instapride-blog - Tumblr blog

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One last pic of everyone that participated in InstaPride! Thank yiew for sharing your stories with the world and thank yiew to alllllllllllll the happy hippies who supported #InstaPride over the past 2 weeks!!!  Learn more about The Happy Hippie Foundation at happyhippies.org 

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Luv deez lil happy hippies!!!

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It meant a lot to have my sister and mother right by my side supporting me all the way. Support is probably the greatest thing a person could ever have I probably wouldn't be anywhere without the support of my loving family. I love my family for being an amazing support system, and I thank God every day for them.

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I don't know what I will define myself as in the future, but for now, above all, I am just Brendan. A kid with two genders.

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Most people actually get confused about my gender. I guess that is understandable because my feminine-like features can pass for either both genders. I am a big fan of this because, I like that "limit-less" feeling. I just respectively tell people that I pass for both male and female. :)

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This is Brendan, a high school student from Las Vegas, Nevada who currently identifies as both male and female.

Brendan shares more saying: "In these past two years I have been feeling free to really just be myself and to start molding my future self. My mom and dad both let me be free and let me just be my artistic and fun self. Some days I feel like my female "Brendan" comes out, and other days I feel like my male "Brendan" comes out.”

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“I’m a woman with a story. I’m a loving human being, who was told that it was bad to be me. I’m real, I’m a daughter, a sister, an aunt and a friend. I’m a woman that is willing to love and to be loved.” - Mariana 

“My favorite part of the #HappyHippiePresents #InstaPride shoot was being in a room full of beautiful people where gender was only seen as part of who we are, not all of who we are. We are so much more than our genders. I think that's a universal truth for everyone. No one of us is or should be defined by one experience or physical characteristic or sexual orientation or gender.” - Alex

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Mariana and Alex are connected not only by their experience as transgender people committed to serving the community, but also by their strong-held belief that unapologetically being yourself is one of the most powerful forms of living and activism. 

Talking about his work at the LA LGBT Center, Alex says, “Every day I come to the Center, I am inspired by my colleagues' commitment to serving our LGBT community. Every day, I am inspired by the people we serve, our volunteers, and our supporters. Together, we are building a world where LGBT people can thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. I am so proud to be a part of creating that future.”

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Meet Mariana and Alex, transgender friends and co-workers at the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Mariana was born in Central America and received asylum, or legal protection to stay in the US, after facing abuse and persecution in her home county. Now she’s a community activist and provides services for transgender individuals who are looking for legal advice. She says, "I’m very good making people feel safe and show them a better life full of possibilities, no matter where they are coming from. Just like me, people keep coming from around the world looking for shelter, for a place to call home and make their true colors shine!!” 

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“I’m a trans woman. Although I knew I was trans from an early age, I wasn’t able to transition until recently due to various reasons. While I was privileged to keep my job through my transition - a lot of people in our community don’t have that experience - my transition strained my relationship with my family. I’m incredibly lucky to have Greta - my transition buddy, best friend and wife - to support me.” - Nina

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“I’ve always dated women and I love women! Some people assumed that when I transitioned that it was because I wanted to date men. Nope. Not even a little. I was so unhappy before I transitioned. I was filled with social anxiety. I was always worried about what people were thinking about me even though I looked pretty average. Now I’m so comfortable being who I am. It’s a huge relief.” - Greta

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Meet Greta and Nina, co-founders of the non-profit organization Trans Lifeline, a crisis hotline staffed by transgender people. Born on opposite sides of the world, this beautiful transgender couple met and got married a few years ago. Nina shares from her experience saying, "My advice to someone who is transitioning is to definitely meet other trans people and have at least a few trans people you are close to. When you are working out your gender identity, it is super important to have some people you can confide in and get support from."

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"For me, the moment in my life when I felt free to be myself was when I decided to live my life as an out trans*men. I felt a sense of calm come over my body and I knew I didn't have to run anymore.” - Myles

“Transitioning for me was the key to unlocking my most authentic self. It was the moment 3 years ago that I could no longer hide from who I was destined to be. I transitioned and loosed all the shackles ever placed upon what someone told me I should be. It was me living for the first time” - Precious

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“This next year I will have the opportunity to marry my best friend. As a Trans woman I never thought I would see the day I would walk down the aisle. I am looking forward to having a magical wedding and living happily ever after. Myles is my everything. My all. His love calms me and shows me what I deserve in this life.” - Precious

Myles echoes Precious saying: “I feel so blessed to be able to share all my life moments with Precious by my side. She makes every moment magical.”

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Meet Precious and Miles who are engaged and living in in Chicago, Illinois. Both Precious and Myles are transgender and they speak out together to bring attention to the issues affecting the transgender community, especially transgender people of color. “Our advice for anyone exploring their gender or transitioning is to Love yourself! LOVE YOURSELF. You are beautiful! Be you. Celebrate all that you are. Revel in the exploratory. You exist and matter. Trans is beautiful.”

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Before the Happy Hippie Presents #InstaPride shoot I had met two other transgender people in my life, so to suddenly be in a room full of people who understood what I went through was Beautiful. It was sort of like being home.

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I felt really free to be myself when I first got my job it was the first time I ever got to walk into a situation without anyone knowing I was born female. Everyone looked at me and knew I was a boy and it changed my life and finally opened the window to hope. I hope to see insurance companies step into to gender transition surgeries and hormones, that would make such a huge difference in the mental health of the community.