In recent years, coverage of transgender people has seen an increase, but it seems that journalists continue to slip into the same stories and stereotypes in both mainstream and LGBTQ media. It’s high time that we look at our blind spots and take stock of which aspects of trans lives still need covered. From trans representation in stories to challenges related to health care, this panel of experts will shed light and give story ideas to elevate your coverage.
Moderator: Bethany Grace Howe
Panelists: Gillian Branstetter, Lana Day, Camila Marchena
GILLIAN BRANSTETTER is the media relations manager for the National Center for Transgender Equality. In this role, she helps answer questions from journalists and members of the press about policies, issues and campaigns led by NCTE. She connects reporters with NCTE’s team of policy experts working on health-care access, employment protections, identification documents and many more issues faced by transgender people today. Branstetter also has the privilege of working with transgender people from around the country to promote their stories and ensure news coverage of their experiences is accurate and fair.
LANA DAY (she/her) is a senior at St. Martin’s Episcopal School. She is passionate about the representation of transgender people in arts and media.
BETHANY GRACE HOWE, PH.D. is a former newspaper writer and editor, as well as having served as a high school journalism teacher in the Pacific Northwest for 15 years. Having recently completed her doctorate at the University of Oregon, she continues her research into transgender identity as it is impacted by media and interpersonal communications. She serves as a writer for The Syndrome Mag, a feminist humor website, and The Eugene Register-Guard, in Oregon’s southern Willamette Valley.
CAMILA MARCHENA (she/her/hers) is patient navigator for trans women in the New Orleans area. She also organizes with the community on pushing for the health care trans people deserve. In this role, she also advocates for trans rights and visibility in many different aspects of life, such as health care, housing and employment.