Pride to me - “I am not ashamed of who I am, I am not going to suppress who I am.”
Josey is a writer and is very passionate about advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, especially for the transgender community.
Josey grew up around Beavercreek, Ohio. She spent 3 years in Columbus but recently moved back home. In her free time, Josey enjoys writing, reading, playing video games, and hanging out with her wife.
Fantasy is Josey’s favorite genre to write. She is currently working on her first novel, The Brenwick Conspiracy, of a series called the Vinatari Chronicles. The book series follows the two main characters, a mage who discovers she has special powers, and a thief who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Josey has written many other short stories and books, but this will be her first self published series. She expects the first book to be finished by late summer, early fall.
While majoring in Creative Writing at Sinclair, Josey was introduced to a writers group that she is still actively involved in today. “The group helps me with marketing, where to get my book cover, suggestions for editors, etc. A lot goes into publishing a book, but it’s my passion. All of it is fun and exciting to me.”
During her time with the Ohio Democratic Party, Josey had the opportunity to speak at the We Won’t Be Erased rally - a rally in opposition of the Trump-Pence administration’s attempt of defining gender as ‘sex’ based, eliminating previous strides in the transgender community. She also met the then State Governor candidate and discussed with him the importance of getting transgender people the ability to change the gender marker on their birth certificate in Ohio. “It doesn’t make sense. My drivers license says female, but my birth certificate doesn’t. It’s something so simple that can make a big difference when you’re trans.”
“My wife has been my biggest supporter, she is amazing,” Josey says. “I feel like I've got a somewhat unique experience of transitioning, since we didn’t know I was trans when we got married. It was scary at first--she wasn’t entirely sure if she was attracted to women or not--but we started with agreeing to go through the process of learning everything together. It’s been nearly two and a half amazing years since, and my wife is now a proudly out bisexual.”
One day, Josey hopes to raise money for trans people who need help with their transition costs. She also wants to write a book about being trans, perhaps even her own story.
Though there has been significant strides in LGBTQ+ support recently, Josey feels like the trans community is being left behind. “There is still a lot of stigma against transgender people. And in some law making decisions, we seem to be going backwards.”
When asked how we can support the trans community, Josey said, “it’s a multi level thing - listen to people and accept that being trans is not a choice, it’s just how we are born.” Josey also said a good way to show your support for the trans community is to speak up against transphobia when you hear it.
For those who want to get involved further, there are many support groups for both allies and LGBTQ+ members. You can also support and volunteer at any local LGBTQ+ organizations or charities. There are always ways people can get involved.
“I am just an individual person. And I think that everyone deserves a basic level of human decency.”
