Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

Nat is an AFAB intersex person, someone born with both male and female sexual and reproductive anatomy. They use they/them pronouns. They are a second-generation Chilean immigrant from New York City, though their heritage is mostly European. Their family is Roman Catholic—with Nat’s parents’ marriage being one of convenience as they despise each other. Nat believes their younger brother is straight because of his anti-gay bias.

In early childhood, Nat was solitary. They didn’t learn to speak until they were about seven years old and had little to no awareness of gender roles. As they grew up, Nat would be yelled at and sometimes struck for acting outside of traditional femininity.

Nat’s speech problem led to their enrollment in a special education class in elementary school. They also had a urinary problem that lasted until fifth grade. They attribute this to being confused as to which bathroom to use at school: “All the bathrooms looked the same to me. So I was, like, ‘You know what? I’m not going to any bathroom because that’s too confusing’” (159). In the third grade, Nat was moved to a typical classroom.

As a teenager, Nat felt alienated by other girls and their social habits.