Us & Them: Reasserting Femme Voice

North Carolina repealed its notorious bathroom law, but not necessarily for the better. Transsexuals remain outside NC’s equal protection laws—whether in the bathroom or in the workplace. All of this has got me thinking about my friend Anne Kelly.

Back in the fall of 2014, I read an article in the Gazette about, Anne Kelly Skinner, a Charleston lawyer — formerly Greg Skinner — who was transitioning from male to female.  The story piqued my interest because having grown up as a son, nephew, brother and friend of many of Charleston’s attorneys, I knew with almost absolute certainty that this was new territory for many in that Kanawha Valley legal community.  I expected that I’d produce a story that would be about the tension of transitioning in a conservative “old boy” community, but we didn’t end up talking about any of that stuff. What we ended up talking about… was the way Anne talks.

On this week’s episode of the “Us and Them” podcast, we hear from Anne Kelly Skinner and the unwelcome remnants from a painful chapter in a transgender person’s life.

From West Virginia Public Broadcasting, this is “Us & Them” the podcast where we tell stories from America’s cultural divides.

Subscribe to “Us & Them” on iTunes or however you listen to podcasts.

Share your opinions with us about these issues, and let us know what you’d like us to discuss in the future. Send a tweet to @usthempodcast or @wvpublic, or reach us on the feedback page at usandthempodcast.com.

And if you enjoyed this episode, join our community and sustain “Us & Them” with a pledge of support.