WATCH: Trans Kid Seeks Help With School

WATCH: Trans Kid Seeks Help With School

Public schools can be a drag for LGBT kids, but one enterprising teen is doing something about it. Asher, a 14-year-old transgender teen, has taken matters into his own hands with an Indieagogo campaign to send himself to Arthur Morgan School, a trans-friendly Quaker boarding school in North Carolina.

"Being 14 isn't easy, not for anyone," says Asher. "Puberty, middle school, and all that crazy stuff. For trans kids like me, it's even more complicated. At 2, I found this out about myself. This has never been easy at my other schools, but luckily, my mom has been very supportive and has learned a lot about trans issues over the years. I am so grateful for this. If I hadn't been raised around a bunch of queers, or if my mom was trans-phobic, I honestly don't know where I would be. I have felt very affirmed and accepted by a lot of adults in my life, and this has helped me so much"

But Asher says his current public school hasn't been helpful. "I don't feel safe coming out as trans when most of the teachers and staff are not so prepared to support me. This makes it much harder for me to make good, trusting friendships with kids at school, so I wind up feeling pretty isolated, and this causes more stress and loneliness and frustration in my life. Its been a pretty depressing year so far."

http://www.advocate.com/youth/2012/06/23/watch-trans-kid-seeks-help-school