 This is Think Tech Hawaii. Community matters here. Aloha. I'm your host, Sharon Thomas Yarbrough. Welcome and thank you for joining Sister Power. Our topic for this episode is transgender voices from a native Hawaiian and transgender veteran. Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender, identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. Gender identity refers to a person, internal sense of being male, female or something else. Gender expression refers to a way a person communicates. Gender identity to others through behavior, clothing, hairstyles, voice or body characteristics. Transgender is sometimes used as shorthand for transgender. While transgender people are talked about in popular culture, academia and science are constantly changing particularly as individuals awareness, knowledge and openness about transgender people and their experiences grow. Welcome to Sister Power. Welcome Valerie and Hina. How are you? Aloha. Aloha to you. Aloha. Aloha to you. Valerie and Hina, tell us a little bit about yourselves. Tell the viewers about your childhood. I was born in Southeast Texas November 1962. So I grew up in Southeast Texas back in the 60s and 70s and very large area was very discriminatory. One of the largest chapters of the KKK was less than two miles from my home. So lived with that. My father was a policeman. So I am a homicide detective and he used to bring home some of his paperwork and case loads and I got to see a lot of the pictures and I kind of learned at an early stage that in order for me to survive, I keep my feelings and my thoughts to myself. Hina, what about you? Tell me your story. I am a product of Hawaii in the 1970s and at age 45 now I look back and think upon my childhood here in the islands. I wasn't necessarily someone who wanted to openly embrace what I knew from a young age in terms of my, not only my sexuality but my gender expression. But what is most striking about thinking back to that time is that Hawaii was a very, very different place. Hawaii was a place where everyone greeted each other. Everyone invited you over to their house. You could be walking by on the road and somebody will say come in and come eat. How are you? Aloha, what are you doing? We never had to lock our doors and we were always immersed in a sense of large community and togetherness was something that was always the underpinning in whatever we did. Our community has changed and so as a transgender woman living now here still in my home, it's a very different place for me. Hawaii sounds like southern hospitality and when I was growing up in Virginia, this is how we lived with our doors open, our neighbors embraced us with food and I love Hawaii. I just love the spirit of Aloha here. Well, tell us, what age did you know you were a transgender? I knew by the time I was seven years old that I was different but back in the 68, 69, 70, there was no term for this and recently after I retired from the Navy, I had done some researching and that's when I, around 2007, discovered it, oh, transgender, that is what this is. This is what it meant and then from there I started doing more research online. I met my therapist and we did a couple of, actually one consultation and then she put me in contact with the doctor in January of 2010, that's when I started my transition. That's a long time, age seven to- Yes, well, the era that I grew up in, the location I grew up in, down in southeast Texas, that was, that would get you killed. Even in the military when I joined in 84, 85, some of the places I was stationed at was the same way and society wasn't ready for it and the community I was in in the Navy on board of the U.S. submarines really wasn't the place to do it. Okay. From the Island perspective, it's a little different. I knew at that same early age, maybe somewhere around five or six, I knew that I wanted to be beautiful like my mother. I knew that I wanted to wear beautiful things like she did and that I wanted to, I just wanted to be my mother's daughter, but that was never going to be something that I was going to be able to say because children at that time would often make fun and of course my mannerisms and my everything from A through Z, the way I walk, the way I talk was just slightly different and as someone who was teased and put down for those things, it was the instinctual thing to do is just go back into myself and not try to draw too much attention but then that's the natural, you know, that was the natural me and sometimes I would go to my mother and tell her, you know, I'm bothered by the fact that kids tease me and she then tell me, well, why do you do this? Why do you walk that? Why do you talk like this? And it was only until later on that I allowed myself to just face my reality and say, okay, maybe this isn't something that I was meant to suppress. I should simply embrace it and at the age, maybe between 17 and 18, I found my first boyfriend. I had yet to transition and I, coming from Kamehameha schools, we were always close with our classmates. So I put all the boys that, you know, we played sports together. We went to school together, sat them all down and made them wait for at least a good half an hour while I hand in hard and finally found the courage and the strength to say I'm seeing somebody I like somebody. It's not a girl. And their response was, so finally you admit it. We always knew and we're glad that you are now embracing it. We still love you. You better make sure that he treats you well. Otherwise, we'll kick his happy self around and we'll take care of that. And that was the end of it. And, you know, it wasn't that difficult a thing because that's, we were Hawaiian first to be Mahu or to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or anything under that Western umbrella of being is secondary. It's it's rather irrelevant. We're Hawaiian first. I love that. We need a t-shirt on that. We're Hawaiian first. Lovely. You are a voice for transgender people. What is the message? My message is one rooted here to Hawaii as a native Hawaiian, as a Polynesian, as a Pacific Islander, I come from an immediate and a larger culture that has a clear understanding of sometimes gender neutrality, sometimes gender expression from one side of the spectrum to the other and a whole lot of space in between. I come from a culture and a society that when you actually look at our language and our oral accounts of history, number one, you don't find negative references to people who are Mahu. You do not find negative references to iconic relationships. And same sex oriented relationships and our very basic linguistic understanding is that the pronoun he, she, and it are all one word. Depending on what island you come from, it's Oya here in Hawaii and in other islands, it's Goya, but it's the same word. So he, she and it are all gender neutral. What does your message mean? Well, my culture and society, like I said, I come from down pretty much the deep south and everything was there. We pressed for a period of time. Was it until I had joined the military and started my traveling and when I was stationed in Northern California, I started to see more openness and awareness. And then when I came here right after Hurricane Iniki, that's when I seen a lot of the difference what he and we're just talking about, the culture, the openness, the acceptance as like when I came out to my fellow employees at the shipyard, a lot of them pulled me off to the side and told me not to worry. They're happy for me. And if I ever have any problems with anybody, any sailor or anybody employee, your contractor working in the shipyard to let them know, and they would take care of it, so that's something I would never have experienced in the south. So and that's changing as the years progress and everything. Our society is becoming more open. It's a lot of times now right now in some places. Yesterday, we had all these bathroom bills and stuff, legislation going around. But people themselves, even back home in Texas, are very accepting and very supportive. Can we just all get along? Exactly. Just look at Hurricane Harvey. Yes. I mean, those groups came together as all these different groups and demographics together to take care of their brothers or sisters and their neighbors, regardless of who you are, what you are or anything else. You are a human being. You needed help and they offered the assistance. Well, we have a lot to talk about. We're going to take a quick break and when we come back, you know, children are our future. So we want to talk about how should we best explain to our children who transgender people are? Keep it here. We'll be right back. This is Think Tech Hawaii, raising public awareness. I just walked by and I said, what's happening, guys? They told me they were making music. Welcome back to Sister Power and our episode today is transgender voices. And before we went on break, we were talking about the children are our future. How should we best explain to our children who transgender people are? Tina, you want to take that one? Explaining to my children that I taught formally at the Hawaiian focused charter school, I spent 13 years at a K through 12 charter school. And we never really focused too much on the topic of transgender because from a cultural perspective, that's that secondary and almost irrelevant. We focused on the cultural values of to love, honor and respect one another. Cocoa, kukoku, amai to help others and be helped. Laulima, many hands working together. And mahaluikome alawa'a, be thankful for what we have. Those are some of the basic understandings that are part and parcel of the life of Kanaka or the life of being Hawaiian. And when we are Hawaiian and we observe those things, we learn to orient ourselves from the perspective of how we identify is not based on what's between our legs. And we do not identify based on what kind of person we want in our lives to be a relationship, whether it be a nominal touch and go relationship or a committed relationship. We identify as, for example, myself, Inale Moana, I am child of so and so and so and so, grandchild of so and so. I come from this land and I we articulate the name of the land that we come from, the valley or the part of the island that we are associated with. We identify as, again, Kanaka first. So that places a much different emphasis on what's important. And then when we are actually looking at people for their role in society, we're looking at one another for our skill, our talent, our contribution to not only ourselves, our personal name, but more importantly than ourselves, we're assessed and analyzed by a contribution to our family and to our community. So that is the perspective on Kanaka and sexuality is merely that. It's sexuality, it has far more room to be fluid and to be embracing of whatever it is that the individual feels calls to them. Well, I have a specific question for you, Valerie. That was deep. It was definitely deep. You definitely covered that, Hina. In 2011, Obama, into the militaries, don't ask, don't tell. Yes, he did. Policy that prevented gay and lesbian troops from serving openly. In 2017, Trump announces transgender ban for the military. How does it affect troops and veterans? One of the way it affects the veterans is our benefits package, which is tied into our service. Depending on how many years, if we retire, how many years of service or whatever, depending on what we were discharged or discharge type and everything else, we all have certain benefits. A lot of these stuff that has changed what President Trump is trying to change is the insurance protection, insurance coverage for the veterans. That's pretty much where the big portion of it's going to fit. The other portion that we're going to have issues with is getting our records and our documentations changed to match our legal names. Oh. I have to submit a request to change the name of my DD 214, which is my discharge papers. And it has to go through a year-long review process. And in the Navy, in the last several years, only three or four people have been allowed to change the name of their DD 214s. Only a few people? Only a few. And we have a picture. Yes. It's very interesting. Tell us about this picture that we're going to see of your colleagues. Okay, this picture right here was taken in 1998 on board a U.S. submarine I was attached to. We were on deployment in the Western Pacific. We had been on station for approximately 60 days. I had just got finished conducting training, which as you can tell by the weapons everywhere, small arms training, and that's my division. And you are the one holding the big gun? Yes, I am the one with the full beard, the glasses, the great big diver's watch, and holding up the M60 machine gun. M60 machine gun. Okay. Don't mess it up. Oh, I can see that right now. It's very interesting. What has been the most wonderful thing to happen to you because you are transgender? I think one of the things that is up there was when I was coming back from Thailand in 2013, we had one of the old submarines I was attached to back in the late 80s, early 90s, was having a reunion in Burminton, Washington. And I was asked by several of my friends to come to the reunion. Only a few of them knew that I had transitioned. And then a couple of guys who were in charge of it, you better show up. You're here on the mainland getting ready. You got two months before you have to go back to Hawaii. You better show up. So I went, and I was amazed at the reception that I had got from my old shipmates. People I served with back in the 88 through 92 at their reception. And again in 2015, 16. 2016, same group, another reunion. This one was even bigger. And again, I was told by multiple people that I didn't even serve with who were there before I got there and after. And I was told by them, every single one of them, you better show up. I was amazed. I'm not talking people in their 60s and 70s. A lot of love there. Yes. How about you? I think that, well, to contribute to what she just said, I think that this acceptance can come to us in its myriad of forms and diverse avenues from the people that will respect us because we contributed something to the larger whole. I don't think that she would have been on high demand if they felt that she wasn't a part of the team. But that's what happens when you're a part of the team. It's no different from being a Polynesian, a Pacific Islander. You don't necessarily have to articulate being a part of the team. You articulate as being Kanaka. You articulate as being an Islander. And an Islander person, much like someone who's in the military, identifies because everyone has their job. Everyone has their duty. You fulfill your duty to the best of your ability. You strive to exceed the capacity that you set for yourself this time, the next time, and the next time. And you keep pushing and you keep doing better in my craft as someone who teaches hula. I teach in incarceration now to men in a lava correctional facility and the men in O'ahu Community Correctional Center and soon to be Federal Detention Center. The reason why I can go into a facility to teach men is because I'm not here trying to focus on my sex, my sexuality, my gender expression. I'm here to focus on the betterment and the empowerment of those inmates whom I come into contact with. It was something that I had to establish clearly with people who perhaps made a comment or made reference to something that insinuated being effeminate but in a negative way. I simply had to say, I don't know what you think I'm all about. I don't know what you think I'm here representing. But let me inform you that I'm here to do a job. I'm not here trying to be glamour queen and trying to gain attention. If I gain attention in here, it's because of the work that I do in here and the quality of what I do. And it is that which I will be scrutinized on. I like that. So what kinds of discrimination do transgender people face? Housing, employment, any and all types of discrimination we face. You know, Hawaii is one of the first states to provide protections against discrimination in the job and in home. That's it. Medical, police, everything. It's across the board with people but we face discrimination. It's not here. It's just not wanting it. It all depends on the state. Some states have a lot of protection against discrimination against transgender people. Some states have none. Some states right now are passing laws to allow discrimination against transgender community. Do you feel like we're moving backwards instead of forward? I would agree. Here in Hawaii, the history of Hawaii for viewers out there who may be current with not only the political status of Native Hawaiians but the political status of the islands and the United States of America and its responsibility for the illegal annexation of Hawaii. So when I hear about the American president, Donald Trump, I can't identify with him as my president because I'm Hawaiian first. And if someone were to ask me if I'm an American, I'm going to say no, I am required to hold an American passport. My mainland is Hawaii. My mainland is not America. In fact, America is not even the majority of current Americans' mainland. Majority of Americans are immigrants from someplace else. The Native Americans, the Native Indians are those who are native to that land. But that translates into, back to the question of discriminatory practices against transgender people. The more we subscribe to attitudes and beliefs, who's right and who's wrong, that are contradictory to more of a natural way of being. And I view it, not everybody may agree, but I view it as the more we as Native people become American, Americanized, colonized, the more we subscribe to this kind of approach to being, the more we suffer. Because then we have allowed, nobody else forces, we allow ourselves to do it. So what it really requires is for us to be critical thinkers and to analyze exactly who we are and what we do and why. And that's knowing our self-worth. Exactly. That's what it's all about, knowing yourself. Exactly. One important question I would like to ask the both of you, what is the one thing you want the world to know about you? Judge me by who I am and what I do. Not who you think I am. Couldn't have said it any better. I'm telling you, I feel the same way. You know, when I sit here and we're interacting with each other, a lot of the discrimination is exactly what my people had to — well, we're still dealing with it right now with the discrimination, but housing and employment, it just sounds so similar. And when are we going to get past all of this? What do you think needs to happen? That's a big one. We can't do it overnight. We know that, but we can take baby steps. Well, look, we saw the United States of America had the first black president assume control of leadership. But depending on who you talk to, the change that he promised, the change that he represented indeed came with him, but there was a whole lot of people out there who did not want change in that way, in that form, under that name. We await to see a first woman elected as the president of the United States. Everybody has their opinion on who would and who wouldn't be an appropriate woman leader. Imagine the potential for one of the most powerful nations in the world to be governed and led by a different perspective, perhaps one that might actually have some semblance of what it means to truly and sincerely care about life itself. Women, biological women have the power to give birth and therefore I await the day that a biological woman ascends to leadership. The current American leadership right now has got to be the epitome of all of the worst elements of American culture that we have yet to see. And again, I don't identify as American, but as someone who watches and understands the role of America in the world, it would behoove every one of us to consider what are the implications. I always tell people, no matter what the American President Trump does within the confines of the United States, it's more important what he does outside of the United States. And right now Hawaii is poised to have to have preparedness training because why? Because somebody's mouth goes like this. It's like I'm back in school in the 60s. Yes. Well, you know, I feel like we're in the 50s. Or we have to, you know, the drills, get under the desk, get under behind the wall and stuff like that. And why are we even in this predicament? It's because of the leadership. Now, every leader is different. I believe that those in, you know, the American public who supported this President, they did so because he represented this great change and he represented them. So that, you know, that's scary. It is scary. Because that represents a view that really, to be transgender, there's no place for us in that world. Yes. Well, unfortunately, we have to close Zoom. And we will have a part two. That's for sure. But in 10 seconds or less each, what is the one thing? Well, I wouldn't ask you this. Who do you consider your greatest mentor and why? Can we do that in 30 seconds or less? My greatest mentor, wow, is several. I would say Janet Mock, Jennifer Finley-Bowlin, an author. And, you know, herself. Watching your movie and everything that you are trying to do is, to me, it just inspires me to want to help others. Mahalo. Mahalo. I always give credit to my grandparents who raised me. My Chinese grandparents, both of them, Edith and Henry. My Hawaiian grandparents, Mona and John. But today I'm going to give a shout out to my mother and father. My mother, George Jett, and my father, Henry. I'm going to emphasize my father, Henry. He taught me unconditional acceptance. My virtue of what he did. So, he told me whatever it is I wanted to do in my lifetime, as long as I took care of my grandmother and I completed school, he'd be completely fine with whatever my life brought me. I love it. And with that said, thank you so much for spending your time with Sister Power. Stay tuned for part two. Part two? Here we go. Thank you for...