Elon's diversity-themed Winter Term highlights national expert on transgender inclusion on college campuses.
As part of the 2017 January Winter Term, Elon University hosted the National Lambda Literary Award-winning author and public health educator Willy Wilkinson, who discussed transgender identities and experiences through an intersectional identity lens.
Wilkinson, author of the award-winning book, “Born on the Edge of Race and Gender: A Voice for Cultural Competency,” spoke to the Elon community about the intersections of gender, race, ability and education. His visit began with a series of workshops titled “Creating a Trans-Affirming Campus” in which Wilkinson discussed the importance of education about trans issues and best practices for addressing these within university environments. He also addressed topics of health care, family acceptance and issues of legality that trans students face on a regular basis, often without administrative support. Wilkinson also highlighted many trans-affirming policies and practices already adopted by Elon, highlighting Elon as an emerging national model for trans inclusion on college campuses.
One of Wilkinson’s most important speaking points centered around trans-inclusive health care. Wilkinson met with the entire Health & Wellness division at Elon, including Counseling Services. He reiterated that trans people face a multitude of obstacles in regards to health care. Not only is gender-related care not accessible through most health care providers, but physicians also misgender trans people and consequently provide inappropriate treatment. Wilkinson stressed the importance of providing the appropriate resources for trans students, listing education and empathy as primary bases for building that support.
In his evening keynote, Wilkinson read excerpts from his book, weaving in his personal narrative while reinforcing his creed of providing trans-specific resources for students. He detailed his life, moving from childhood as a mixed-heritage (Scottish-English-Irish and Chinese by way of Hawaii) fourth child, to co-parenting, to gender transitioning and finally living his truth.
If you would like to watch the keynote in its entirety, please visit the link here.