By Amanda Clarke Staff Writer
Jasper Norman, a deafblind, transgender, Latino male from New York, shared his life story during a presentation in the Willamette room, May 11.
Norman is a first generation Latino American. He is also a pro-tactile signer, which is new in the deafblind community. This way of signing includes signing on the person’s back to whom he is talking so he can feel the reaction to what he says, and using both hands to sign.
When Norman was in the third grade, he said that was when he first began to feel that he identified more with males than he did females.
It was not until later when he was attending college in Ohio, to receive a degree in web design, where he saw the transgender speaker, Joseph Gartner, that he realized his true identity as a male, Norman said.
In college, his vision became so bad that he was unable to finish his degree. He then decided to move to Seattle to seek a better transgender community.
Norman presented the video of his first testosterone injection during the presentation, and also added that he shows it at workshops as well. Norman takes testosterone injections weekly and has been doing so for the past two years.
This event helped people to understand and learn more about the LGBTQ and deafblind communities as well as how they are accepted depending on their sexual identity in the world.
Norman gave time after his presentation to let audience members ask questions. They were done in a variety of ways, such as signing, speaking out loud, or anonymously via text to James Parrish, a first-year criminal justice major, who helped run the program.
“I don’t actually know a lot of people in the trans community,” Parrish said. “It is nice to go somewhere and feel like I belong.”
“My goal is to spread awareness,” Norman said. There is a “lack of news and understanding about LGBTQ […] because it’s such an old thing.”
He also mentioned that with pronouns, people should, “ask first, instead of guessing.”
Norman said that being deaf and blind is a bigger challenge than what he faces being transgender, especially because of the difficulty of finding employment with a disability.
His talk at Western is one of his firsts, but he is willing to present more in the future, “not just for myself but for others who may benefit,” he said, as well as the “need to address the lack of information [with LGBTQ].”
Sarah Tabor, a first-year psychology major, said it was a great to “hear about his life stories as well as some struggles, and it was very eye opening.”
Norman said he is looking to finish his web design degree, and help deaf and blind people. “A lot of deafblind people are isolated, and they stay home,” he said, because “they don’t have the accommodations they need.”
Madison Adrian, a first-year early education major, said it “was really interesting. It was good to see his perspective and take on things and I learned a lot from it.”
