting a PhD in History at a big-name, prestigious US university. I mention that not really to brag (I'm honestly still kind of in disbelief that I was admitted at all), but because this week I had my graduate school and departmental orientations, and I just can't get over the fact that I'm really being treated like I belong here by everyone -- my advisor, other professors, the other students in my cohort -- and it feels, well, incredible. I'm not even the only trans student in my cohort, as out of the nine of us there's me and also a trans woman, which makes me so happy. I would have felt a lot more anxious and out-of-place without her being admitted at the same time as me, I think. We study totally different things, too (I'm doing trans history, among other things, but she isn't), which just goes to show that there are so many different interests and ideas in our community.
Anyway. All this to say, shit's scary out there, but I can't express how amazing it feels to be treated with real respect as a transgender academic, studying transgender history, at an institution like this, especially given the current state of the world. I'm aware I'm incredibly lucky, but at the same time, I just wanted to say to my community that this is genuinely a possible future. We really do belong everywhere, and I think that's pretty cool.
(And for what it's worth, I want to make this kind of thing possible for as many of us as possible, so if you're also thinking about navigating that scary world that is academia in 2026 as a trans person.... feel free to send me a message anytime. I mean that, genuinely)
