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Call Him Hunter

Transgender teen, family break barriers on the path to his authentic life.

Ronelle Grier I Contributing Writer

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absorb the situation and catch up on the
information Hunter had been gathering.
"It was a lot to process:' Roz said. "We
weren't familiar with things like hormone
therapy, but I was glad he was confiding in
me, telling me what was going on. I viewed
it as another hurdle we'd have to deal witie
Richard Keith said Hunter had always
related to him as a typical tomboy, enjoying
activities such as fishing, skateboarding and
shooting.
"That felt natural:' he said. "I never
expected he should be girly"'
But Hunter's news took the family into
new and unfamiliar territory beyond their
previous experience.
At first it was something I had to
wrestle with, wondering how it would affect
Hunter's future Richard said.
Richard attended a two-day confer-
ence sponsored by Affirmations, where he
learned about many of the issues relating to
transgender individuals, including appropri-
ate terminology and therapeutic aspects. He
described the experience as a "pretty intense
two days:'
"I had to wrap my head around it, psy-
chologically and intellectually:' said Richard,
"but I felt Hunter needed all the support he
could get. And we're not just trying; we're
doing that:'
The Keiths have since become Hunter's
greatest champions. Roz has forged a sup-
port system made up of other parents in
similar situations, health care professionals
and advocacy groups. Her blog, "Call Him
Hunter" (callhimhunter.wordpress.com ),
has drawn comments from parents and pro-
fessionals all over the country.
"In the past several months, I've discov-
ered there is so much out there she said,
"and the more you talk, the more you hear
other people's stories:'
Once a hush-hush topic, the issues faced
by transgender people have received nation-
al attention of late, including a cover story
in a recent issue of Time magazine featuring
Laverne Cox, star of the TV series Orange is
the New Black. Cox, the first openly trans-
gender actor to receive an Emmy nomina-
tion, has become a staunch advocate for
transgender people everywhere.
President Barack Obama brought the
issue to the forefront last month when he
announced upcoming executive orders
specifically banning both discrimination
against transgender federal employees and
anti-LGBT discrimination by federal con-

The Keith family: Roz, Danielle, Hunter and Richard

tractors.
Among his family, Hunter's disclosure was
more difficult for his older sister, Danielle,
18, who will be starting college this fall.
At first, I didn't know how to compre-
hend it ... this was my baby sister; it was
always Danielle and Olivia:' she said. "It was
hard letting go of one idea of a person, but
when I started to talk about it, it became
easier:'
Danielle has tried to educate herself about
transgender issues so she can be more sup-
portive and understanding, and says she
and Hunter have become closer since the
situation was brought into the open.
"Our relationship is the same on the
inside," she said. "That didn't change:'
When it came time to choose a new
name, the family wanted a male name con-
sistent with Olivia's Hebrew name, Helah,
in memory of Roz's uncle, Harold. Hunter
was the popular choice. His middle name,
Jordan, is in memory of the child the Keiths
lost many years ago before Danielle was
born.
The first time Hunter shared his trans-
gender status with friends was last summer
at Tamarack's Camp Kennedy.
"Everyone there was so accepting, it gave
me the courage to come out on Facebook,"

he said. "Before that I'd been kind of avoid-
ing it:'
This summer, Hunter is participating
in the Tamarack Agree Outpost Camp,
a wilderness adventure program based
in Ontario. He is bunking with female
friends who know and accept his situation.
According to the Keiths, camp administra-
tors have made every effort to ensure a posi-
tive camp experience, and a recent enthusi-
astic phone call from Hunter confirmed that
goal has been met with rousing success.
"Hunter feels like camp has changed his
life Roz said.

Transgender Facts

According to the American Psychological
Association, transgender is an umbrella
term for individuals whose identity does not
match their biological designation. In other
words, a person who was born female but
identifies as a male, like Hunter, is consid-
ered transgender.
While the transgender category is includ-
ed in the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Transgender) community, the term refers to
gender identity only. This is separate from
sexual orientation, which refers to sexual
attraction. A transgender person can be gay,
straight, bisexual or pansexual (those whose

attraction is based on the person rather than
his/her sex).
Experts have been unable to pinpoint a
specific reason why some people are trans-
gender, but the general consensus is that a
variety of biological, hormonal and other
factors are involved.
While it is hard to find exact statistics, a
2011 study conducted by Gary J. Gates of
the UCLA School of Law concluded there
are approximately 700,000 transgender peo-
ple in the United States, about 0.3 percent of
the population. These numbers may be even
higher now that increased public awareness
and advocacy efforts have made it more
acceptable for transgender individuals to
disclose what was previously kept hidden.
The Keiths were shocked when they
learned about the high suicide rate among
transgender individuals. A 2011 survey by
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
and the National Center for Transgender
Equality showed 41 percent of the more
than 6,400 respondents said they had
attempted suicide. This is more than 25
times the average suicide rate of 1.6 percent
for members of the general population in
the United States.
For those who had lost a job due to bias,

Hunter on page 10

8 July 31 • 2014