Woman says she felt different as young as age 3

An award-winning transgender advocate, Darcy Corbitt Hall, shared her personal story of transitioning in a small, conservative southern town at the University of Minnesota Crookston’s Bede Ballroom in a standing room only event Tuesday. Her focus is to make communities more open and accepting of transgender individuals through policy and social changes in the tristate area.

She is a first-year graduate student at North Dakota State University where she is working toward a doctorate in psychological clinical science. Darcy received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English from Auburn University where she graduated with highest honors. She currently plans to continue her work as a clinical scientist where she can combine her love of teaching and research with practical applications including graduate supervision and fostering research interest in both graduate and undergraduate students.

Darcy is also a regionally recognized LGBTQ advocate and speaker. As the director of Social Affairs for Auburn University’s Gay-Straight Alliance, Darcy was instrumental in finalizing a ten-year effort adding gender identity and expression to Auburn University’s Anti-Discrimination Policy in 2013. In 2014, she received the Stephen Light Young Activist Award from Equality Alabama for her work on Auburn’s campus.



FROM CHILDHOOD TO COLLEGE AND BEYOND

Darcy grew up in a loving family, but didn’t feel like the “man” everyone told her she would be. In fact, she felt like she knew when she was three years old. As she moved through to her teenage years, she started to feel even more confused and didn’t know what to do.

While in college, she fell in love with Swedish boy who later broke her heart.

In 2011, she was at her lowest and attempted to hurt herself. She felt like she was imploding. But then a funny thing happened. She couldn’t break the razor and thought to herself, “If I can’t break the razor, I can’t be broken.” So, she set forth on an adventure to be a gay man.

Darcy was miserable and felt that she was headed in the wrong direction. Then a friend dragged her into a Gay/Straight Alliance meeting and someone asked her what her pronouns were. She didn’t really know how to answer and when someone asked her if she was transgender she thought they were crazy. Then she thought about it more. After three or four months, she admitted she was transgender to herself. She decided she wanted to be known as Darcy.

In 2013, Darcy came out to her parents. She said they didn’t handle it well.

“I think their reaction was reasonable given I had 21 years to figure it out and they had 21 seconds,” she added. “They said no matter what I try to do with my body to come out as a woman it wouldn’t work.”

Her parents kicked her out of the house and she had to do whatever she could to continue to get through college including selling her body for money. Since then she has graduated, moved to North Dakota after being accepted for graduate school and continued the fight for equality.

“Stories are integral to our experiences,” said Darcy. “There are reasons why I tell my story and it has reached millions.”

“There are things you can do to help the push for equality such as standing up against oppression and discrimination, respecting the dignity and worth of transgender people, and learning more,” she added.



Q&A

During the last ten minutes of her presentation, Darcy took questions from the audience. She openly said that if they were personal questions for the audience to be prepared for a personal answer.

Leanne Butt from the UMC Bookstore asked: “I’m Christian and what I take out of Christianity is that you need to love one another. How do you deal with the bible beaters?”

Darcy: “You know, you can be a strict Christian or a more open or broad Christian. I don’t care about what people thought 1,000 years ago. People have evolved since then and a lot has changed. There is some kind of bond that connects people and makes them care. Like, if I don’t know you but I see you stranded on the side of the road I will stop to help you. There’s a greater force out there. We are all the same. We are all equal.”

UMC’s Heidi Lamb Castle asked: “What is your relationship with your parents now?”

Darcy: “I had Christmas with them and it was hard. I can’t dress like myself. I told them that I can’t come back until they accept me for who I am.”

Another member from the audience who works on campus asked: “What can we do in Crookston to help the campus become more diverse?”

Darcy: “Ask your LGBTQ students. Include them. Gender neutral bathrooms are a good start.”

One last questioner asked: “Do you have any advice for teachers in the classroom from early education on up?”

Darcy: “Be trained on diversity. Affirm every child. Don’t disrupt and help prevent bullying of those diverse students. Also, be open with their parents. It might be extra work, but it is important. Make sure that the classrooms are safe.”