Trill Talk: Eli Erlick
Activist, writer, and director of the organization Trans Student Educational Resources, Eli Erlick.
Q: Here at Trill we like to keep it True and Real, so give us the scoop, Eli. Who are you?
A: I’m an organizer, writer, and scholar based in New York. In 2011, I co-founded Trans Student Educational Resources, the only national organization led by trans youth. I’m currently finishing my Ph.D. in Feminist Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Q: What has been your personal experience of mental health?
A: As a queer trans woman, I’ve gone through traumatic experiences that have come to shape my world since I came out in the third grade. Between assaults, beatings, and social isolation from a young age, mental health has affected my own being in the world just as it does most trans people. I’m lucky to have a community to support me that has guided me through my own journeys with mental health since I was a teenager.
Q: At 16, you co-founded the Trans Student Educational Resources organization, can you tell us a little bit about the organization as well as why it was important for you to start it?
A: We were living in a very different world in 2011. At the time, there was virtually no national support for trans people, particularly trans kids. I was extremely isolated in a rural town and realized that no one was going to make the change that I needed to see. So, when I was 16, I worked with other trans teens to create a national organization by and for trans youth. Since then, it’s grown to be one of the largest organizations dedicated to trans liberation in the country.
Q: You have mentioned one of your missions to enlighten youth’s capabilities to make positive change, why is this important to you and how can our users achieve empowerment?
A: Long term change comes from the bottom up. That is, leaders must focus on those most impacted by injustice in our own communities. If the most targeted communities achieve freedoms, then we also achieve those same freedoms.
It’s crucial that we educate activists — particularly young people — on how to make an effective change like this. What I described is only one strategy among many that we work to emphasize in the trans community. But perhaps the most important takeaway is that liberation begins with those on the margins: those usually left out from activism altogether. The bodies that are least respected in social movements often have the most to contribute to social transformation.
Q: In 2017, Glamour Magazine named you as College Woman of the Year, the first trans woman to receive the honor in its 60-year history, which is an incredible achievement. What is it like to receive such an honor?
A: I’m happy to see more mainstream publications recognizing trans women for what we are: women. I’m incredibly lucky to have received the support I did in college to be able to receive the honor.
Q: What type of educational issues do you believe is most prevalent today, and how can our users help solve those issues?
A: The issues today are the same as 10 or 100 years ago: racism. Racism may be more visible today but it’s always been there. While trans youth are among the most affected by unjust educational practices, trans youth of color have to face the intersecting fact of trans and racial identity that often leads to higher rates of dropout, suspension, and violence. Focusing on those most left out of education allows for platforms like TSER to advocate for all trans people.
Q: You identify as gender nonconforming. On our app, many of our users have expressed the pressures of societal expectations of gender identity and gender expression, what advice do you have for our users who are facing judgment and stigmatization because of their identities?
A: Being gender nonconforming is about respecting yourself enough to defy gender roles. Don’t let others’ judgments about beauty and value affect how you present yourself. You are worthy of nurturing. You are worthy of support. And you are worthy of self-determination.
Q: Where can we find out more about Eli? How can we support you and your work?
A: You can learn more about TSER at www.transstudent.org, more about my work at www.elierlick.com, and more about my day-to-day at www.instagram.com/elierlick!
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