KCTV, MO, USA
Missouri's first transgender homecoming queen share's her story
Posted: Oct 23, 2017 1:54 PM EST
Updated: Oct 27, 2017 10:50 PM EST
By Daniel Barnett, Digital Producer
By Angie Ricono, Investigative Reporter
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Photo: Landon Patterson made national news for becoming the first transgender homecoming queen in the nation. The cameras are now gone but her story as a young transgender woman is even more compelling today.]
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KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Landon Patterson made national news for becoming the first transgender homecoming queen in the nation.
She went to Oak Park High School in the North Kansas City School District and even went to Harvard University as a guest speaker.
The cameras are now gone but her story as a young transgender woman is even more compelling today.
“Funny and hardworking, I feel like I’m loyal ... and people call me brave,” Patterson said. “But I think that ties into the transgender thing.”
Patterson is now 20 years old. Her story was splashed all over the news because she was originally a boy who became a girl and then won a crown.
“At the end of the day, I know I’m a woman no matter how many surgeries I’ve had or haven’t had,” Patterson said.
Patterson is an open book; all people have to do is click.
She has her own YouTube channel. She blogs everything. When watching, sometimes people laugh, other times they are captivated by her raw honesty.
Landon discusses her homecoming win and how a hate group protested her for it.
“Bullying me every day, I’m going to hell, I’m a devil worshiper,” Patterson said. “It was just really [expletive]!”
During one of Patterson’s unfiltered moments, she opened up about what it’s like to date.
“I do disclose, before meeting them, that’s the safest thing to do,” Patterson said. “A lot of trans women die and get killed. Horrible things happen to them.”
In one video, one of Patterson’s most watched, she shows her visual transition. That video has more than 90,000 views.
“I’m known a boy but do I look like a boy?” Patterson asks. “I’m not just some gay kid…basically this video is me coming out all over again.”
“I’ve thought about making a YouTube video where I go in the boy’s bathroom,” Patterson says. “I’m serious and say, ‘Fine, let me go in there and let's see what happens.’ I’ve literally been in there before; before I was transitioning, and men were like, ‘OMG am I in the wrong bathroom?’ It was just awkward for them.”
Patterson will be the first to tell others that being transgender is complicated and that there is no roadmap on the journey.
She takes medication, but for insurance coverage, she needs a medical diagnosis. She’s labeled gender dysphoria.
“Give it to me,” Patterson said. “Give me my medicine so I can be myself, but it sucks because other people can use it against you.”
“You're ill, You're ill,” Patterson yelled as she recalled things said about her.
Politics is also complex.
Earlier in the year, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted that transgender people shouldn’t be in the military.
“Whew, thank God,” Patterson said.
Patterson was personally terrified to ever serve but says she understands the big picture.
“He's our president. He shouldn’t be like, I mean, you don't have to be open-minded but just because I'm trans doesn’t mean I'm not American, that I don't love this country and that I’m not a person and I don't have feelings,” Patterson said.
Patterson says she knows there will be mixed reactions to this news story and the fact that she’s sharing all aspects of her transition.
She’s been here before and reads the comments on social media. Some will view her as brave, maybe interesting… others will judge.
“I'm really happy where I am in my transition. I feel woman enough no matter what parts I have or what features I have,” Patterson said.
Patterson’s learning that she’s OK with who she is and where she is and that’s what matters the most.
Transgender surgeries are on the rise. They’ve jumped 19-percent in just the past year.
Patterson went to Florida for her surgery. Doctors in Kansas City decided her needs were specific and referred her elsewhere.
The next surgery she would like is facial feminization surgery. That’s where a plastic surgeon takes male features and brings them closer in shape and size to female features.
http://www.kctv5.com/story/36660848/missouris-first-transgender-homecoming-queen-shares-her-story