{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/c53dz04g38/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Olivia Werth, August 16, 2024"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/255/original/Aviary_TRL_Header.png?1704389184","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1976, Olivia Werth was raised as a boy in Des Moines, Iowa, in what she describes as a conservative, Christian, lower-middle-class family.  As a child, Olivia played with cross-dressing and “always knew I was a girl,” but came to hide that part of herself when her family rejected it.  She became especially frightened after seeing the character of Buffalo Bill, a cross-dressing serial killer in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs.  For the following thirty years, Olivia buried her female identity.  She would attend Grinnell College, where she met her future wife Niki, with whom she immediately “trauma bonded.”   The couple would eventually go to the Northeast, first living in Western Connecticut, followed by Boston and eventually Lynn.  Olivia worked various jobs in financial services, accounting, and mortgage firms.  It was only during the pandemic in 2020 that Olivia claimed her female identity, something her partner Niki “knew well before I did.”  Although Olivia experiences misgendering and transphobia, the couple has found a largely tolerant home in Lynn.  Olivia has started a zine, Prismatic, dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community of Lynn.  She is a member of United Lynn Pride and volunteers for NAGLY and Trans Support. \u003c/p\u003e"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eBorn in 1976, Olivia Werth was raised as a boy in Des Moines, Iowa, in what she describes as a conservative, Christian, lower-middle-class family. \u0026nbsp;As a child, Olivia played with cross-dressing and \u0026ldquo;always knew I was a girl,\u0026rdquo; but came to hide that part of herself when her family rejected it. \u0026nbsp;She became especially frightened after seeing the character of Buffalo Bill, a cross-dressing serial killer in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs. \u0026nbsp;For the following thirty years, Olivia buried her female identity. \u0026nbsp;She would attend Grinnell College, where she met her future wife Niki, with whom she immediately \u0026ldquo;trauma bonded.\u0026rdquo; \u0026nbsp; The couple would eventually go to the Northeast, first living in Western Connecticut, followed by Boston and eventually Lynn. \u0026nbsp;Olivia worked various jobs in financial services, accounting, and mortgage firms. \u0026nbsp;It was only during the pandemic in 2020 that Olivia claimed her female identity, something her partner Niki \u0026ldquo;knew well before I did.\u0026rdquo; \u0026nbsp;Although Olivia experiences misgendering and transphobia, the couple has found a largely tolerant home in Lynn. \u0026nbsp;Olivia has started a zine, Prismatic, dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community of Lynn. \u0026nbsp;She is a member of United Lynn Pride and volunteers for NAGLY and Trans Support.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"]},"provider":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Through A Rainbow Lens"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Through A Rainbow Lens"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/255/original/Aviary_TRL_Header.png?1704389184","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/253/801/small/open-uri20241006-557940-crvagr_1728207754.jpg?1728207758","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - open-uri20241006-557940-crvagr.mp4"]},"duration":3145.472,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/253/801/small/open-uri20241006-557940-crvagr_1728207754.jpg?1728207758","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-unitedlynnpride.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/253/801/original/open-uri20241006-557940-crvagr.mp4?1728207742","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":3145.472,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Olivia Werth transcript\u003cbr\u003e [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Today's date is August 22, 2024. My name is Andrew Darien. I'm a professor of history at Salem State University, and I'm conducting this interview as part of the Mass Humanities funded project, \"Through a Rainbow Lens: A Reflection on Lynn's LGBTQ+ History.\" I'm honored to be joined today by Olivia Werth, a resident of Lynn who has worked in accounting and financial services, is a member of United Lynn Pride, and supports queer and trans nonprofits like TCNE [Trans Club of New England] and NAGLY [North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance]. Can I just confirm that I have your permission to record?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2.844,44.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Absolutely.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=44.0,45.96"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Thank you, Olivia! So you were born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and your parents, I believe, also grew up in Iowa. Do you know much about your family roots, how far back they go in Iowa and the rest of your ancestry?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=45.96,64.54"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. In Iowa, it actually was my grandparents, like on both sides of the family. My family moved on all sides to the U.S. [United States] back in like the 1700s, 1800s, but ended up, after World War II, my mom's parents both ended up in Iowa, and ended up meeting there, and sometime around the same period of time, my dad's parents came from Nebraska [and] into Iowa as well. So, [it's been] pretty much seventy years at this point, eighty years [that] they've been living in that state.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=64.54,99.341"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And I believe your father was an accounting manager, and your mother was a school secretary. Would it be accurate to characterize your upbringing as middle class?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=99.341,114.622"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e That was later on. When I was younger, my dad was working not as a manager, but as a lower down, like [an] account manager, for, actually, a tire company. And so every summer, [he] would be furloughed when they would shut down the factory for a few months. My mom was not working when we were young because they thought a stay-at-home mom would be [smart]. I have two siblings younger than me, so three kids at home. We got by a lot when I was young, just because my mom's parents would help out. We were pretty poor, like we would spend a summer in the basement rather than ever running the air conditioning because we just didn't have money to run air conditioning. Food was a little scarce sometimes, but we always ended up [being] able to get it, and survive.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=114.622,158.8"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Was that a classic 1970s wood paneled basement?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=158.8,163.72"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes, it was!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=163.72,167.42"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm familiar with that. And what would you say were some of the defining values of your family growing up?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=167.42,179.36"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Growing up, religion was important. We would have to go to church every Sunday. My mom's parents lived ten minutes away from us, so closeness of family was also very big. They were leaders in the church, and so we would have to go there every weekend. We would be involved in anything going on with the church. It was just a big, very religious kind of upbringing. It was also very much a thing of like service. My grandparents in the late '70s sponsored a family of refugees escaping from Cambodia in the middle of the wars going on to come to the U.S. [United States], and settle where we lived, and essentially took them in as part of our family. It was [a] kind of a religion that was about helping people, but still very religious and very Christian. and very focused on God, and shame, and doing the right things.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=179.36,236.4"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And as a young child, did you embrace the religion?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=236.4,242.24"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I was never comfortable in it. It never made sense to me. But I went until I was about thirteen, at which point I finally managed to convince my parents not to make me go anymore, [so] I started not going anymore. I read the Bible cover to cover when I was, like, eleven years old, and it just completely stopped [making sense]. It stopped making sense to me as something that made any sense, in terms of living life by, and so I walked away from it as a young teenager.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=242.24,271.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Was that a difficult conversation?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=271.0,273.36"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It was. For my mom and her parents, it was a very important thing. Their family was very religious, and very much into the church. Getting them to finally stop forcing me to go was a multi-conversational, very difficult process to get me to the point of being able to avoid that obligation anymore.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=273.36,300.4"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And what was your relationship like with your younger siblings?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=300.4,305.08"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It was good. My parents divorced when I was eleven, so at that point, I kind of became more of a.....At that point, my mom started working out of the house, so I became more responsible for looking after them —because my brother is two years younger than me, so he'd have been nine at the time. My sister is about five years younger than me, so she [was] six. [I] became more of a caretaker, for a bit, when I was at that age. But I mean, we got along. We played together all the time, in the house. Our mom was very protective because when I was very young, a thirteen-year-old kid out delivering newspapers was abducted, and disappeared, and never found again. She became overly protective of us, and so we didn't go out a lot unless we were well supervised. There was a lot of playing at home between the three of us, and just hanging around the house and playing together. For the most part, we got along pretty well.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=305.08,362.465"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Do you remember your first crush?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=362.465,368.903"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes. Second grade. It's kinda hard to pick some of this stuff out because, as I've gotten to know myself better, it's how much of it is a crush on someone, and how much of it was gender-envy that I was feeling at the time. Because I knew from a very young age [that] I was a girl. No, everyone told me that wasn't true, and so I just felt like I was broken. But there was this one girl in second grade who she just had like the most beautiful hair. I really had a thing for her, but I don't know how much of it was an actual crush versus how much of it was I wanted to look like her. So, [that] kind of complicates the clarity of whether it was a crush, or what a little bit for me.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=368.903,413.48"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e So you say that you always knew that you were a girl. How did that sit with you at the time? I suspect this was not necessarily something you shared with others. Tell me a little bit about the evolution of that, in terms of recognizing it to yourself, and then your desire, or fear, about sharing that with others.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=413.48,444.4"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Gendered things weren't really a big thing in my family when I was very young. It wasn't a whole lot of......but if you had asked me when I was three or four, I would have said I was a girl. That was who I felt I was. That's just what I was. But then when I was five, about to start pre-kindergarten, my mom, my sister at the time was like nine months old, so my mom's taking care of my sister. So [she] gets her parents to come and take me to get a haircut, and I don't want to get my haircut. Hair has always been a big thing for me. I've always wanted long hair. It's been a thing for life. I was resistant to that. And I'm like, \"I don't want to go get my haircut.\" And they're like, \"You have to.\" And I was like, \"Why?\" And they're like, \"Because you're about to start school, and boys need to have short hair.\" And confused, I said, \"But I'm not a boy.\" And the response to that was such that I did not say that out loud for another forty years. At that point, my grandparents......—I was raised to believe my elders are supposed to know better. They are supposed to be the experts. My grandparents were essentially almost a law to the family. So, when they told me I was a boy, it meant I was a boy, but I still felt inside like I was a girl. And from the time I was five 'til the time I was fifteen, I just felt broken. I never said a word. I did everything I could to keep anyone from ever figuring out. I felt like I was a girl, but inside it was there. And I just felt more and and more broken, and more and more afraid of the world because who I knew I was. I grew up in Iowa, well before the internet, religious community, all of the TV viewing, everything we got to do growing up was very controlled by our family. I had no idea gay people even existed until the AIDS crisis broke out, let alone trans people. I had no knowledge that there were other people who felt like I did. I had no knowledge that...—no support in any way, shape, or form that I would be able to access. So for ten years, I just felt broken and felt lost. Finally, when I was fifteen, another trigger came along and caused me to bury it for thirty years, and completely forget about it— even to myself —and pretend[ed] it never existed.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=444.4,573.2"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e You said earlier that the reaction to you're saying you were a girl with your haircut was strong enough that it silenced you for many decades. What was that reaction?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=573.2,589.88"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e The immediate aftermath is a blurry. I don't know if it was physical, it's possible I was hit in a way that I don't [remember], but it was definitely a lot of yelling at me, a lot of telling me that if anyone else ever found out I felt that way, that there would be consequences, and I would be severely punished for that, and it would not go well for me. And so I spent the next, the rest of the lives of my grandparents for the next...'til they died when twelve years later, terrified of my grandparents because of it, just afraid that if I did anything wrong, that those consequences were going to come after me. And so, I kept it quiet and tried to hide it, and not let anyone see anything about what I was into. I just started doing whatever all the other boys in school did, doing whatever they liked. If they liked this band, then they were my favorite band. If they liked this to watch this show or the sports team, that was who I liked. It was just following along with whatever the other boys were doing to try to make sure nobody ever figured out who I was on the inside, or who I thought I was. Because, like I said, as far as I knew, I was the only person in the world who ever felt this way. I didn't know what it meant besides clearly I must be broken and I couldn't let anyone see that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=589.88,675.803"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e What shifted at fifteen?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=675.803,678.18"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e At fifteen, that's where it gets lots of fun. The year before I was fourteen, starting high school.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=678.18,687.32"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Interestingly enough, the year before I was fifteen, I was also fourteen!! Go figure!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=687.32,693.949"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes! Yes! So starting high school, it was the first time I had ever been home from school before either of my siblings, after my mom went to work. It was the first time I ever had the house completely to myself, and knew I would have it to myself for a few minutes. After a couple months, the impulse finally became strong enough. I started trying on my mom's clothes when I get home. I put them on real quick, afraid if my grandparents stopped in for a surprise visit, I'd be in trouble. But I just kept doing it because the feel of being in those clothes just felt so good. And I did that for a couple months until February of 1991, just after I turned fifteen, Silence of the Lambs came out and I saw that movie, and Buffalo Bill was the first time I ever saw what felt like myself on screen. He was so horrifying and such a terrifying character that I was like, \"I really can't ever risk anyone finding this out.\" And so [I] just buried all of it and stopped thinking about it, stopped dressing, stopped doing anything until it all started coming back almost thirty years later.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=693.949,764.12"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And roughly for how long did the teen experiment with cross-dressing last?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=764.12,771.52"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e About two to three months. It wasn't very long. But here I was, someone who wanted to dress like a woman, who wanted to be a woman, who everybody looked at, and just like Buffalo Bill, everyone saw them as this complete, terrible, horrifying monster. That's what I thought I was going to be. That's what I thought everyone would see. I buried the fact that I was a girl for thirty years, but it took me ten years to lose the feeling that I was going to end up being a serial killer because of that movie. Even though I didn't remember why anymore, all I knew was that I really had resonated with this serial killer character, so I was terrified of what that would mean for my future.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=771.52,813.48"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e How do you think your friends would have described you in high school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=813.48,821.24"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I never really had close friends. I would keep myself at a distance as much as I could because the closer people got, the more they might see what was inside of me. So I developed young a kind of.....I would be friendly enough with people so it wouldn't be weird, but not friendly enough that they could get close to me. Like the closest friends I had for like the first three years of high school were a couple of guys I would get together with once a week, and play basketball out on the playground. Outside of those basketball games, we didn't interact with each other. We didn't talk to each other. We didn't do anything. Senior year of high school, I met three girls who were a year behind me who basically grabbed me, and became friends with me. They would have probably described me as very kind, very quiet, very thoughtful, very much concerned for other people, and always trying to take care of everybody, and fix things for other people. Because if I couldn't have the life I wanted, maybe I could do something to help other people have a better life. And so [I] kind of shifted a lot into a caretaker mode for people who actually did get close to me in high school and then college.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=821.24,895.243"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e You mentioned before that you did not hear anything about trans people, about gay people, and maybe it was only later when you learned about the AIDS crisis that some of this opened up for you. Were you in high school at the time or was it earlier that you learned about the AIDS crisis?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=895.243,919.942"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I really started becoming aware of it when I was about ten years old, so [when I was] Stella Elementary School. That would have been 1986, which is like one of the worst years of the epidemic. And also when a story started happening just a couple of states over from Iowa, in Indiana, the Ryan White case, which I'm not sure if you're familiar with that, but it was a thirteen year old kid who was a hemophiliac, and got a blood transfusion, and acquired AIDS through that transfusion. Perfectly normal kid, everything else, never done anything wrong in his life. And everybody went crazy trying to keep him from ever coming back to school, trying to keep him from ever being able to be part of the community because AIDS was so demonized by people. And here I was, a kid who knew I was very different and felt very broken, and seeing a lot of similarities between myself and him. It just really made me even more scared of the world because if they're treating this kid that way, how would they treat me if they knew how I felt about myself and how I was viewing myself in the context of the world? It was very personally terrifying, even though I didn't personally ever know anyone who suffered from AIDS.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=919.942,997.58"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e You have talked quite extensively about your firm sense of gender identity. How about your sexuality? How has that evolved over time or at least your awareness of it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=997.58,1013.42"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Okay. Looking back at it, I always thought of myself as just a straight boy growing up because anything else was unacceptable. I had spent those years, when I was ten years old and on, hearing that AIDS is God's punishment because gay people are so terrible and hearing that kind of messaging, over and over again. I couldn't let myself think that I was gay. I couldn't let myself think I was. But looking back on it, it's very clear to me that from the time I was in elementary school, I was essentially what we would now call pansexual. I was sexually attracted to boys, to girls, that I would get to know somebody, and it was nothing about the gender was what was attractive. It was just I would get to know them, and sometimes find myself attracted to them, and whatever their gender was had no difference on it, had no bearing on how I felt. Looking back on it, it's obvious that's what it was. But at the time, I just had it buried so much, I just pretended it wasn't. I was just interested in girls like any straight boy is supposed to be.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1013.42,1081.848"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And did you date girls?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1081.848,1084.673"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e First, I had a girlfriend briefly in like seventh grade. [I] went out with another one in my senior year of high school, but then I met my spouse, started my sophomore year of college, and we've now been together for twenty nine years, as of about two weeks from now.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1084.673,1103.151"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Wow!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1103.151,1105.514"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e —And they were assigned female at birth. Yeah. That was the only relationships I've had to date so far.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1105.514,1116.381"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e I imagine Grinnell was a place that opened you up in many ways?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1116.381,1120.389"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It did. It was the first time I actively met openly gay people. I'm sure there were gay people in my— I went to a high school of 2,000 kids, I'm sure there were some gay people there, but this was the '90s and no one was out, no one was public about it, especially not in Iowa. And so the first time I actually met any openly gay people was when I was at college in Grinnell. I met somebody who was bisexual, [I] met several people who introduced themselves as lesbians, some gay men. [I] never met a trans person, that I'm aware of, when I was at Grinnell. But it definitely did open up a lot in terms of actually getting to know people who were gay, people who were of different orientations, and getting a sense of what the world actually was, instead of just the closeted, smaller community upbringing I'd had up till that point.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1120.389,1169.831"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e How did you and Nikki meet one another?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1169.831,1172.782"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e We met actually....it was probably about two weeks into the school year. We were having a little get together on our floor in a little lounge next to my room, and one of my floor mates came by and asked if they could show one of their friends my CD collection —because we're in the same kind of music, and so I went into the room a couple minutes later and the friend was in there, introduced me to Nikki. We started talking about music, about other things. The other friend took off and my roommate came in to go to bed, so Nikki and I went to another lounge and spent the whole night talking that night and [we] started dating about three days later and have been a couple ever since. We engaged within a month!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1172.782,1216.887"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e What do you think it was that drew you together?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1216.887,1222.676"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I mean, we did some shared kind of trauma bonding, but it was a lot of just, we clicked very well with each other. We both felt very comfortable talking about a lot of things that we never really talked about with other people. It just felt right. We just kind of fit together well, and it's felt that way for twenty-nine years.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1222.676,1249.707"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e I'm remembering that your dad had worked in accounting, I know that you've done some work in finance and accounting. Was that your major?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1249.707,1258.629"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e No, I actually was an English major. I wanted to be a writer, but not a lot of jobs in that, and I wasn't going to go into teaching. I didn't have the temperament at the time to deal with kids or anything. It was just a case of trying to find work. I had done some internships over the summer when I was in high school to make some money before college where my dad worked, so I had a little bit of experience in that field. And so it was easier to get a job there than it was anything else. I just kind of fell into that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1258.629,1287.843"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And I imagine you kept your relationship out-of-the eye of your family for some time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1287.843,1298.021"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e With me and Nikki? No, they knew pretty quickly. They met Nikki probably about a month after we started dating, and they love Nikki, and have been great supporters of our relationship ever since through everything.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1298.021,1316.926"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Given the rest of your family history you outlined, that's both remarkable and wonderful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1316.926,1325.887"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e At the time, I was a boy and Nikki was a girl, so everybody felt like everything everything was normal. Nikki was just a wonderful person. In fact, the first thing they asked after I came out to them as trans a couple years ago was if Nikki and I were going to stay together. That was their first concern for everybody in my family. They liked her very well from the beginning.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1325.887,1354.747"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Matthew Shepard was murdered sometime around your senior year of college. Do you remember what you were thinking and feeling when you learned about his death?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1354.747,1367.551"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It was horrific. It was horrible. It was...—here's this kid who should have had his life in front of him, and just because people can't stand people being different, they killed him. At the time, I didn't remember who I was. I buried most of who I was, and so I didn't really connect to it personally, but it was horrific. [It was] just a perfect example of the way people can treat people with no regard for humanity, just because there's something about them that's different.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1367.551,1402.111"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And I guess it was a couple, it must have been a couple years after you graduated, when the attacks on 9/11 unfolded, where were you living at the time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1402.111,1417.066"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e At the time, we were in Connecticut. I was working in Hartford and living in Connecticut.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1417.066,1424.126"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e So, I'm actually...—well, let's talk about that move, and then let's talk about that particular episode. What brought you out east?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1424.126,1437.753"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Nikki is actually from Connecticut originally, and their one requirement, when we agreed to get married, was they wanted to live close to their family. They were much closer to their family than I was, so I was like, \"Yeah, no problem. We can definitely do that.\" —And it's worked out great. It's put me in an environment that turned out to be much more supporting than I ever would have found in Iowa, and eventually let me become who I am now.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1437.753,1463.746"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And do you.....you must have some sense of the cultural differences between the Northeast and the Midwest? How would you describe those to people who are less familiar with them?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1463.746,1480.504"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I mean, the big one is, I think it's kind of stereotypical, but it's kind of true that people in the Midwest will be nice to your face, but hate you very strongly, while people in the Northeast may act rude, but they're going to help you. They're going to be there to help you if you need something. It's just a much more open, much more....it may not be as friendly on the surface, but it's a much more open, much more worldly, much more cosmopolitan view of things, and much more open to difference, much more open to just letting people be who they are and exist feels much different here than it ever did in the Midwest in Iowa. In","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1480.504,1526.746"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e many ways, New York City is the ultimate locale of diversity and tolerance. There are certainly counter arguments to that, but one could make the case for that. There's been a lot of talk about, over the years, how that one of the reasons for that being the site of the attacks was because of that tolerance and diversity. What was it like being only an hour or two away from New York and Boston when these attacks were taking place?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1526.746,1566.068"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It was, I was at work, and someone, can't remember who called, somebody got a call saying that somebody had just crashed into the World Trade Center, and we didn't have access to the internet in our office. It was an accounting office, and we just, at that point, had access to some software systems that would give occasional news updates. So, everyone's kind of gathered around them, around people's phones, trying to find out what is going on, what's happened, and about an hour later, they closed down the stock markets and [sent] everybody home. So, we went home, and were then just glued to the TV the rest of the day, watching the footage, trying to figure out what was going on, and it was ......confusing because......I mean, I know we'd had the bombing at the World Trade Center, the car bombing in the garage like in 1995, in the garage like in 1995, a few years earlier. So, it's not the first time terrorism had struck America, but it was definitely the first time that it had been successful in this kind of way, and it was, it was scary, but at the same time, it was very quickly obvious that the response to it was going to be even scarier than the action, than what had happened, and so, it was kind of it was kind of dreading what the U.S.'s response was going to be, and how much worse we were going to to make things because we'd overreact, as America so often seems to do in so many situations.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1566.068,1648.185"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And were you and Nikki married at the time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1648.185,1651.42"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah, we got married in 1999, so, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1651.42,1656.48"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And eventually, you make your way to Massachusetts, I believe by way of Wallingford, and did you move to the Boston area initially?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1656.48,1669.68"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e We initially lived in Springfield for about fifteen years— Oh.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1669.68,1673.119"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e —because I was working in Western Connecticut, Nikki was working in Western Connecticut, and so we were out there. But then Nikki's job transferred them out here to Boston, to a property in Boston, because because they were in property management, and my job, I'm able to work remotely, so they were willing to let me take a more remote position, and so, we moved out here for their job. That was about 2016, [when] we moved to Lynn.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1673.119,1700.723"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, interesting. Had you been to Lynn previously?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1700.723,1706.48"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e No, just when we were looking for houses, like for a place to live, our realtor suggested a couple places in Lynn, so we came to look, and the feel of the city as we drove through it, and then doing research about the area and everything, it felt like a great fit, but no, we hadn't been here previously. Unfortunately, all the bars had closed before we moved here, and the scene was kind of dead by that point, but the city itself just felt like a good, comfortable place to live, and not just be a gentrified community, but a place that actually felt like a community: where people had all, we had all sorts of diversity, all sorts of different backgrounds, and just being celebrated in the city, and felt like a good place to be.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1706.48,1756.384"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Was it important that you land somewhere that was queer-friendly, or that just happened to be the case, and was a nice bonus? It","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1756.384,1769.466"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e wasn't high on our list, because at the time, neither of us were openly identifying as queer, so it was kind of.....—but we wanted a community that was open like that. It was important to us to try to find a community that was not going to be closed-minded and shut off, just because that's not that's not the kind of people we wanted to surround ourselves with, and so it being more queer-friendly was definitely a good way of knowing that it was a good community to go to, and try out.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1769.466,1802.263"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e So tell me about how you and Nikki came to see yourselves as queer.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1802.263,1812.205"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e For me, it was actually, I —Nikki tells me they figured it out about three years before I did, so I was doing things that that they were like, \"Is there something I should be starting to figure out? Is there something I should be saying?\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1812.205,1826.446"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Nikki, just to be clear, Nikki figured it out about you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1826.446,1830.16"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Nikki figured out that I was trans about three years before I did. It was 2021, like the end of 2020, I woke up from a dream in which I had been a woman, and it just, everything had felt so much more right, and so my brain is just hammering at me that, \"Remember, remember when you were young? You knew this! This is who you are! This is who you were!\" And I was terrified, because I had been reading news stories, I knew about what was happening in terms of people like Nicole Maines, or Gavin Grimm not being allowed to go to the bathroom in their schools because they were trans, about people not being able to play sports because they were trans or intersex, about people losing their jobs and divorce rates and murders of trans people. It was scary to think I was one of those people, because....—and plus all of the internalized shame and everything I'd had growing up over feeling broken, it was hard to work through that, and after about nine months, I finally reached a point where it was: I either need to accept this and start trying to explore it, or I wasn't going to be alive for another week. And so I finally told Nikki, and then I, Nikki fully was supportive and fully on board from the beginning, and helped me in so many ways to be able to start taking those first steps and realizing that this is, yeah, this is who I am, and this is who I need to be. I am trans. I am a woman. I am not the guy everyone told me I was for forty five years, and so....yeah. Later on they told me that some of the things I had done in the past made them really wonder and think that I probably might be trans. I just, I wasn't in a place to face it yet, and so I couldn't see it myself, because too much of that shame from when I was young and too much of the sense of brokenness was just hanging over me to make it something I could really accept and face very easily.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1830.16,1947.083"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Do you happen to remember the month or roughly when in 2020 that you had this epiphany?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1947.083,1955.08"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It was actually the morning of October 31st, the morning of Halloween. I woke up, and I tried saying, \"No, it can't be real. It can't be. It can't be. It can't be that!\" And my brain just kept saying, \"Yes, you are!\" And it wouldn't stop, and eventually, yeah, I got to a point where I needed to stop fighting it or I wasn't going to be able to keep going.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1955.08,1983.783"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Let me offer up some potential factors that may have empowered you to come out as trans at that particular time. I'm thinking that this is roughly six months into months into COVID, a moment in which the world....—two things are happening. One is that the world is broken, and the other is that we are all spending much more time isolated from one another questioning lots of things about our life, thinking about our mortality, and thinking about what is valuable. On top of that, geography and time could be a factor. In 2020, you're living in a historical moment in which this is part of the conversation of the day. There's a certain permission structure and hearing that other people are doing this, and then, of course, Lynn itself is a place where, in theory— and I think for the most part true —that it's much more queer and / or trans-tolerant. Am I correct in thinking that those are all factors?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1983.783,2070.88"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e No, absolutely. I know a lot of people started transitioning during the pandemic, to the point that a lot of us have coined the term 'quaren-trans', that we're trans from the quarantine, because all of that, like you said. We were worried about other things. We were worried about everything else, and it just became a case of: this was one more thing we couldn't hold on to anymore was these walls we built around ourselves, and started being forced to face who we were a bit more, and what we wanted out of life and how we wanted to spend the rest of our lives. It forced a look that would not have happened if life had still been going on as normal because there'd have been too many other distractions, too many movies to go to, too many times going out shopping or going to the office— all of these things that were no longer distracting from who we actually, from what's going on inside of us. That was, I think, a big part of it. Yeah. I mean, being in a place and in a time where I was more likely to be accepted, I think played a big part in helping me come through it. But, I have a friend who's another trans woman who has talked about it as being, we all realize who we are when the time is right for us to realize it. They have this belief that when the time is right, when we're able to actually live it, is when we start feeling what we have to [deal] with those feelings and dealing with —And I think in some sense, there was a case of that, because I've talked about it with Nikki a few times about, how if I had known and started to transition when I was twenty, my life would have been much harder and much less.....I would have had no support. I would have had no community that was open. It would have been a much different world. And now I was in a place in a time where that was going to maybe be available to me. And so it was, I was ready to do it and in a place where I could actually succeed in doing so, hopefully. Yeah, it took the plunge.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2070.88,2196.664"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Help me to better understand the word transition, because when I think of transition, I think of a process and it's going I think of transition, I think of a process and it's going from one thing to another. In this case, [it's] from a man to a woman. Yet, a transition is sort of like a continuum, and we're, all of us in the multiple identities in the multiple identities of our lives are transitioning in some way, becoming a father, becoming a man, becoming an becoming an adult, whatever. But of course, there are physical markers. This is something that's within the physical body. I suspect it's accurate to say that you are not fully transitioned, but...but what does it mean to be fully transitioned? Or is that the wrong question? Is it really a a process?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2196.664,2267.467"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. The way I look at it is the word transition is kind of a, not the correct term, but it's the term we've been using for so long. It's the one people understand, because like you said, a transition would be a transition. I have always been a woman, just society did not see me that see me that way. So the transition that actually takes place is in society coming to see me, not as the man they said I was, but as the woman that I am now presenting myself and living as, and actually sharing with the world. The transition, in my view, is more on the part of on the part of society in terms of how they respond and view me. For myself, I am just emphasizing who I am, confirming and, for the first time, actually showing who I've always been on the inside. And there is no, in my view of it, there's some people do see a process that you process that you reach this point, you're fully transitioned. But to me, that doesn't make sense because to be trans, you don't have to actually transition. You don't have to do anything medically. You just have to not identify with the sex you were assigned at birth to feel more comfortable with another identity, then you're trans. And so to me, fully transitioned is not actually a thing. To me, my transition will probably be lasting my whole life as I continue to deal with people who are going to still try to claim I'm a man because I was assigned that at birth, as I'm still dealing with all of that misgendering, as I'm dealing with all of the transphobic stuff that goes on in society. Well, every time that comes up will essentially be a sense of I'm then having to transition someone else's viewpoint of the way they see me, so transition in the sense of it being a societal thing will not end, when really all I've done to myself is just done the things that now let me feel like me. Now I have a body that looks like the way the image of my body. and the image of me in my head my entire life now actually matches. I now dress and present in a way that I actually feel comfortable and enjoy looking [at]. That's something that will go on, hopefully, for the rest of my life, and I will always keep getting those feelings and being able to be comfortable in who I am now more than I ever could have dreamed of before I started. [I'm] confirming my identity through this process.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2267.467,2411.461"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e So there are tensions within the large LGBTQ+ umbrella, or whatever label you want to give that umbrella.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2411.461,2428.886"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Yes. We","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2428.886,2429.046"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e can describe, generally speaking, Lynn, as a, quote, queer-friendly place. To what degree do you feel as if trans people are included? To what degree do they sit apart? What is the right balance there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2429.046,2454.408"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e In the connections I've made within the community, the larger community, on a personal level, I have not felt any pushback from anyone because I'm trans. It's been very open. It's been very accepting. I know there are people who have views in the community and who are, because they are everywhere. But as long as the majority of people are willing to listen and are willing to hear us out and to try to be inclusive, I think we easily fit within the rest of the community without any kind of special needing to be singled out or any kind of special [treatment]. I think we belong in the rest of the LGBTQ+ community, and trans people have been at the forefront of the fight for gay rights since well before Stonewall, and we're still part of it, and we're still part of that community. We would love for everyone else to feel the same way about us, but I know that some people do not, and some people view us as a problem, but that's more out of ignorance and accepting misinformation being spread around than it is any actual basis in reality.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2454.408,2529.608"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Have you been back to Iowa as a trans woman?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2529.608,2534.922"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e I have not as of yet, no. It's been about three years since I've been out, and so far, no. Traveling with the laws they've passed in Iowa against a whole bunch of things involving trans people, it's not felt like a place I'm comfortable going to at this stage yet. In the future, that may change, but for now, it's been......At this stage of things, I've mostly kept myself to places where it's safe for trans people to be, and not tried to push it into state that is more hostile to our existence.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2534.922,2576.128"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Have you interacted much with either your or Nikki's family since you've transitioned? I","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2576.128,2584.266"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e have not in person seen any of my family. I talk to my mom every weekend. She's been great with it. Her response was, obviously, she didn't understand what I was saying when I first came out, but that she just wanted me to be happy, and supported me no matter what, and that's been great. I've had contact with my sister, My brother, I've never been in close contact with, but we still had some contacts since. Nikki's family currently lives up in Maine, and so we're up there a few times a year visiting them, and it's been... Most of their family has been nothing but open and welcoming and accepting of me since I first came out.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2584.266,2632.843"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e So speaking of being accepted, it feels as if we... That there had been an upward trajectory in terms of gay, lesbian, and trans rights for quite some time, and yet we'd be remiss if we failed to note that in the last five to ten years that there's been a bit of a backlash. To what do you attribute that, and what are your projections for the future?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2632.843,2675.702"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e It's, to me, it's very much... We've been seeing all over the globe lately a massive right turn in a lot of politics, into more conservative politics, and into more fascist elements of society trying to gain control. The number one priority that fascists need to put into place if they're going to be able to dominate people is to take away people's bodily autonomy. Trans people in particular, but the entire LGBTQ+ community, are a standing example of not following herd conformity, of living separate, and living a life that follows their own inner truth and getting to find happiness and joy that way. As long as we're out there doing that, it's hard for the fascists to be able to convince everybody else that they need to just buckle in and follow the rules and follow what they're telling them to do. We're kind of the front line of needing to be pushed out of the public view in order for them to accomplish what they're trying to accomplish. Right now I'm feeling hopeful. I'm feeling that this is kind of a last gasp of a movement that is not going to continue to exist. As we've seen in elections recently, in the last year or two, across so much of the country, people running on anti-trans, on anti-LGBTQ platforms are losing overwhelmingly when that is the focus of their platform: in school board races, in local elections, anywhere and everywhere. If they are running against LGBTQ people, they're not winning.I think that will continue to carry forward into the future. I think we have a few still dark years to get through before we're in a place where the levers of power, like say the Supreme Court, get back to a place where we actually can move forward. But once we get through that, I'm very hopeful that the future is going to be much more open and inclusive. There is a much higher percentage of young people who know people who are trans, who know people who are gay, and to me, in my view, and growing up seeing it, it's that increased exposure to gay people, as more gay people became public and became open and came out, led more people to be accepting of them, because they realized they already knew gay people and they weren't the monsters that homophobic rhetoric was trying to paint them as. The problem is trans people are still less than two percent of the population, and so there are lots of people across the country who don't know trans people. It's very easy when you don't know anybody to just hear the rhetoric and buy into it. But I think as more of us are more public, as more of us are more open, and as people get to realize they know people who identify as trans, as non-binary, it's going to become much more acceptable and much more accepted in broader parts of the country and society.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2675.702,2868.105"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Tell me about your zine, Prismatic. Why did you start it, and how does it try to address and how does it try to address some of these issues?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2868.105,2879.652"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Yeah. One of the ways I really started working through things about who I was, and my identity and all that once I started accepting I was trans, was I found myself starting to write poetry and do that kind of art production. Like I said, there is a lot of misinformation out there about especially trans people, but about the entire LGBTQ+ community. A lot of people [are] out there spreading outright lies or misinformation about who we are, what our lives are like, and that kind of thing. It felt like it was important for us to be able to share our stories with each other, with people who weren't part of our community, to be able to try to get the word out, to be able to say, \"This is who we are. This is what it really means to be trans, This is what it really means to be gay,\" And provide a marketplace for people to be able to create, share their stories, whatever they felt like sharing, to be able to help combat some of that misinformation, and also just let people know who they really were, so that more people get to know members of of our community. and hopefully learn that acceptance, and become more open to who we are. I grew up, like I said, in a world where there was no community, there was no knowledge, and it cost me forty-five years of my life that I spent feeling broken, and feeling lost and feeling alone, and feeling like I could not share who I was with the world, because if I did, everyone was going to hate me. I don't want to see anybody else grow up that way ever again. Anything I can do to help get the word out, to get information out, to help educate people, to help combat that misinformation, it felt like a way to try to do some of that when I launched that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2879.652,2997.243"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e And I know that you've been involved in the North Shore Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Youth. Tell me a little bit about what you see in this younger generation and whether it makes you hopeful.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2997.243,3016.946"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e Oh, it makes me.....Every time I'm part of the group helping, like with the trans support group for trans youth and stuff there, and helping just in other ways.....but it's every time I go there and come home, I am feeling jealous and hopeful that these kids are being who they are and who they know themselves to be at an age I could never have imagined possible when I was growing up. They know themselves at that age and are able to be open about it. That makes me feel that at least in places like Massachusetts, or this part of Massachusetts, so hopeful for what the future is going to be because they are open. They are out there. People know they're gay. People know they are non-binary or trans, and they're finding more acceptance. They still have to struggle. They still have people who will misgender them, and don't understand and cause problems. But most of the time, their experiences seem to be not nearly the same darkness as what people in my generation grew up with. It's a lot of hope. It's a lot of reassurance that things are better than they were, and as long as we keep being out there, and being visible and being open, and letting people see who we really are, then we have a good chance to make it keep getting better.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=3016.946,3105.803"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Well, I think that hopeful sentiment is an apt way to conclude our interview, but I did want to just quickly ask you if there was anything else you wanted to talk about that we didn't cover.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=3105.803,3123.143"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eOlivia Werth:\u003c/strong\u003e No. I think the interview was good. I think it covered a lot of things, and it was good to talk about.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=3123.143,3131.785"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eAndrew Darien:\u003c/strong\u003e Well, I'm grateful for your time, for your experience, and for your perspective, so thank you very much! Thank","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=3131.785,3140.925"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/transcript/71580/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cv Olivia Wert","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=3140.925,3143.228"}]},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Olivia Werth index [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Family background in Iowa.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=47.683,179.36"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Religion was imortant to my family.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=179.36,300.4"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I took care of my younger siblings.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=300.4,362.465"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":" I knew from a very young age that I was a girl.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=362.465,444.4"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Learning to not say I'm a girl.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=444.4,694.597"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Why I stopped wearing mother's clothes.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=694.597,821.24"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I kept potential friends at a distance.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=821.24,1016.165"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I was attracted to boy and girls.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1016.165,1116.381"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Meeting my first LGBTQ+ people at Grinell.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1116.381,1169.831"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Meeting Nikki.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1169.831,1463.746"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":" Cultural differences between the Northeast and the Midwest.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1463.746,1687.83"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/109","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Lynn's diversity felt comfortable.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1687.83,1802.263"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/110","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Realizing I'm a trans woman.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1802.263,1947.083"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/111","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Transitioning during the pandemic.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=1947.083,2196.664"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/112","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Society transitions to see who I've always been.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2196.664,2428.946"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/113","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Lynn is an inclusive, queer-friendly place.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2428.946,2576.128"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/114","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Our families support us.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2576.128,2680.031"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/115","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The future is going to be much more open and inclusive.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2680.031,2868.105"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/116","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I published my zine, Prismatic, to combat misinformation.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2868.105,2997.243"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801/index/85772/annotation/117","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Working for NAGLY gives me hope for the younger generation.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/136796/file/253801#t=2997.243,3145.472"}]}]}]}