Transgendered Student Speaks Out

Alex S. Myers '00 is at the heart of the Undergraduate Council's debate over whether "transgendered" persons should be protected under the University's and the council's non-discrimination policies.

Myers is a biological female who lives as a male. He says the Harvard administration has been understanding and has made every effort to accommodate him.

He wants the University to add a clause to its non-discrimination policy in order to ensure that transgendered students will be protected from discrimination in the future.

"If transgendered people see the phrase 'gender identity' in writing, they know that it's a place where they can be safe," he says.

As someone who has experienced discrimination first-hand, Myers says he believes it is important for prospective students to know that Harvard is committed to making the campus safe for transgendered persons.

According to Myers, his Harvard interview was not immune to prejudice.

The interview was conducted at his high school, Phillips Exeter Academy. Myers wore the coat and tie that was required of male students, and the interviewer assumed he was a male.

The interview went well until the interviewer, a Harvard alumnus, noticed that Myers was identified as a female named Alice on his biographical form.

Myers received a phone call from the Harvard admissions office a week later.

"They said the interview would have to be repeated because they didn't value the interviewer's opinion," Myers says.

The alumna who subsequently interviewed Myers told him that the previous interviewer's prejudice had gotten in the way of his evaluation of Myers.

According to Myers, that alumnus is no longer interviewing for the University.

Myers says it was important to him to begin living as a male before he graduated from high school because he did not want to go through the emotional and physical transition process once he was at college.

The physical process can involve elective hormone therapy, surgery and a year of counseling.

Myers has never gone to an endocrinologist, taken hormones, or undergone chromosomal analysis because he says he believes they are of dubious value.

He remains a biological female and says he is "thankful" for the fact that he is "not well-endowed."

Myers thinks about the possibility of undergoing surgery but says that he will probably decide against it because it is an expensive and time-consuming medical procedure.

He says his transition process has been more about coming to terms with his identity and resolving that he is happier as a man.

Myers was a girl at the time he left his hometown of rural Paris, Maine and began attending Exeter in the ninth grade.

She came out as a lesbian immediately and lived that way for three years.

But then, during the summer after her junior year of high school, while attending Harvard Summer School, she participated in discussion groups for lesbian women.

Myers sensed she was different from most of the other women.

"Other women at the meetings would be surprised at how my mind worked," Myers remembers. "I've always wanted to be a man. I can't pinpoint why. It encompasses all of my life."

That summer Myers heard the word "transgender" and met people who had "transitioned" for the first time.

"A lot of what they said hit a chord with me," he says, adding that he realized then that he wanted to live as a man for the rest of his life.

After talking to his friends, Myers decided that he wanted to return to Exeter as a man in the fall.

At the end of that summer, he told his parents he was transgendered.

Myers had not come out to them as a lesbian before.

"They were taken aback," he says. "But they didn't react harshly. They didn't kick me out of the house or anything. They have been open to my lifestyle."

According to Myers, his 20-year-old brother is also "very accepting."

Myers says his parents were more offended by the fact that he was often mistaken for a male during his childhood because of his short, spiky hair.

Once, his high school math teacher thought he was a male for an entire term, even though he played on women's sports teams.

Life as a Transgendered Man

Myers opens the door of his Greenough single wearing a T-shirt, baggy jeans and black boots.

He lives on an all-male floor and shares the bathroom with other men. He says that people have been very accepting of him.

Like other first-years, Myers is in the midst of choosing a blocking group and picking a major. He currently plans to block with men and women, and intends to concentrate in earth and planetary science.

According to Sarah E. Birmingham, his proctor, Myers is extremely mature and honest.

"He immediately impressed me as somebody who was very comfortable living in a dorm, very comfortable with himself," she says.

Birmingham says that the other students in her proctor group are impressed with Myers as well. He came out to them in November, when he announced that he was putting together a panel discussion of transgendered persons in Adams House.

"He announced to the group that he was participating in a panel, so he wasn't just putting it out there for their curiosity," she says. "Rather he wanted to tell them about an opportunity they would have to get educated."

"Generally, Alex is accepted for who he is," Birmingham adds. "People have a lot of respect for him. He's an incredibly put-together person."

Myers, who now considers himself heterosexual, has been in a relationship with a classmate from Exeter for almost a year. A first-year student at Brown University, she visited Myers over the weekend.

"The best thing to do was to come out and live as I wanted to live," Myers says.

"There's a tremendous pressure in society to be what society would consider to be a 'real man' or a 'real woman.' To force yourself to fit one of those roles is very dangerous and harmful and can potentially seriously affect the rest of your life."CrimsonMelissa K. CrockerALEX S. MYERS'OO has experienced discrimination firsthand.

Myers sensed she was different from most of the other women.

"Other women at the meetings would be surprised at how my mind worked," Myers remembers. "I've always wanted to be a man. I can't pinpoint why. It encompasses all of my life."

That summer Myers heard the word "transgender" and met people who had "transitioned" for the first time.

"A lot of what they said hit a chord with me," he says, adding that he realized then that he wanted to live as a man for the rest of his life.

After talking to his friends, Myers decided that he wanted to return to Exeter as a man in the fall.

At the end of that summer, he told his parents he was transgendered.

Myers had not come out to them as a lesbian before.

"They were taken aback," he says. "But they didn't react harshly. They didn't kick me out of the house or anything. They have been open to my lifestyle."

According to Myers, his 20-year-old brother is also "very accepting."

Myers says his parents were more offended by the fact that he was often mistaken for a male during his childhood because of his short, spiky hair.

Once, his high school math teacher thought he was a male for an entire term, even though he played on women's sports teams.

Life as a Transgendered Man

Myers opens the door of his Greenough single wearing a T-shirt, baggy jeans and black boots.

He lives on an all-male floor and shares the bathroom with other men. He says that people have been very accepting of him.

Like other first-years, Myers is in the midst of choosing a blocking group and picking a major. He currently plans to block with men and women, and intends to concentrate in earth and planetary science.

According to Sarah E. Birmingham, his proctor, Myers is extremely mature and honest.

"He immediately impressed me as somebody who was very comfortable living in a dorm, very comfortable with himself," she says.

Birmingham says that the other students in her proctor group are impressed with Myers as well. He came out to them in November, when he announced that he was putting together a panel discussion of transgendered persons in Adams House.

"He announced to the group that he was participating in a panel, so he wasn't just putting it out there for their curiosity," she says. "Rather he wanted to tell them about an opportunity they would have to get educated."

"Generally, Alex is accepted for who he is," Birmingham adds. "People have a lot of respect for him. He's an incredibly put-together person."

Myers, who now considers himself heterosexual, has been in a relationship with a classmate from Exeter for almost a year. A first-year student at Brown University, she visited Myers over the weekend.

"The best thing to do was to come out and live as I wanted to live," Myers says.

"There's a tremendous pressure in society to be what society would consider to be a 'real man' or a 'real woman.' To force yourself to fit one of those roles is very dangerous and harmful and can potentially seriously affect the rest of your life."CrimsonMelissa K. CrockerALEX S. MYERS'OO has experienced discrimination firsthand.