In this episode of Translucent, host Lee Wade talks to Gage Gatlyn, co-founder of the Gatlyn Dame Group that's turning support into action for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people.
This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Wade: Right now across the country, trans people are facing a wave of legislation that's making everyday life feel uncertain, and for a lot of people, unsafe. But here in the Miami Valley, there are folks doing the work to make sure no one has to go through that alone. I spoke with Gage Gatlyn, co-founder of the Gatlyn Dame Group, a local support space for trans, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people. For Gage, this work is personal, and it started with a loss that shook the community.
Gatlyn: We got started 10 years ago when Lila Alcorn unalived herself when she was being horribly bullied and put through conversion therapy when she was just 17 years old. And her last words to us before she did was "fix society." Basically, what we've been doing ever since is trying to live by that.
Wade: The Gatlyn Dame Group meets regularly, creating space for people who are just now figuring out who they are and need somewhere to land.
Gatlyn: The Gatlyn Dame Group is a way to offer support, education, awareness, and get people on board to understand about transgender people and also to help support transgender people when they're first coming out, mostly to be around other trans people. They can come to support group and know that they're not alone in the world, be around other non-binary people, and understand that they are not the only one.
Wade: In that sense of being alone, it can change everything.
Gatlyn: Every single month, we see new people come into group, and then they leave group with a smile on their face. They come back to group again and again. They are starting to dress in their preferred gender. You see their gender affirmed, and we see these people grow and blossom into who they are. It makes me proud to know that we have a little bit of something to do with these people being happy and being able to succeed in life.
Wade: Over time, those same people come back, not just for support, but to give it. In a moment like this, support can't stop at the support group.
Gatlyn: If you don't want to be in the spotlight, what you can do is you can write your representatives. Tell them that you are against these anti-trans bills that are going through.
Wade: And even with everything going on, Gage says hope is still here.
Gatlyn: My fellow humans give me hope. I feel like if we stick together and we help each other through this, we can make it through.
Wade: If you're in the Miami Valley and looking for a community, you can find more about the Gatlyn Dame Group at gatlyndamegroup.org. And if you're listening and you're feeling alone, just know you have a community behind you. I'm Lee Wade and thank you for listening to Translucent.
This story was produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices at WYSO. Translucent is made possible with support from The Rubi Girls Foundation and Square One Salon.
