明矾为跨性别权利而战

收听即将到来的共和党和民主公约，您很可能会看到NC州校友向整个政治领域的观众传达信息。

Alaina Kupec won’t appear on stage at either event. But millions of television viewers watching the GOP convention coverage on Fox News and the Democratic Party convention coverage on MSNBC will see the 1992 political science major star in a 60-second public service spot advocating transgender rights.

“Like most transgender people, I never envisioned being publicly visible,” she said in an interview this week. “As my wife says, I’m the accidental activist.”

在现实风格的广告中，由民权团体联盟，，，，Kupec is confronted by a restaurant owner who blocks her from entering the women’s restroom. In a voice-over narration, Kupec says laws that prevent transgender people from using gender-appropriate restrooms put them at risk for harassment and violence.

在这些法律中，有一项北卡罗来纳州的一项措施，要求跨性别者在学校和国有建筑物中使用与其生物学性别相对应的浴室 - 出生时分配的性别。该法律被称为HB2，是Kupec决定公开决定的催化剂。

她说：“看到这项法律对跨性别社区的影响是令人心碎的。”“对于我们许多人来说，很难应对公开羞辱和边缘化的压力，情绪，沮丧和焦虑。”

说出来

库佩克（Kupec）迅速成为美国最明显的跨性别活动家之一。她是跨性别法律辩护和教育基金会董事会的联席主席，她与许多新闻媒体进行了交谈，包括新闻与观察员，，，，SalonandRolling Stone。在法律通过后的第二天，她是公开集会上针对HB2的演讲者，从那时起，她与其他国家LGBT领导人在新闻发布会上发表了讲话。

Kupec, who has worked at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for over 20 years, was one of four LGBT business executives honored by领导last month during the televised Logo Trailblazer Awards in New York.

她说：“对我来说，这真是超现实，因为我自然是一个非常内向的人。”“但是与此同时，我不会陪伴着我们的社区受害。”

A Lifelong Struggle

四年前，库佩克（Kupec）在四年前就成为变性人。但是她与性别认同的斗争始于几十年前。

“我感到内心是我一生都是女性，但不知道为什么我会这样。我觉得自己被打破了，”她解释说。“我感到羞耻，我感到内gui，我有所有这些东西，我听不懂。我记得就像昨天一样，当我大一新生时，去D.H. Hill图书馆的卡片目录，寻找可以帮助我的研究。但是我在整个图书馆中找不到任何一百万本书。那里没有什么可以帮助我了解自己是谁。”

为了帮助下一代transgender students, Kupec recently donated the seed money to begin a collection of books on transgender issues in the NCSU Libraries.Donations为了增强该系列，可以在线或通过919-513-7033与Leia Droll联系。

改变叙述

Kupec, who has three teenagers from a previous marriage, lives with her wife in Chapel Hill. She hopes her work on the forefront of the transgender rights movement, including the public service ad airing this month, will help reframe the narrative about gender nonconforming people.

“Coming out as transgender midlife, with my oldest son then starting high school, was incredibly difficult to do,” she said. “In many ways you only do it when you can’t survive any longer. You risk losing everything to transition: your family, your friends, your job, everything about your life. It’s not done lightly.”

Despite the difficulties she faced coming to terms with her gender identity, she takes pride and comfort in the support of family, friends and colleagues.

“辉瑞一直非常支持我。当我过渡时，他们从不眨眼。我的经理说：我雇用您做得很好，我知道您将继续做得很好，无论性别如何。”

Kupec与她的孩子的关系是基于诚实和尊重的。

她说：“我对我的孩子们对非营利组织的参与，与可见的参与，对社区的支持非常透明。”“上周我能见度最令人满意的结果之一是我的大儿子告诉我他为我感到骄傲，告诉我他爱我。一个17岁的年轻人经常从对他们个人的影响方面看待世界。我非常感谢他可以看到这样做是一种试图帮助其他可能没有声音的人的方式。”