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Activists Around the World: Tamara Adrian · Stuff Mom Never Told You

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: And Samantha.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: And welcome to Stuff Mom Never Told You, a production
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: And welcome to another activist around the world. And today
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  Speaker 2: we are featuring a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, activist and advocate
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  Speaker 2: and speaker. Tamara Adrian. So Adrian made history in Venezuela
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  Speaker 2: when she became the first openly trans person elected to
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  Speaker 2: office in Venezuela. So we love history makers. Adrian was
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  Speaker 2: born in Caracas, Venezuela to a Roman Catholic family. And
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: she went through her childhood and young adult life knowing
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  Speaker 2: she wasn't what she was assigned. So she didn't feel
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  Speaker 2: like what she was assigned at birth was correct. And
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  Speaker 2: she knew she was different. She would go to college
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  Speaker 2: and even go on to graduate from law school in France.
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  Speaker 2: She would get married and have children, but felt as
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: if she was not being her true self. She would
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  Speaker 2: eventually separate from her wife and start her transitional journey. Now,
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  Speaker 2: she had told articles before that she really felt like
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  Speaker 2: she was experimenting with hormones. because she knew that she
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  Speaker 2: wasn't man. She knew she wasn't a boy as she
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  Speaker 2: had been assigned at birth, but didn't know what to do.
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  Speaker 2: So she was kind of experimenting already. Here's what she
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  Speaker 2: told theheroines.blogspot.com when they interviewed her about her coming out.
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  Speaker 2: I think that my worst fears never came true, and
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  Speaker 2: I believe this happens to anyone. You are fearful of
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  Speaker 2: coming out because you imagine the worst possible outcomes. In reality,
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  Speaker 2: some bad things may happen But at the same time,
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  Speaker 2: so many wonderful things begin to unfold. You realize that
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  Speaker 2: coming out was necessary to become a real person, not
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  Speaker 2: just kind of an impersonation. It's not easy, I know,
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  Speaker 2: but it's essential for growth. Some people say it's necessary
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  Speaker 2: to fulfill your purpose in this world. In a way,
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  Speaker 2: I think my purpose is to help people understand that
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  Speaker 2: gender is not the same as sex. Again, that's something
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  Speaker 2: that we have talked about repeatedly and understanding that, yes,
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  Speaker 2: gender is not the same as... She fully transitioned in
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  Speaker 2: 2002 and since then has become a leader and advocate
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  Speaker 2: for the queer community in Venezuela. So here's a bit
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  Speaker 2: from her interview with Alturi.org about her journey as an activist.
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  Speaker 2: I have known since I was four years old that
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  Speaker 2: I'm transgender. Later in life, after returning from law school
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  Speaker 2: in Paris and experiencing the benefits of the patriarchy as
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  Speaker 2: a heterosexual middle-class man, I began transitioning in the late 1980s.
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  Speaker 2: Once I began transitioning, for the first time in my life,
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  Speaker 2: I felt discrimination, bias, and exclusion. This propelled me to
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  Speaker 2: fight against the deeply rooted discrimination towards women and the
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  Speaker 2: LGBTIQ plus community by joining civil society organizations and engaging
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  Speaker 2: in politics. In 2002, I completed my gender-affirming surgery while
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: authoring articles about the totalitarian regime gaining power in Venezuela
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  Speaker 2: and joining the United Nations Committee of Human Rights. So
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  Speaker 2: she worked with organizations such as the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans,
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  Speaker 2: and Intersex Association, Pan American Health Organization and has been
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  Speaker 2: a special advisor on human rights for the World Health Organization.
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  Speaker 2: And in 2005, she was able to go to the
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  Speaker 2: Council of Human Rights and speak about and for trans people.
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  Speaker 2: So this is from StanfordDaily.com. She said, I had two
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  Speaker 2: minutes to talk about the situation of trans people around
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  Speaker 2: the world. At the end of the session, one member
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  Speaker 2: told me, now I know why this is an issue
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  Speaker 2: for human rights, but it still might take 15 to
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  Speaker 2: 20 years to talk about this issue. took one year.
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  Speaker 2: When you have a pressing situation and you have a
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  Speaker 2: critical mass of activists and people engaged in the field,
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  Speaker 2: you're able to talk very rapidly about trans issues at
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  Speaker 2: the international level. And this is why every single body
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  Speaker 2: of the UN has issued its own perspective on gender
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  Speaker 2: identity and gender expression. And that's a change that's impacting
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  Speaker 2: the day-to-day life of people all around the world. Because
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  Speaker 2: when you talk about trans issues, you understand it's not
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  Speaker 2: a choice. And I think that's such important words. Now,
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  Speaker 2: one of the things that she has really become a
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  Speaker 2: big part of is speaking out for trans rights. And
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  Speaker 2: she seems to be doing that through the UN and
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  Speaker 2: different world organizations like we mentioned before. She's doing it
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  Speaker 2: even today. I just saw her in Amsterdam.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: She was the keynote speaker there.
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  Speaker 1: You weren't in Amsterdam, but you.
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  Speaker 2: Let me dream. Okay.
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  Speaker 1: All right.
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  Speaker 2: No, no, I'm just kidding. I saw it on her
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  Speaker 2: Instagram that she was in Amsterdam. Speaking as a keynote speaker.
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  Speaker 2: Not too long ago. I was not there.
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  Speaker 1: One day, maybe.
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  Speaker 2: Someone take me there. Anyway, moving on. And with her
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  Speaker 2: work in 2015, Adrienne made history as the first openly
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  Speaker 2: trans woman to become an elected official in Venezuela. So
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  Speaker 2: here's a bit from Out.com when she was first elected.
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  Speaker 2: Transgender woman Tamara Adrienne secured a seat as a member
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  Speaker 2: of the National Assembly. Yesterday, Venezuela demolished its own Berlin Wall,
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  Speaker 2: Adrienne tells Out. Her candidacy already represented a milestone in
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  Speaker 2: Venezuelan politics, but with her triumph, she becomes the first
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  Speaker 2: transgender congresswoman of the nation, and according to her, of
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  Speaker 2: the Americas. That should be noted, she was actually the
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  Speaker 2: second woman, and we've highlighted the first woman before, just FYI.
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  Speaker 2: But I don't think that she knew that at that point,
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  Speaker 2: so there was a correction later down the road. And
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  Speaker 2: a bit more about her campaign. Before becoming a candidate,
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  Speaker 2: Adrienne had already been leading the fight towards civil rights
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  Speaker 2: for the LGBT community. In 2015, she introduced a project
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  Speaker 2: for a marriage equality act that was never addressed. In
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  Speaker 2: the past 17 years, the topic of LGBT rights was
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  Speaker 2: never seriously discussed, she says. Adrian, who has not been
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  Speaker 2: able to attain legal recognition as female under Venezuelan law,
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  Speaker 2: says that an important number of representatives from her political party,
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  Speaker 2: Valentine Popular, and across the opposition coalitions are already aware
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: of her proposals and that it is just a matter
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  Speaker 2: of time before before the issues finally reached national debate.
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  Speaker 2: I will say also during this time, I believe, she
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  Speaker 2: married her partner for 20 years, making them one of
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  Speaker 2: the first lesbian couples in the politics as well, I believe.
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  Speaker 2: I didn't know that. I was like, oh, that's really sweet.
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  Speaker 2: Love to see that. And with her success in legislation,
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  Speaker 2: she went on to become the first openly trans woman
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  Speaker 2: to run for president of Venezuela in 2023. She didn't win.
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  Speaker 2: But during her run, her activism was a big part
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  Speaker 2: of her platform. So this is from WashingtonBlade.com. One of
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  Speaker 2: her main campaign promises will be to work for the
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  Speaker 2: inclusion of people with disabilities, women, senior citizens, civil servants,
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  Speaker 2: LGBTIQ plus people, people of African descent, indigenous people, and
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  Speaker 2: any group that for whatever reason has been or may
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  Speaker 2: be left behind. So I love that she understood the
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  Speaker 2: bigger picture. I also really love that perspective of understanding
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  Speaker 2: the privilege she had before transitioning and how important it
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: was to see the differences. Because we know a few
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  Speaker 2: don't understand that level. I think they might now. But,
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: you know, pre-Trump being elected, that is. I'm not talking
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  Speaker 2: about anybody specific or anything.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, definitely not.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely not. Don't worry about me.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, yes.
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  Speaker 2: In one of the articles where she is talking about
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  Speaker 2: her time as counsel and being a representative in Venezuela,
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  Speaker 2: they did ask her that what is something that the students,
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  Speaker 2: whether they're in the U.S. or Venezuela or around the world,
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  Speaker 2: can do to promote or fight for LGBT rights and equality,
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  Speaker 2: equal rights? And she said this. Globally, the fight faces
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  Speaker 2: different kinds of barriers. And she says, I am engaged
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  Speaker 2: at the international level. So I have the opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: understand the struggles in Africa, Latin America, the U.S., Europe,
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  Speaker 2: China and other countries. So I have a global perspective.
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  Speaker 2: I feel that in every single part of the world,
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  Speaker 2: you have people that are willing to be engaged in
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  Speaker 2: this fight. Their ability to create networks and sympathies and
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: alliances with non-LGBT people is important because this is how
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  Speaker 2: you create a critical mass. I always say LGBT people
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  Speaker 2: are minorities. You do not inherit it. You do not
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  Speaker 2: get it by touching an LGBT person. It's not a
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  Speaker 2: contagious disease. It's something you're born with. In order to
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  Speaker 2: create a critical mass, you must create links with other
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  Speaker 2: social groups, particularly women and other minorities. And I think
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  Speaker 2: that's such a big part. And this was like something
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  Speaker 2: that she said, I want to say like almost nine
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  Speaker 2: to 10 years ago. and saying that this has to
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  Speaker 2: be something that we do as together, as a group,
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  Speaker 2: talking about intersectionality once again. So, you know, I had
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  Speaker 2: to put that in there.
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  Speaker 1: Yes. Yes. Well, clearly, this will be checking back in
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  Speaker 1: on this person. They're doing so much. And that's really,
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  Speaker 1: that's a great story in how much that she has done.
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  Speaker 1: She does.
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  Speaker 2: She also has a documentary called Oh. And I think
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  Speaker 2: there is a movie called Tamara. She makes a cameo,
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  Speaker 2: but it's loosely based on her life as well.
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  Speaker 1: I would like to make a cameo in a story
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  Speaker 1: about me if I wasn't like playing me. I'd like
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  Speaker 1: to at least like.
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  Speaker 2: You do the cameo. I feel like, you know, they
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  Speaker 2: did that in like The Sound of Music too. Different movie,
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  Speaker 2: but just.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, you'll have to tell me about that. I don't
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  Speaker 1: know about that. No.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, keep going.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, yes. That's off the mic conversation.
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  Speaker 2: Yes.
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  Speaker 1: Well, listeners, please let us know, as always, if you
• 9:30
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• 9:32
  Speaker 1: we should cover next. You can email us at hello
• 9:36
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• 9:42
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• 9:50
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• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 9:54
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• 9:56
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