14 June 26 - July 2, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents as a distraction so they can create an illusion that they’re getting something done politi- cally.” It’s the nature of the bully to relentlessly pick on the smallest and most vulnerable to compensate for something else. A 2022 study by the Williams Institute, which describes itself as a “research center on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy,” estimated that just 0.5% of the country’s adult population identifies as transgender. For many, a laser focus on the mere existence of people who make up 0.5% of the community would seem an unlikely way to improve life in Texas. Even in an imperfect world with prejudices, 0.5% would mean that even the bigots would have bigger targets, right? A reality where bullies continue to strong- arm the vulnerable minority is the reality that Hazel, Boehme and others are ex- haustingly navigating. “There’s a lot of concern from people in society not knowing how to live in a multi- cultural society,” Sachiel asserts. “People are not used to being confronted with other lan- guages, other cultures, other religions, other people. They’re having a hard time under- standing how to process that. I think when you face a group of people that are strug- gling to understand that from an intellec- tual, social or emotional perspective, you can regress into isolationism.” But like Boehme, Sachiel holds on to hope — a lasting dream in which trans peo- ple are able to comfortably know the same home that so many of their neighbors don’t have to question. “There might be a period of regression so- cially, with younger trans people,” Sachiel hy- pothesizes. “But I think once they come of age, it’ll be another wave that the current political and social opposition will not have enough manpower or political sway to push back against. I think it’s inevitable that trans people will be integrated into American society.” There are still many battles to overcome before trans people won’t have to flee their homes in an exodus, though. Sachiel says the gender constructs that have long been in- grained in American culture have to evolve. “When you have a society that focuses only on two genders, it’s easier to assign these gender roles that participate economi- cally and socially,” she says. “When you ig- nore the existence of trans people within these definitions, it creates medical dispar- ity, it creates emotional disparity. It creates incoherence of individuals existing within these paradigms of thinking and perception. How bodies are supposed to behave versus the actuality of how bodies of people behave on their own terms. We are existing in a time where the colonial narrative of gender being a binary is unsustainable because it’s not based in reality.” Standing Ground As Hazel goes about his days, he often sees his photos shared on social media, and his art on walls, but it’s diluted by the fact that he can’t land on what he wants to see sup- ported most: his safe existence. For as quickly as he fell in love with Texas, it would not love him back. “Part of me doesn’t want to leave,” he says. “Because the more of us that are here, the more of us that are not succumbing to the idea that we are bad and we need to be eradicated. But you cannot wait for the op- pressor to create a safe space for you. You have the power to create it. We forget that the whole basis of this country is freedom and liberty, and that applies to trans people more than ever.” The hypocrisy isn’t lost on him. “They preach freedom, and then their whole goal is to take away ours,” he says. “What makes my freedom any less valid than yours? Maybe you don’t understand it, but I don’t understand the way you live your life. I would never want to live exactly your life, but I think you have every right to do that.” Much like his fellow trans Texans, Ha- zel rests in the comfort of escape. Even if the geographical move is ultimately just a temporary victory in the face of a still-rag- ing war on LGBTQ+ people, for now, it’s the small steps that will fuel the greater progress. “I understand that there are lots of peo- ple who can’t just up and leave,” he says. “Their whole life is built here, or they have their family. But the thing about trans peo- ple, [we’re] everywhere. It doesn’t matter where your mailing address is. We’re all in this fight together, no matter where we’re living. So yeah, it’s more dangerous here, but at the end of the day, we’re all trans. We’re all queer. We’re all fighting the same fight.” Culture from p12 Left: Julia Ava W Boehme who is leaving for Philadelphia: “I love Texas a lot. I love the land and how it feels to be here in an environmental sense. But in a social sense, it’s horrible.” Above: Boehme’s band, Starfruit. Mike Brooks Ellie Alonzo
