Beyond Magenta Quotes

“SK: What causes a person to be transgender?

MS: I think the question should be flipped around: What’s the cause for assuming that one’s gender identity has to be the one that you are born with? When I first came into this job, I was much more comfortable about people’s sexuality than I was with people’s gender identity. But when you hear the same stories over and over again, from people from all over the world, you start realizing that transgender is not an anomaly. It’s a part of the spectrum of people’s realities. Then you stop wondering about the cause and you start realizing it’s a part of reality.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“But when you hear the same stories over and over again, from people from all over the world, you start realizing that transgender is not an anomaly. It’s a part of the spectrum of people’s realities. Then you stop wondering about the cause and you start realizing it’s a part of reality.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“... my subjects’ willingness to brave bullying and condemnation in order to reveal their individual selves makes it impossible to be nothing less than awestruck.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“By being male, I’m automatically given some kind of validity that is weird.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“After that, I wanted hormones and top surgery. I didn’t want bottom surgery because the options aren’t that great and it’s really not something I need. Like I said, I don’t have body issues. I’m not dysphoric.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“A lot of boys were hitting on her, as if they somehow understood that she was indeed a girl.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“First they sent me to a hospital, where I was diagnosed as a “bipolar, clinical psychopath with narcissistic tendencies.” Can you believe that? That’s crazy!”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“It’s kind of weird: I know what it’s like to be a man, and I know what it’s like to be a woman.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“Before I went on hormones, I was able to get an erection and maintain one. Whenever I saw a boy I liked in the hallway or in gym class — the locker room is the best place to get my eyes on flesh — I’d get”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“I had to go into the nurse’s office because I was bleeding from my lip, always my lip. I had scratches on my face too. Even though I was angry about the fight, I was really angry that he had popped off my nail.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“No, actually, I’m not gay. I’m transgender.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“I have a gender identity disorder, and I want to become a girl.” (I had diagnosed myself.)”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“It’s really weird. It’s really weird because now if people think I’m a man, it sometimes turns me into a very violent person. I’ve gotten into countless fights with people.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“At this point, only my school counselor and my brother knew that I was planning to transition. My brother knew a lot of transgender girls.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“Christina throws her purse to the side, jumps up, grabs Girl 1 by the hair, pulls her off the seat, and punches her in the face.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“NAN [grinning at Jessy]: She’s almost like a gay man.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“I responded to the feminine features that still remained, including her soft skin. But I didn’t like the fact that she was taking male hormones.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“I don’t want much from you. I just want you to be happy and successful. I want you to be happy who you are. I want to see you become a good person, someone with values and someone with morals. That’s all I expect of you. I don’t care what else you do. And I want you to take care of us when we’re older.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“I said this over and over and over until she finally accepted it. That truly showed her unconditional love.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“Everyone was against each other, trying to get their art displayed in the gallery. Some people would write that off as competition. I saw it as bullying. And in the music classes, to tell you the truth, I didn’t get a lot of respect. Most kids started playing early. They took lessons with private teachers. My family”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“once we get to know individuals who may be different from ourselves, it is less likely we will be wary of them. And maybe, just maybe, we will learn a little more about ourselves.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out

“So here we are, a pack of Homo sapiens thinking that we know whether a person is female or male. Now that I’ve spent a few years researching and talking with people who fall under the transgender umbrella, I am confident saying that male/ female is not the only way to describe gender. The people I’ve come to know and love in the course of writing and photographing this book have helped me better understand the fluidity of gender and sex.

This lesson for me also reinforces what I’ve been writing about for years: once we get to know individuals who may be different from ourselves, it is less likely we will be wary of them. And maybe, just maybe, we will learn a little more about ourselves.”
― Susan Kuklin, Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out