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Women Around the World: Ruby Corado · Stuff Mom Never Told You

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  Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Stephane
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  Speaker 1: never told your production by Heart Radio. Welcome, Welcome, welcome,
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  Speaker 1: and for today's women around the world, we've got a
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  Speaker 1: good one. However, I have a question first Anny, Okay,
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  Speaker 1: I was just wondering, as it is Pride month this month,
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  Speaker 1: and we've talked about your sexual orientation and just kind
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  Speaker 1: of overall your journey in this. Can you kind of
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  Speaker 1: talk about at the beginning of your journey when you
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  Speaker 1: started questioning just kind of your sexual identity and why
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  Speaker 1: that was something that you explored. Yes, and that is
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  Speaker 1: a very good question because I think for a lot
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  Speaker 1: of people, but especially in my case, things sort of
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  Speaker 1: happen organically and you don't understand them at the time,
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  Speaker 1: and if you don't have the terminology or even um
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  Speaker 1: you don't see you representation of a certain thing, then
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  Speaker 1: you might not only try to fit into what you
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  Speaker 1: think you should be or how you think you should
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  Speaker 1: be just because that's all you know, but you you
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  Speaker 1: might not even realize that you're going through these things
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  Speaker 1: until you look back later. So that was very much
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  Speaker 1: my experience where I didn't realize, as we've spoken about before,
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  Speaker 1: there were so many ways to identify. But that being said,
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  Speaker 1: when in seventh grade, I was on a one of
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  Speaker 1: those notorious field shows where you go away for like
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  Speaker 1: the weekend, you know, and it's it's like rife with
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  Speaker 1: drama and you know who kissed who and who's doing
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  Speaker 1: what with whom, and it's it's the time when you're
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  Speaker 1: an adolescent and those kind of questions are happening anyway,
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  Speaker 1: where you're starting to feel like this interest in people
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  Speaker 1: I had previously. I know, I've shared the story many times.
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  Speaker 1: Realized that I liked both male and female fictional characters,
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  Speaker 1: like I would feel flutters and more in my stomach
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  Speaker 1: that I couldn't explain. But I told my friend I
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  Speaker 1: thought it was orgasms and she was like, it's definitely
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  Speaker 1: not well, and I was like, well, it's something. And
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  Speaker 1: I feel the same for both Scully and Molder. So
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  Speaker 1: I think I pretty early on, because bisexual was the
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  Speaker 1: term I was familiar with, thought okay, I'm interested in both.
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  Speaker 1: And then on that trip to Jakol Island in seventh grade,
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  Speaker 1: I had people where I was like, oh, I would
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  Speaker 1: make out with her. I know who, I would make
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  Speaker 1: out with him, And at the time, it was kind
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  Speaker 1: of like, am I just excited by all these new
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  Speaker 1: like these feelings and emotions, Maybe I'm not understanding them.
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  Speaker 1: Later in high school it became much more. I felt
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  Speaker 1: like I had to fit in by open wanting to
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  Speaker 1: date with a dude and want to have sex with
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  Speaker 1: that dude. So it was I wouldn't say I was
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  Speaker 1: living a lie, but I would let people believe, like
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  Speaker 1: I would make very sexual jokes and I would let
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  Speaker 1: people believe what they would from that. But I think
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  Speaker 1: that was like, looking back, that does feel like that
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  Speaker 1: was when I was first I was a sexual or
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  Speaker 1: dimisexual or whatever it was. But I was trying so hard.
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  Speaker 1: I didn't realize that I didn't know those were things,
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  Speaker 1: but I was trying to be like fit into this
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  Speaker 1: straight existence and I really wanted that, like I That's
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  Speaker 1: one thing I remember so clearly is I wanted it
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  Speaker 1: because my friends sounded so happy about it, and it
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  Speaker 1: just seemed like to fit in, you had to want that.
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  Speaker 1: But this is a very long winded story to say.
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  Speaker 1: I think pretty early on I just didn't have an
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  Speaker 1: understanding or the tools or words um until looking back,
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  Speaker 1: where I do kind of feel sad that I didn't
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  Speaker 1: because I was trying. I did things I wish I
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  Speaker 1: hadn't done because I thought I would fit in or
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  Speaker 1: that I had to right. That may be sad, and
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  Speaker 1: just so the y'all y'all know I did give any
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  Speaker 1: heads up and as commission, So I don't want to
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  Speaker 1: be like, how do you? Because I think it's really
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  Speaker 1: important too. And we've talked about this many times about
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  Speaker 1: what it looks like when you have that aha moment
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  Speaker 1: of that's who I am. Oh my god, I've been
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  Speaker 1: missing this piece of who I was, and um, I
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  Speaker 1: love that we after we released the episode about the
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  Speaker 1: A B C's of being Ace, and so many people
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  Speaker 1: try me in about oh my god, I didn't know,
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  Speaker 1: but that's me and just having that feeling of relief
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  Speaker 1: and release and kind of identifying that that part of you.
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  Speaker 1: And I think it's beautiful. As I have, I come
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  Speaker 1: from a little older generation of trying to understand and
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  Speaker 1: and being allies and trying to see what it was
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  Speaker 1: and not just seeing it as a uh titles, and
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  Speaker 1: I think that's for so long that's how I kind
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  Speaker 1: of saw them as and just coming to the point
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  Speaker 1: of saying how beautiful it is not only to be
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  Speaker 1: able to for people to identify that way, but also
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  Speaker 1: the fluidity of being able to just love and truly love.
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  Speaker 1: And I love that concept in general and just loving
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  Speaker 1: what that is and and as it is pride. We
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  Speaker 1: we also want to keep talking about all the different
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  Speaker 1: people who have come to this point and have been
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  Speaker 1: such inspirations for others as well in any other ured
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  Speaker 1: inspiration for so many um I think many of the
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  Speaker 1: listeners would agree. And because of that, we wanted to
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  Speaker 1: focus on someone who has won many awards in her
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  Speaker 1: activism as well. Ash pushed to advocate for the rights
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  Speaker 1: and justice for the trans and the LGBTQ plus community,
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  Speaker 1: and especially those of color in the U S and
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  Speaker 1: around the world, and we were talking about Ruby Corrado. Yes, so.
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  Speaker 1: Ruby Corrado is an activist, advocate, and survivor. She was
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  Speaker 1: originally born in El Salvador, where she fled at the
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  Speaker 1: age of sixteen to the United State dates and it
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  Speaker 1: has not been an easy road for her. She endured
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  Speaker 1: her harassment, sexual assault, gun violence, and even incurceration. She
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  Speaker 1: went through hard times, including having job loss, homelessness, and
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  Speaker 1: continued harassment and physical violence, but she was able to
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  Speaker 1: persevere and she continued to grow and learn more about herself.
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  Speaker 1: She came to understand the lack of community and help
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  Speaker 1: for someone like her, that it didn't really exist, and
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  Speaker 1: she wasn't able to start her transition until a bit
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  Speaker 1: after she came to the United States and did so
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  Speaker 1: after being able to safely access it right. And it
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  Speaker 1: was actually after the death of trans woman Tyra Hunter
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  Speaker 1: in nine who was refused treatment by the e m
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  Speaker 1: S at that time and so therefore died, and that
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  Speaker 1: pushed Courado to start volunteering and start her journey as
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  Speaker 1: an advocate for the l g b d Q ples community,
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  Speaker 1: and she has not slowed down at all, still active today.
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  Speaker 1: She later started to work with the Coalition to Clarify
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  Speaker 1: the d See Human Rights Act or later named DC
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  Speaker 1: Chains Coalition, which pushed to include quote protections for gender
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  Speaker 1: identity or expression to the DC Human Rights Act, which
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  Speaker 1: took effect in March two thousand and six. And this
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  Speaker 1: all took place after she became kind of a name
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  Speaker 1: in the LGBTQ activism circle for her work and organizing
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  Speaker 1: skills including organizing marches and vigils to five recognition and
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  Speaker 1: justice for those who had been murdered, and it was
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  Speaker 1: kind of after the death and the murder of Evangelista
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  Speaker 1: that she started to really pick up and with the
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  Speaker 1: experience and fierce passion and advocating for a community, Karado
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  Speaker 1: has used all her past life traumas and experiences to
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  Speaker 1: provide a safe space for others while experiencing sexual violence
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  Speaker 1: and trafficking, homelessness, domestic violence, continued mis gendering that led
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  Speaker 1: to more trauma within the incurse ration system as well
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  Speaker 1: as healthcare systems, and overall lack of support. Through all
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  Speaker 1: of that, Karada created the Casa Ruby and and from
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  Speaker 1: their site quote, her drive and dream was to bring
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  Speaker 1: resources to historic, clear, underserved, and under resource communities in
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  Speaker 1: order to create more success stories for transgender and queer
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  Speaker 1: folks Yea and she did this with a group of
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  Speaker 1: friends and they have a long list of services offered,
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  Speaker 1: everything from shelter to health services, to immigration services, to
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  Speaker 1: domestic violence services as well as care for youths. And
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  Speaker 1: their mission statement is pretty simple, to create success life
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  Speaker 1: stories among transgender, gender, queer, gender, nonconforming, gay, lesbian, and
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  Speaker 1: bisexual individuals and um They've gone global, starting with a
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  Speaker 1: location in El Savador, as she states she is quote
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  Speaker 1: a Salvadorian who migrated, but a part of her stayed there,
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  Speaker 1: and she felt she wanted to fight for that community
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  Speaker 1: and continue to bring services. Of course, she also talked
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  Speaker 1: about her fear that they might be outed and they
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  Speaker 1: would have to flee as well, but more than anything,
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  Speaker 1: she just wanted there to be a safe space for
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  Speaker 1: that community and for her community there. But of course,
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  Speaker 1: there are still many battles ahead, and in fact Groado
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  Speaker 1: has been dealing with a whole new level of vitriol
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  Speaker 1: and rets this past year. She stated in twenty that
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  Speaker 1: she has been receiving many threats against her and her organization.
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  Speaker 1: She said she thinks it's in part due to the
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  Speaker 1: pandemic and how it has pushed everyone to become more
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  Speaker 1: on edge, and that it's causing people to lash out right.
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  Speaker 1: She talked about the fact that not only has she
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  Speaker 1: gotten personal threats, but threats against her organization, so they've
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  Speaker 1: been on high alert um and she's no stranger to
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  Speaker 1: the threats, including being sent many threats after events such
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  Speaker 1: as the Pulse nightclub shooting. She said that she started
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  Speaker 1: getting phone calls after that and there was an uptick
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  Speaker 1: after the election when she didn't hold back in the
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  Speaker 1: fact that you've had fears of the things to come
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  Speaker 1: with that administration and trying to actually advocate for her
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  Speaker 1: community at that point in time, as there was a
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  Speaker 1: lot of anti trans and currently and a lot of
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  Speaker 1: anti trans laws trying to be pushed forward. So she's
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  Speaker 1: definitely being seen and she's definitely been targeted, and yeah,
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  Speaker 1: she has continued and will continue to work for the
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  Speaker 1: better and for the activism of her community. As in fact,
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  Speaker 1: she's actually stepping down because she was the CEO and
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  Speaker 1: head of an executive leader of CASA Ruby, but she's
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  Speaker 1: stepping down to allow for others, as she says, to
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  Speaker 1: come and take her place. And she actually talked about
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  Speaker 1: the fact that she feels that having a black trans
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  Speaker 1: woman come and lead after her, saying that this is
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  Speaker 1: a whole conversation about who's in leadership and why it's
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  Speaker 1: important for everyone to be seen. And she has been
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  Speaker 1: a fierce advocate for the brown and black communities within
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  Speaker 1: the trans communities as well and about how they need
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  Speaker 1: to be seen and be represented, and um, I love that.
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  Speaker 1: As in fact, she's also talking about possibly getting into
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  Speaker 1: politics with a consideration to run for the DC City
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  Speaker 1: Council in three which will open up at that point
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  Speaker 1: in time, which would make her, I believe, the first
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  Speaker 1: openly transgender council person in the city's second ever transgender
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  Speaker 1: elected official, behind Monica Nameth who was appointed as a
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  Speaker 1: advisory Neighborhood commission in so past. Your fingers would definitely
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  Speaker 1: advocate for her. But yeah, she's not slowing down like
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  Speaker 1: I said. She's going global, launching different businesses as well
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  Speaker 1: on top of as these nonprofits that she just recently
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  Speaker 1: launched Kossa Ruby's new pharmacy in DC um hoping to
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  Speaker 1: give more healthcare access as well for the transgender community.
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  Speaker 1: So big things and not surprisingly, she's been awarded many,
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  Speaker 1: many awards, yes, including the Capital Pride Engendered Spirit Awards
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  Speaker 1: in eleven, Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance g l l
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  Speaker 1: A Distinguished Service Award in twelve, the Activists of the
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  Speaker 1: Year by the African American Prison Awards in twelve, the
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  Speaker 1: DC Center Community Center Service Award, and Gay and Lesbians
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  Speaker 1: Opposing Violence Community Service Award also in two thirteen, right
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  Speaker 1: and just recently this year, she was awarded the twenty
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  Speaker 1: twenty one Community Build Award by the National Center for
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  Speaker 1: Transgender Equality, which is dedicated to the grassroots activists and
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  Speaker 1: organizers who have put forward at collaboration and fuel the
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  Speaker 1: transgender liberation movement. So congratulations to her, but obviously she
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  Speaker 1: has been a fierce voice and someone that we should
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  Speaker 1: definitely look up to and look out for. Totally agreed
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  Speaker 1: and as always, listeners, we love hearing suggestions for you
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  Speaker 1: for this segment or any other segment. We welcome them all.
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  Speaker 1: Uh you can email those suggestions to us at stuffyr
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  Speaker 1: mom Stuff at I hurt media dot com. You can
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  Speaker 1: find us on Twitter at mom Stuff Podcast or on
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: Instagram at stuff I've Never Told You. Thanks as always
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  Speaker 1: to our super producer Christina, thank you and thanks to
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: you for listening Stuff I Never Told You his protection
• 12:43
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