Seven Inspiring TED Talks You Should Watch On The Transgender Experience

Transgender cosmetic surgery does not define who you are, although it can help. Whether you’ve had the procedure or not, you are still entitled to live as your true self. If you’re looking for inspiration from others who live the transgender experience, look to these seven TED talks.

1. The Importance of Being Alice: Alice Miller’s moving talk is about the years she spent trying to quell her feelings about her true self. She spent 20 years in the CIA, had two marriages, and had two kids; yet those feelings about herself never went away. Alice has transitioned and is finally comfortable being the woman she always knew she was.
2. Why I Must Come Out: Model Geena Rocero shares her story of keeping her identity a secret for years because of how the world views the trans community. However, she is now living as her true self and describes the battle she faced in her TED talk.
3. Why Did I Choose?: This stirring talk given by Valentijn De Hingh details how she is able to live beyond the limits of traditional gender by throwing away the idea of a gender binary.
4. My Transgender Experience: Filmmaker Fox Fisher is known for his vibrant documentation of the trans community. In his talk, he discloses his transition and how he constantly aims to tell the wonderful stories of gender-variant people.
5. Beyond The Gender Binary: Yee Won Chong reveals how living as a different sex than the one assigned at birth has implications on how you function in society. He discusses how difficult it can be to get a government ID, to choose the right bathroom, and how we can all be better allies to the trans community.
6. My Daughter, My Wife, Our Robot, And The Quest For Immortality: The founder of Sirius XM satellite radio, Martine Rothblatt, speaks about her choice to live a gender-fluid life. She also discusses her work, her life, and her relationships.
7. DJ Decks Made Of … Paper: Although this talk isn’t only focused on gender, Kate Stone uses her platform to speak about and help end the stigma associated with being transgendered. Stone, an academic whose work involves using conductive inks to print circuit boards on unusual places (posters and album covers), reveals in this talk how treating people with respect is vital whether they’ve had transgender cosmetic surgery or not.

You can watch all these inspirational talks here.