53Above:
From left, Tiana, 19; Yani, 31; Tiffany, 19;
and Marlo, 23, at Stafford House, a drop-in
space serving LGBTQ people in Orlando. To
Tiana, the local trans community feels like
home; activist Mulan Williams, who runs the
group Divas in Dialogue to help support other
Black trans women, has become her de facto
mother, Tiana says. Williams connected her
with a support group, gave her resources on
transitioning, and pushed her to graduate
from high school. “I really don’t know where
I would be if I didn’t have her,” Tiana says.
Left:
Maya, 11, swims in Houston. State law
prohibits Maya from playing girls’ sports
in school, but she swims on a private team.
It’s not the first time being trans has
prevented her from competing—she quit
gymnastics years ago because she didn’t
want to risk disqualifying her teammates.
The experience made her “mad and sad,”
she says. But she finds swimming on her
new team “really fun and relaxing.”