1
00:00:05,802 --> 00:00:10,628
Ladies and gentlemen is a common phrase
used to greet large audiences of people,

2
00:00:10,903 --> 00:00:12,380
much like yourself.

3
00:00:12,540 --> 00:00:16,484
But how can 3 words, and only 3 words
be entirely oppressive

4
00:00:16,630 --> 00:00:18,215
towards a whole group of people?

5
00:00:18,692 --> 00:00:22,455
My name is Charlie Hobman,
and today it is my aim to shed light

6
00:00:22,627 --> 00:00:25,617
on that very question,
and many others just like it.

7
00:00:27,841 --> 00:00:30,516
From the moment I was born
I was raised as a female.

8
00:00:31,656 --> 00:00:33,194
But they got it wrong.

9
00:00:33,194 --> 00:00:36,734
I am male, I identify entirely as male,

10
00:00:36,734 --> 00:00:38,316
and I've always been male.

11
00:00:38,875 --> 00:00:41,261
To most people
this is completely confusing.

12
00:00:41,567 --> 00:00:45,904
How is it possible for this person
to go from being Samantha Kate Hobman

13
00:00:46,436 --> 00:00:48,455
to being Charles Francis Hobman?

14
00:00:48,455 --> 00:00:50,445
How is that even possible?

15
00:00:51,455 --> 00:00:53,350
The answer is simpler than you think.

16
00:00:53,827 --> 00:00:56,001
I am female to male transgender.

17
00:00:59,016 --> 00:01:00,933
From a young age I knew I was different.

18
00:01:00,933 --> 00:01:03,203
This sounds incredibly cliche,

19
00:01:03,203 --> 00:01:04,657
but it's also incredibly accurate.

20
00:01:04,657 --> 00:01:07,657
Whilst my sister was inside
playing with dolls,

21
00:01:07,657 --> 00:01:10,868
watching High School Musical,
trying on my mom's wedding dress,

22
00:01:11,044 --> 00:01:14,987
I was outside riding my bike,
climbing trees, falling out of the trees,

23
00:01:15,493 --> 00:01:18,496
catching lizards and whatever I could
get my hands on.

24
00:01:18,793 --> 00:01:22,947
More often than not, I would come inside
with scratches, bruises, grazes,

25
00:01:22,947 --> 00:01:24,812
but I didn't care.

26
00:01:24,812 --> 00:01:26,921
That's how I was expressing myself.

27
00:01:26,921 --> 00:01:29,026
I was happy to express myself in that way.

28
00:01:29,323 --> 00:01:31,783
At this point in time I had no idea

29
00:01:31,783 --> 00:01:34,783
what gender identity
or what gender roles were.

30
00:01:34,783 --> 00:01:37,357
I didn't know what was masculine
or what was feminine.

31
00:01:37,357 --> 00:01:38,948
I was doing what made me happy.

32
00:01:39,192 --> 00:01:42,610
Now I must say, at this point,
that I don't believe gender roles

33
00:01:42,610 --> 00:01:46,799
should be enforced in society,
but at that time,

34
00:01:47,084 --> 00:01:49,505
what I was doing,
was considered masculine.

35
00:01:51,669 --> 00:01:53,740
And as I grew up, it got harder.

36
00:01:54,894 --> 00:01:59,261
I kept to myself because
I felt like I was lying to people

37
00:01:59,922 --> 00:02:01,609
by presenting myself as female.

38
00:02:01,808 --> 00:02:03,469
When I made friends,

39
00:02:03,469 --> 00:02:05,839
I felt I was keeping
my whole life away from them,

40
00:02:05,839 --> 00:02:09,577
because I wasn't ready to admit to myself
or to others, who I really was.

41
00:02:11,443 --> 00:02:13,225
But things have changed.

42
00:02:13,559 --> 00:02:17,422
I came out. I shed that skin
and set fire to the façade.

43
00:02:18,294 --> 00:02:21,033
I came out and haven't looked back since.

44
00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,166
I am able to stand before you today
and say, "This is who I am,

45
00:02:25,374 --> 00:02:28,423
and this is who I'm going to be,
this is where I've been,

46
00:02:28,547 --> 00:02:30,998
and this is where I'm going to be next."

47
00:02:31,428 --> 00:02:33,473
So let's talk about technicalities.

48
00:02:33,563 --> 00:02:37,549
First of all, sex, gender identity,
and gender expression

49
00:02:37,711 --> 00:02:42,221
are 3 entirely different things
that overall make up your identity.

50
00:02:43,957 --> 00:02:48,538
Sex is what you hide under your clothes,
your private parts.

51
00:02:48,899 --> 00:02:51,261
Gender identity is what you identify as.


52
00:02:51,718 --> 00:02:53,894
As I've told you, I identify as male.

53
00:02:54,885 --> 00:02:58,599
Gender expression is how you
outwardly express your gender.

54
00:02:59,235 --> 00:03:04,724
So, before I came out I was presenting
myself as female to people.

55
00:03:05,946 --> 00:03:10,491
People would perceive me as female
because I would wear feminine clothing

56
00:03:10,602 --> 00:03:12,787
and present myself in a feminine manner.

57
00:03:12,986 --> 00:03:15,307
Now I present myself in masculine manner,

58
00:03:15,442 --> 00:03:18,218
therefore making
my gender expression masculine.

59
00:03:19,652 --> 00:03:25,269
So these 3 things come together,
to make your gender identity.

60
00:03:27,123 --> 00:03:29,499
There are a few things
that we need to talk about.

61
00:03:30,288 --> 00:03:32,660
A few things everyone needs to know

62
00:03:32,753 --> 00:03:35,436
regardless of whether
you're transgender or not.

63
00:03:37,179 --> 00:03:41,286
First of all, transgender people
have the right

64
00:03:41,286 --> 00:03:43,880
to use whichever bathroom they prefer.

65
00:03:44,335 --> 00:03:47,784
There is no law dictating which bathroom
we can and cannot use.

66
00:03:50,398 --> 00:03:52,057
What do we need to happen?

67
00:03:53,409 --> 00:03:56,442
I am afraid of a lot of things.

68
00:03:57,354 --> 00:04:02,268
I am afraid of going to a workplace
and being discriminated.

69
00:04:02,764 --> 00:04:05,820
I am afraid of telling people who I am.

70
00:04:07,761 --> 00:04:11,611
I'm getting better at it,
but it's still difficult for me.

71
00:04:13,485 --> 00:04:16,338
So how can we spread awareness?

72
00:04:16,338 --> 00:04:20,276
How can we make it more possible
for people to understand and accept

73
00:04:20,545 --> 00:04:22,838
people like me into their community?

74
00:04:22,838 --> 00:04:24,698
Because that's what needs to happen.

75
00:04:24,935 --> 00:04:31,234
I think a good step towards that
is an appropriate representation

76
00:04:31,796 --> 00:04:33,819
in sexual education at schools.

77
00:04:34,646 --> 00:04:39,578
Without it, kids won't understand
or know what being transgender is.

78
00:04:39,578 --> 00:04:43,923
I have come out to so many people
who have turned around and said,

79
00:04:43,923 --> 00:04:46,301
"I don't understand
what you're talking about.

80
00:04:46,473 --> 00:04:48,215
Please explain to me."

81
00:04:48,405 --> 00:04:54,487
And I'll happily explain but it shocks me
how so few people in this country

82
00:04:55,110 --> 00:04:56,510
[do] understand it.

83
00:04:56,510 --> 00:04:58,857
The problem isn't within ourselves,

84
00:04:58,857 --> 00:05:01,232
it's within the sexual education system.

85
00:05:01,499 --> 00:05:08,171
We have the opportunity to teach students
about who we are and what we stand for.

86
00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:15,818
This doesn't just add towards
a more accepting and peaceful community.

87
00:05:16,915 --> 00:05:20,963
This means that people who are questioning
their own gender and their own issues

88
00:05:22,122 --> 00:05:26,650
will be able to stand forward
and get rid of that uncertainty

89
00:05:27,275 --> 00:05:28,773
that I was missing.

90
00:05:31,287 --> 00:05:36,512
I didn't have that opportunity to know
what I was feeling.

91
00:05:37,043 --> 00:05:38,724
I didn't know what it was called.

92
00:05:39,156 --> 00:05:44,559
That uncertainty kept me within my shell
and it kept me hiding away from who I am.

93
00:05:45,407 --> 00:05:49,715
With appropriate representation
in sexual education classes,

94
00:05:49,956 --> 00:05:54,544
people who are questioning their gender
can freely think about it,

95
00:05:54,734 --> 00:05:57,112
because it's something
that people should explore,

96
00:05:57,147 --> 00:06:00,410
whether you identify as transgender
or not you should explore

97
00:06:00,473 --> 00:06:02,277
your gender and gender expression.


98
00:06:02,871 --> 00:06:06,831
Self-discovery is such an important thing
that I don't understand

99
00:06:06,831 --> 00:06:09,779
why it's not enforced more
into our school society.

100
00:06:16,616 --> 00:06:18,509
We've come a long way. 


101
00:06:18,946 --> 00:06:22,046
50 years ago I wouldn't be able
to be here now.

102
00:06:22,330 --> 00:06:24,621
I wouldn't be able
to stand in front of you.

103
00:06:24,887 --> 00:06:28,844
As a community we are able
to consolidate, form a group,

104
00:06:28,844 --> 00:06:32,243
bond together to get,
not just as trans people,

105
00:06:33,089 --> 00:06:35,221
but you involved, too.

106
00:06:35,362 --> 00:06:37,118
Us as a community.

107
00:06:37,626 --> 00:06:41,626
We are able to come together and fight
for what we believe in,

108
00:06:41,626 --> 00:06:45,515
we can stand up and say,
"We exist. We have always existed.

109
00:06:45,932 --> 00:06:47,871
And we always will exist.

110
00:06:47,937 --> 00:06:51,204
And there is no way
we can be erased from society."

111
00:06:53,748 --> 00:06:56,572
As "Time" put it,
we're at the transgender tipping point.

112
00:07:00,956 --> 00:07:05,451
We are moving forward
and we are doing it for humanity.

113
00:07:09,431 --> 00:07:12,521
I want to be able to walk down the street.

114
00:07:14,306 --> 00:07:17,025
I want to be able to walk
into a men's bathroom

115
00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:18,597
without being yelled at.

116
00:07:19,913 --> 00:07:22,042
I want equal rights.

117
00:07:23,892 --> 00:07:26,192
I do not want to be oppressed.

118
00:07:28,573 --> 00:07:32,096
How can we do this
if we don't work together?

119
00:07:33,479 --> 00:07:37,589
Us trans people are making a lot of noise.
Which is good.

120
00:07:38,276 --> 00:07:41,397
We are telling people this is who we are.

121
00:07:42,292 --> 00:07:45,706
This is who we authentically are,
something we cannot change,

122
00:07:45,748 --> 00:07:48,143
something that has been wired
into our genetics.

123
00:07:52,027 --> 00:07:54,101
That isn't going to change.

124
00:07:54,101 --> 00:07:56,242
What can change, people's outlook on us,

125
00:07:56,242 --> 00:07:58,024
people's perspective.


126
00:07:58,024 --> 00:08:00,599
People's perspective on gender roles
in general,

127
00:08:00,599 --> 00:08:04,166
like it shouldn't be a thing
for it to be weird

128
00:08:04,166 --> 00:08:06,474
for a man to wear a dress. 


129
00:08:07,032 --> 00:08:10,467
It needs to be something
that is cherished and accepted.

130
00:08:11,158 --> 00:08:15,852
I can tell you from my own personal
experience, coming out is really scary.

131
00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:23,454
It can be made a lot easier if accurate
representation in media existed.

132
00:08:26,808 --> 00:08:31,418
The media, up until now,
is mostly comprised -

133
00:08:33,177 --> 00:08:35,980
for the transgender side of media -
is most comprised

134
00:08:37,275 --> 00:08:40,320
of using transgender people
as a satirical device.

135
00:08:41,407 --> 00:08:43,002
They think it's funny.

136
00:08:43,104 --> 00:08:44,278
Using slurs.

137
00:08:45,305 --> 00:08:46,989
Making it into a joke.

138
00:08:49,705 --> 00:08:51,687
That's not what we're about.

139
00:08:52,534 --> 00:08:54,865
We are not here to be laughed at.

140
00:08:55,871 --> 00:08:57,507
We are human beings.

141
00:09:01,688 --> 00:09:05,260
Like I said earlier,
ladies and gentlemen,

142
00:09:05,639 --> 00:09:07,217
is an oppressive term

143
00:09:07,217 --> 00:09:11,223
because gender identity
is not a straight line,

144
00:09:11,408 --> 00:09:13,656
it's not male and female at either end.

145
00:09:13,879 --> 00:09:16,280
It is a whole entire spectrum.

146
00:09:16,703 --> 00:09:19,188
There are so many
different gender options.

147
00:09:19,867 --> 00:09:23,722
Facebook alone offers 71 different
gender variants.

148
00:09:25,950 --> 00:09:26,982
A couple of them:

149
00:09:26,982 --> 00:09:32,556
male, female, genderless - which is where
you don't identify as any gender,

150
00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,713
or gender fluid - where you can transition
between both male and female

151
00:09:36,837 --> 00:09:38,490
or a third gender.


152
00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,125
There are many more but it is something
that people need to learn more about

153
00:09:42,204 --> 00:09:43,744
in order to understand.

154
00:09:48,198 --> 00:09:51,666
It is my goal, and I hope
you will join me on this journey,

155
00:09:52,726 --> 00:09:54,494
to keep moving forward.

156
00:09:56,447 --> 00:10:02,507
In the past century we have come so far
that it is beyond the point

157
00:10:02,726 --> 00:10:04,606
that I'm able to come in front of you

158
00:10:04,606 --> 00:10:07,812
and list all of the things
that have happened

159
00:10:07,812 --> 00:10:09,249
that's been good.

160
00:10:09,938 --> 00:10:13,872
But I can tell you right now,
there's still so much that we can do.

161
00:10:18,166 --> 00:10:23,492
So really, the question is,
when are you going to do it?

162
00:10:24,782 --> 00:10:26,252
(Applause)