Many people know her as a superwoman,
public speaker, and an inspiration. Other people know her as best-selling
American author, political activist, professor of English at Colby College in Maine, and transgender
woman.
Jennifer
“Jenny” Boylan, born James Boylan, made a trip all the way from Maine to
Oregon State University to discuss her books and how they related to her life
and experiences.
Sydney Carbaugh, an OSU student, had heard about Boylan’s book and found
it to be uplifting. She is also the person who had gotten Boylan to come to OSU
for a presentation.
“I found her book to be courageous and well written,” said Carbaugh, “I
asked around to she if she toured. She helped to show me I shouldn’t hide who I
am.”
This was Boylan’s first time being in Corvallis, but this was not her
first time in Oregon. She had been up to Portland in 1982, when she was 24
years old.
“Being here again in Oregon, and even here in Corvallis is remarkable
and a blessing,” said Boylan.
Boylan was born in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. She graduated from The Haverford School, a private
all-boys prep school in Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1976. This made her now one
of only a few female graduates of the school.
She graduated from Wesleyan University in
1980 before completing graduate work in English at Johns Hopkins University.
She became a professor at
Colby College in 1988, where she works to this day.
Boylan has made appearances
in a variety of media outlets to discuss her life, books, and activism. She's
been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Larry King Live, The Today
Show, 48 Hours, and NPR.
During her presentation, Boylan took the time to talk about her 2003
autobiography, She’s Not there: A life in
Two Genders, and even took the time to read some sections of her book to
the audience.
Boylan has written a total of
13 books, including novels, collections of short stories, and her autobiography. She has even written
contributions to the op-ed section
of The New York Times.
She's Not There: A Life in
Two Genders, was the first book by a transgender American to become a bestseller. The book focuses on Boylan’s life as of now, and
inner struggles of her life as a teenager. The book gives flashbacks of moments
in her life where she felt conflicted.
“Many times when I was
younger and growing up I had lost hope. It’s hard to be gay or lesbian, it’s
even harder to be transgender,” said Boylan.
Boylan had done a couple readings
for the audience from her autobiography. The chapter was titled, In the early monring rain.
It had talked about how before she came out as
a woman, it felt as if there was no one to turn to, and no one to tell what was
really in her heart. After a few struggles with her identity, she came to the
realization that, “it will get better.”
In another reading, Boylan describes a fencing match one of
her two sons, Zach was invovled in. Causual conversation can turn into
describing everything about yourself in a few moments.
“I will admit, sometimes I have to lie as a shortcut when
people ask about me, it just saves time from telling my entire unique history,”
said Boylan.
Boylan said that she hopes that the fact that her kids went
from having a dad, to having a mom is more of a gift, rather than a curse. She wants
to keep them open-hearted, rather than that of their peers.
She closed her presentation by telling her audience to
educate everyone about things they don’t know.
“Be loving, read books, learn about this community,” said
Boylan, “if you withhold support, you might be missing out, be welcoming, you
have to know their whole story in order to open your heart.”
This is the 10th anniversary of her
autobiography, She's Not There: A Life in Two
Genders, and she is proud to announce her new book, Stuck In The Middle with You, a memoir
of parenting dealing with motherhood and fatherhood, is in bookstores now.
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