by Zefferin LLamas

Dr. Toni D’Orsay is a sociologist and psychologist, a veteran, and a recognized expert on trans lives. It is fitting that Dr. D’Orsay should be awarded the honor of Advocate of the Year for this year’s Palm Springs Pride. We took a minute with Toni at PS Pride to listen to some of her reflections at this point in her journey leading society towards a future that centers trans visibility, health equity and civil equality:

I’m just getting started. Having this recognition encourages me to move further and farther than what I’ve done so far. It’s a big honor. 

Unlike any other year in the last 20 years that I’ve been doing this, there’s never been this much discussion about trans people’s experiences and trans people’s lives. And while a lot of it is focused on attempting to harm youth, what’s fascinating is the number of people who are standing up for trans youth (and trans people in general) in a way that’s never been done before. So, in one sense, we can thank our haters for the amount of effort they’ve put into hating us because it’s showing us who are actual friends are. Often times, they are people we never thought would be friends. 

The biggest win I can think of is that now we’re at a point where we can make significant changes on a level that we had never been able to reach before because now so many more people are aware of us, our challenges, and what we need. For those of us who have been doing this for so long, it’s like “wow, now we have a chance to really start the work!” And we’re old and tired [laughs], so if you’re young and want to be an advocate, find a mentor and go for it!