0:00:05.802,0:00:10.628
Ladies and gentlemen is a common phrase[br]used to greet large audiences of people,

0:00:10.903,0:00:12.380
much like yourself.

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But how can 3 words, and only 3 words[br]be entirely oppressive

0:00:16.630,0:00:18.215
towards a whole group of people?

0:00:18.692,0:00:22.455
My name is Charlie Hobman,[br]and today it is my aim to shed light

0:00:22.627,0:00:25.617
on that very question,[br]and many others just like it.

0:00:27.841,0:00:30.516
From the moment I was born[br]I was raised as a female.

0:00:31.656,0:00:33.194
But they got it wrong.

0:00:33.194,0:00:36.734
I am male, I identify entirely as male,

0:00:36.734,0:00:38.316
and I've always been male.

0:00:38.875,0:00:41.261
To most people[br]this is completely confusing.

0:00:41.567,0:00:45.904
How is it possible for this person[br]to go from being Samantha Kate Hobman

0:00:46.436,0:00:48.455
to being Charles Francis Hobman?

0:00:48.455,0:00:50.445
How is that even possible?

0:00:51.455,0:00:53.350
The answer is simpler than you think.

0:00:53.827,0:00:56.001
I am female to male transgender.

0:00:59.016,0:01:00.933
From a young age I knew I was different.

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This sounds incredibly cliche,

0:01:03.203,0:01:04.657
but it's also incredibly accurate.

0:01:04.657,0:01:07.657
Whilst my sister was inside[br]playing with dolls,

0:01:07.657,0:01:10.868
watching High School Musical,[br]trying on my mom's wedding dress,

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I was outside riding my bike,[br]climbing trees, falling out of the trees,

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catching lizards and whatever I could[br]get my hands on.

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More often than not, I would come inside[br]with scratches, bruises, grazes,

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but I didn't care.

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That's how I was expressing myself.

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I was happy to express myself in that way.

0:01:29.323,0:01:31.783
At this point in time I had no idea

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what gender identity[br]or what gender roles were.

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I didn't know what was masculine[br]or what was feminine.

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I was doing what made me happy.

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Now I must say, at this point,[br]that I don't believe gender roles

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should be enforced in society,[br]but at that time,

0:01:47.084,0:01:49.505
what I was doing,[br]was considered masculine.

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And as I grew up, it got harder.

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I kept to myself because[br]I felt like I was lying to people

0:01:59.922,0:02:01.609
by presenting myself as female.

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When I made friends,

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I felt I was keeping[br]my whole life away from them,

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because I wasn't ready to admit to myself[br]or to others, who I really was.

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But things have changed.

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I came out. I shed that skin[br]and set fire to the façade.

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I came out and haven't looked back since.

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I am able to stand before you today[br]and say, "This is who I am,

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and this is who I'm going to be,[br]this is where I've been,

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and this is where I'm going to be next."

0:02:31.428,0:02:33.473
So let's talk about technicalities.

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First of all, sex, gender identity,[br]and gender expression

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are 3 entirely different things[br]that overall make up your identity.

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Sex is what you hide under your clothes,[br]your private parts.

0:02:48.899,0:02:51.261
Gender identity is what you identify as.[br]

0:02:51.718,0:02:53.894
As I've told you, I identify as male.

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Gender expression is how you[br]outwardly express your gender.

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So, before I came out I was presenting[br]myself as female to people.

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People would perceive me as female[br]because I would wear feminine clothing

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and present myself in a feminine manner.

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Now I present myself in masculine manner,

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therefore making[br]my gender expression masculine.

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So these 3 things come together,[br]to make your gender identity.

0:03:27.123,0:03:29.499
There are a few things[br]that we need to talk about.

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A few things everyone needs to know

0:03:32.753,0:03:35.436
regardless of whether[br]you're transgender or not.

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First of all, transgender people[br]have the right

0:03:41.286,0:03:43.880
to use whichever bathroom they prefer.

0:03:44.335,0:03:47.784
There is no law dictating which bathroom[br]we can and cannot use.

0:03:50.398,0:03:52.057
What do we need to happen?

0:03:53.409,0:03:56.442
I am afraid of a lot of things.

0:03:57.354,0:04:02.268
I am afraid of going to a workplace[br]and being discriminated.

0:04:02.764,0:04:05.820
I am afraid of telling people who I am.

0:04:07.761,0:04:11.611
I'm getting better at it,[br]but it's still difficult for me.

0:04:13.485,0:04:16.338
So how can we spread awareness?

0:04:16.338,0:04:20.276
How can we make it more possible[br]for people to understand and accept

0:04:20.545,0:04:22.838
people like me into their community?

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Because that's what needs to happen.

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I think a good step towards that[br]is an appropriate representation

0:04:31.796,0:04:33.819
in sexual education at schools.

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Without it, kids won't understand[br]or know what being transgender is.

0:04:39.578,0:04:43.923
I have come out to so many people[br]who have turned around and said,

0:04:43.923,0:04:46.301
"I don't understand[br]what you're talking about.

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Please explain to me."

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And I'll happily explain but it shocks me[br]how so few people in this country

0:04:55.110,0:04:56.510
[do] understand it.

0:04:56.510,0:04:58.857
The problem isn't within ourselves,

0:04:58.857,0:05:01.232
it's within the sexual education system.

0:05:01.499,0:05:08.171
We have the opportunity to teach students[br]about who we are and what we stand for.

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This doesn't just add towards[br]a more accepting and peaceful community.

0:05:16.915,0:05:20.963
This means that people who are questioning[br]their own gender and their own issues

0:05:22.122,0:05:26.650
will be able to stand forward[br]and get rid of that uncertainty

0:05:27.275,0:05:28.773
that I was missing.

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I didn't have that opportunity to know[br]what I was feeling.

0:05:37.043,0:05:38.724
I didn't know what it was called.

0:05:39.156,0:05:44.559
That uncertainty kept me within my shell[br]and it kept me hiding away from who I am.

0:05:45.407,0:05:49.715
With appropriate representation[br]in sexual education classes,

0:05:49.956,0:05:54.544
people who are questioning their gender[br]can freely think about it,

0:05:54.734,0:05:57.112
because it's something[br]that people should explore,

0:05:57.147,0:06:00.410
whether you identify as transgender[br]or not you should explore

0:06:00.473,0:06:02.277
your gender and gender expression.[br]

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Self-discovery is such an important thing[br]that I don't understand

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why it's not enforced more[br]into our school society.

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We've come a long way. [br]

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50 years ago I wouldn't be able[br]to be here now.

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I wouldn't be able[br]to stand in front of you.

0:06:24.887,0:06:28.844
As a community we are able[br]to consolidate, form a group,

0:06:28.844,0:06:32.243
bond together to get,[br]not just as trans people,

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but you involved, too.

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Us as a community.

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We are able to come together and fight[br]for what we believe in,

0:06:41.626,0:06:45.515
we can stand up and say,[br]"We exist. We have always existed.

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And we always will exist.

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And there is no way[br]we can be erased from society."

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As "Time" put it,[br]we're at the transgender tipping point.

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We are moving forward[br]and we are doing it for humanity.

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I want to be able to walk down the street.

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I want to be able to walk[br]into a men's bathroom

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without being yelled at.

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I want equal rights.

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I do not want to be oppressed.

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How can we do this[br]if we don't work together?

0:07:33.479,0:07:37.589
Us trans people are making a lot of noise.[br]Which is good.

0:07:38.276,0:07:41.397
We are telling people this is who we are.

0:07:42.292,0:07:45.706
This is who we authentically are,[br]something we cannot change,

0:07:45.748,0:07:48.143
something that has been wired[br]into our genetics.

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That isn't going to change.

0:07:54.101,0:07:56.242
What can change, people's outlook on us,

0:07:56.242,0:07:58.024
people's perspective.[br]

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People's perspective on gender roles[br]in general,

0:08:00.599,0:08:04.166
like it shouldn't be a thing[br]for it to be weird

0:08:04.166,0:08:06.474
for a man to wear a dress. [br]

0:08:07.032,0:08:10.467
It needs to be something[br]that is cherished and accepted.

0:08:11.158,0:08:15.852
I can tell you from my own personal[br]experience, coming out is really scary.

0:08:16.240,0:08:23.454
It can be made a lot easier if accurate[br]representation in media existed.

0:08:26.808,0:08:31.418
The media, up until now,[br]is mostly comprised -

0:08:33.177,0:08:35.980
for the transgender side of media -[br]is most comprised

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of using transgender people[br]as a satirical device.

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They think it's funny.

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Using slurs.

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Making it into a joke.

0:08:49.705,0:08:51.687
That's not what we're about.

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We are not here to be laughed at.

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We are human beings.

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Like I said earlier,[br]ladies and gentlemen,

0:09:05.639,0:09:07.217
is an oppressive term

0:09:07.217,0:09:11.223
because gender identity[br]is not a straight line,

0:09:11.408,0:09:13.656
it's not male and female at either end.

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It is a whole entire spectrum.

0:09:16.703,0:09:19.188
There are so many[br]different gender options.

0:09:19.867,0:09:23.722
Facebook alone offers 71 different[br]gender variants.

0:09:25.950,0:09:26.982
A couple of them:

0:09:26.982,0:09:32.556
male, female, genderless - which is where[br]you don't identify as any gender,

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or gender fluid - where you can transition[br]between both male and female

0:09:36.837,0:09:38.490
or a third gender.[br]

0:09:38.559,0:09:42.125
There are many more but it is something[br]that people need to learn more about

0:09:42.204,0:09:43.744
in order to understand.

0:09:48.198,0:09:51.666
It is my goal, and I hope[br]you will join me on this journey,

0:09:52.726,0:09:54.494
to keep moving forward.

0:09:56.447,0:10:02.507
In the past century we have come so far[br]that it is beyond the point

0:10:02.726,0:10:04.606
that I'm able to come in front of you

0:10:04.606,0:10:07.812
and list all of the things[br]that have happened

0:10:07.812,0:10:09.249
that's been good.

0:10:09.938,0:10:13.872
But I can tell you right now,[br]there's still so much that we can do.

0:10:18.166,0:10:23.492
So really, the question is,[br]when are you going to do it?

0:10:24.782,0:10:26.252
(Applause)