Stephanie and Billie Jean: Living transgender in rural Pennsylvania

Before they crashed into the sleepy city Stephanie Fritsch calls house, clouds as black as coal crested a hill and thundered across the valley.

Dust was blown up and down the winding streets of Dauphin County’s little Wiconisco, Pennsylvania, during the late-June wind. Outside of homes where miners after resided, American flags smashed. Cars rusting in the rear were pelted by weather.

Stephanie observed the charm while standing on her back door. In the breeze, her red hair whipped about.

She declared,” This is a true Appalachian thunderstorm.” ” Welcome to the countryside of Pennsylvania.”

Stephanie, who was 58 years old at the time, is a transgender woman who lives in rural America, where it is more difficult to obtain gender-affirming health care, most municipalities lack laws prohibiting gender identity prejudice, and liberal candidates who fight against gender equality are generally given more help.

16 % or so of trans Americans reside in rural areas. The Movement Advancement Project, a Colorado nonprofit organization committed to LGBTQ justice and democracy, reported in 2019 that the population faces special difficulties, such as higher levels of hunger and “increased visibility.” People like Stephanie are more noticeable because rural Americans do n’t see or hear many trans people, which, according to MAP, can “increase the risk of targeting or cruelty.”

After a stormy ten years in Las Vegas, Stephanie just so happened to end up in Wiconisco. She claimed that things are less turbulent there and that Billie Jean Williams, a trans woman she first met on Facebook, is an attentive companion blocks away.

Billie Jean said,” I warned her not to proceed here.” However, I enjoy having her around because she gives me a transgender person to talk to, another companion, and an alliance.

In a home that she described as “literally falling off,” Billie Jean, 38, who was raised in Dauphin County, takes care of her younger sister who has disability. She claimed that she has endured harassment her entire life and rarely displays her identity in public.

She declared,” My desire is to be accepted and happy, to really live, not to live or arise.”

Stephanie views the countryside of Pennsylvania as a secure, protected area where she can be who she is and live her life. Small-town life has become oppressive for Billie Jean, who has n’t started the medical transition she longs for or legally changed her name. She longs to vanish among the millions of people living in Philadelphia’s 120-mile east.

Proponents claim that Stephanie and Billie Jean’s problems and desires are not unusual. Being trans is not ideal in any position.

According to Corrine Goodwin, director of the Eastern PA Trans Equity Project ( EPTEP), transgender people have always lived in rural communities and many have discovered ways to navigate their world to achieve great success. They pay their rent, live easily, and are architects and engineers.

About 35 km north of Harrisburg, in the Appalachian Mountains, is Wiconisco, a former fuel area of about 1, 162. It seems much further away.

With its rainbows colors and black, brown, red, blue, and white markings, Stephanie’s was the only home flying the” Progress Pride” symbol in June during Pride Month. A couple blocks away from her in the 10-square-mile city, one house had a Confederate flag flown out front.

Billie Jean was n’t expressing her pleasure in Dauphin County in the north. She claimed that she has previously experienced excessive harassment at job.

Most locals in the area are familiar with me, she said. ” Some people believe I’m just a drag queen or queer.”

According to MAP’s justice report, Pennsylvania was given a “fair” standing for its gender-identity plans. That is worse than New Jersey and New York but better than West Virginia and Ohio. In Pennsylvania, there are regulations banning discrimination based on gender identification in secret work, accommodation, and public apartments in 70 of the country’s 2, 560 communities and three of its 67 regions, namely Erie, Allegheny and Philadelphia.

Chester, Montgomery, and Money Counties are home to the majority of those cities with watchful regulations, as well as communities with universities like Bloomsburg, Gettysburg. Shippensburg. One of them is no Wiconisco.

Connecticut, a condition that ranked “high” on the MAP’s justice scale, is where Stephanie was raised. She worked at her parents ‘ mask store in Manchester, where she lugged around heavy bolts of colored fabric while listening to musical on the radio. She would covertly attempt on the women’s costumes while keeping her female a secret from everyone, including her family.

Teenagers may pick up on even the smallest differences, and Stephanie found high school challenging. She began drinking greatly at that point. Years later, regretful former colleagues reached up to her.

On Stephanie’s Social website in 2015, a female wrote,” When I look up, I thought I was older, but was not able to stand up for people being bullied.” ” I am really sorry that our technology treated you that way, Stephanie. I know you were bullied for being diverse.”

Stephanie worked as a professional restaurant for 20 years before joining American Airlines to handle misgivings and misplaced luggage. She first attempted to changeover and provide her genuine gender at work in Las Vegas in 2002 after being transferred there. After being fired in 2003, she went through periods of poverty and used sexual work to make ends meet.

Pansexual Stephanie claimed that her parents ‘ “programming” was largely to blame for her marriage to a woman in 2005 at Vegas ‘ Little White Wedding Chapel. In order to “be a dad” to her daughter, she put an end to the initial transition process at that point.

When Stephanie and her family relocated to main Pennsylvania in 2014, she started transitioning seriously and got divorced. She never more communicates with her daughter or ex-wife. She applied for cheap cover, and in 2020 Wiconisco offered her an house. She has remained there ever since.

Stephanie, who is disabled today, finds her virtual connections to be the most reliable. She keeps a public book on social media, sharing both her struggles and her daily joys. Despite issues with cash, the shift to medicine, her mental health, and abuse, she wills herself to be positive.

She wrote in a Facebook post from 2021,” Living in rural America is the overall gift to me.”

Stephanie does n’t seek refuge in” Wic” and has no desire to relocate to a bigger city. Yet in 2021, she successfully ran for office as a town auditor. In addition to traveling throughout the state and to Washington, where she was arrested, Stephanie corrects people when they mistreat her geographically. She also goes to gatherings, celebrations, and protests.

She declared,” I may challenge anyone.” ” Trans people in the nation need individuals like me. I defend them.

The 90-minute drive south from Wiconisco to Lancaster Pride was worthwhile for Stephanie and, in particular, Billie Jean, who wore white hair and a longer, pink dress she purchased at Target. The distance is about 72 miles.

Stephanie remarked to her friend,” It’s challenging, and for her to do this now is amazing.” ” Here, she can finally be herself.”

A week before, Billie Jean had lost her job in the financial industry. She claimed to have informed the hiring manager of her trans identity and her intention to change. She claimed that when someone told others, coworkers searched her pocket and additional personal items.

Almost 50 % of Pennsylvanian respondents to a national survey of LGBT workers conducted in 2021 by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law reported experiencing workplace harassment or discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Despite a native Christian church’s protests outside the convention center, Billie Jean claimed that Lancaster—a city of 57,500—had been safe haven for some time. Thousands of people of all ages poured in as soon as the windows opened. For selfies, Billy Jean posed. She did n’t buy anything because she was “broke,” but she did have a nice conversation with the Black trans woman who had just left Harrisburg for Philadelphia.

Nearly every advocacy organization and dealer who had a hall was chatted up by Stephanie.

She introduced herself as Stephanie and addressed people.

Some people already knew her, which is proof of her ongoing online presence.

Finding a community electronically, like Stephanie has, has advantages and disadvantages, according to transgender woman Goodwin. Someone who is plugged in may receive bad news, violent people, and nasty comments from social media algorithms.

She remarked,” It can really lead you down a rabbit hole of “everyone hates me, and that’s just not the truth.” ” You must look for your dozens of friends; they are out there.”

Charles King, the co-founder of New York City’s Housing Works, which provides services to low-income or homeless residents, is one of the friends Stephanie has made through engagement. King claimed that before the cheap housing protests in Washington, he and Stephanie spent days camped out in church basements.

King remarked,” She always managed to make it it.” She is as eloquent as anyone else there and an effective speaker.

King claimed to have frequently observed Stephanie “down in the empties” on social media.

She occasionally writes about the difficulties she encountered as she attempted to make a medical change later in life. She has had a diplomatic dth, hormone replacement therapy, and some light hair treatments, but other medical conditions have kept her from having gender-affirmation operation.

Before she bought a vehicle, getting to meetings and interviews was an all-day endeavor.

According to Goodwin, getting to health care in an urban neighborhood may take 15 to 20 minutes. ” In a rural area, it might take two hours to get there.”

Stephanie is urged by King to show love for her resources.

And, without a doubt, she’ll carry that out, King said. She exudes a great deal of dignity.

Billie Jean may look for a career for the remainder of June and July. She prayed that her car had n’t crash and that a miracle would restore her run-down toilet so she could take showers and cut more frequently.

” All been difficult,” she said.

Her positive vibes from Lancaster Pride had worn away when she returned to Wiconisco.

She remarked,” Ok, we’re also prohibited at best, if not a pariah.”

Stephanie has been anticipating an August 59th birthday bash all summer. She extended invitations to visitors on social media. She explained that since Stephanie has been sober from drugs and alcohol for 21 years, the group would be a potluck and that she was hoping for something different.

She advised people to bring their own lips, regardless of how they identify them.

However, the number of delays was rising two days prior to the group. She used Facebook Live to express her emotions.

In a film, she stated that even the strongest people in the world require assistance from others.

After all, Stephanie made far more macaroni salad, baked beans, and smoked chicken than she required for the small group of friends who showed up that Sunday afternoon, so the birthday party would n’t actually be a potluck. She also has a passion for cooking.

You have to have baked bean because it’s summer, correct? She said this before the visitors showed up.

Around lunch, Billie Jean called. She had to pick up her younger girl, getting dressed, and return home.

Okay, I do like you. Billie Jean said,” See you soon,” before hanging up.

Billie Jean sighed as she sat down at the dining room table when she arrived. She was anxious about a upcoming fast food restaurant employment interview. She promised to dress like a man, but she was n’t sure if it would matter.

She said,” I can often tell if a job interview is going to fail by the eyes they make.”

Stephanie kept running back and forth,” Coming through with cast iron!” — from her front porch heaters to the house.

Billie Jean and Stephanie debated issues such as jobs, the pricing distance, their views of urban violence, and rural existence. Stephanie was reminded by Billy Jean that she “did n’t had to work.”

Prices of harassment, prejudice, or physical assault in rural areas are just” slightly less” than in nonrural places, according to MAP’s record. It’s important to observe “how substantially the environment has changed since then,” according to Logan Casey, director of policy studies at MAP. The report was based on the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, 2021 was the deadliest time ever for transgender and nonbinary persons, with people of color making up the majority of the patients.

Stephanie claimed that Wiconisco makes her feel safer. The Pennsylvania State Police in nearby Lykens assist the township’s small police office. In Wiconisco, there have been 11 attack of varying intensities this year, two burglaries, and two physical offenses, according to state police.

On the block where Stephanie after moved, a gentleman shot and killed his companion in 2021.

Stephanie’s mother passed away in Connecticut last year at the age of 87. ” Stephanie Fritsch” was listed as one of her three kids in the article. According to Stephanie, her mother” tried” to adopt her as a child.

Stephanie used her estate to pay$ 50,000 for a three-bedroom, 19th-century home as well as the Hyundai Tucson, which she had previously walked everywhere. This year, buyers in Philadelphia paid a median of$ 218 per square foot. Stephanie made a$ 36 payment.

She invested a lot of time in renovations at home, artwork rooms pink and yellow and updating the HVAC systems. She also struggles with the slog of living in an older home despite having a fixed income. A boat for her late father, who passed away in 2015, and a table of scissors to recognize her mother’s fabric-related skills are among the many mementos on her walls. She has a sleep ledge off of another bedroom that overlooks the mountains behind her and an overall bedroom filled with shoes.

She boldly posted photos of her well-kept yard in late August, complete with lush green grass, string lights, and fire pits.

” My tiny portion of the American dream pizza” She penned.

According to Goodwin, trans people may prosper in urban or rural areas.

She remarked,” We frequently focus on the challenges, and they are very real for many of our community members, but we should also observe when a transgender person succeeds.”

Six-year Navy veteran Scarlett Davis is one of those victory tales. Davis, 49, works for Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services and resides in the wilderness in Tioga County with her family and puppies. She started her social change a few years after starting her hormonal change about five years ago.

There will be people who accept you and those who wo n’t, she said, regardless of where you are. I do n’t need to celebrate my transition. Like everyone else, I want to get my foods. I desire straightforward equality.

Billie Jean does n’t believe that is feasible in Wiconisco.

A month before Thanksgiving, the mountains that border Stephanie’s house were generally bare and brown. A few burst of burnt peach leaves and bushes were still visible. Immediately, hunters may ascend into the forest in search of stag deer, the valley reverberating with the blasts of their rifles.

After a dispute with the managers, Stephanie had just made the decision not to go to the 40th homecoming back in Connecticut. Unfortunately, she had a part of her neck removed back to back after being diagnosed with cancer.

Nevertheless, she wrote a note of appreciation at Charles King’s idea,” I have two wonderful cat.”

The strong foods work had been given to Billie Jean. She claimed that individuals were being kind to her there. However, wealth was still scarce, so she was looking for a minute job.

She remarked that” Fast food seems to be the only thing in the area that does n’t care about gender identity.”

She was also addressing some long-standing health issues and had begun seeing a therapist in an effort to begin the physician transition process. She also wants to leave Wic, but she is without any family to support her sister’s attention.

She stated,” My life has consisted of being weak and caring for dying relatives people.”

A few kilometers from their home, Stephanie and Billie Jean took a car to Hungry Time for lunch. One of Stephanie’s beloved restaurants is this one. Numerous hand-painted, sturdy Donald Trump evidence lined a road down the street. In one, a palm extended its end hand.

The shop was crowded, and as the lunch crowd shuffled in, the ring on the front door rang every second. The spoon clattered against the skillet in a stable, clanging motion.

Miranda Heckler- Amato, one of the users, said,” Hey, Miss Stephanie.”

Every vacation, whether it’s a 45-minute breakfast at Hungry Time or an excursion to the grocery store, is seen by Stephanie as an opportunity to advocate for transgender women in the larger community. She is informed by Heckler-Amato that it is unnecessary and that the neighborhood is more accepting than she is aware of.

She remarked,” Stephanie is anything but plain and boring, and I think rural Pennsylvania is mostly dull and flat, in a good way.” ” She’s special!”

Billie Jean, who was dressed in a Billye Eilish top, claimed that although she occasionally felt unconditional acceptance it, her heart is set on leaving.

People around these did occasionally shock the hell out of you, she said.

Stephanie does n’t believe she will depart from Pennsylvania’s rural area.

She remarked,” I suppose I could sell my house, get a vessel, and travel the world like my parents did. But in all honesty, I feel safer here, and I do n’t mind if it takes another five years for people to adjust.

They intended to go to the Valley Lighthouse, a Lykens volunteer, on Thanksgiving for sheets of istanbul, stuffing, and sweet potatoes. Stephanie promised to express gratitude for the home and for her animals Butch and Midnight as well. Billy Jean was appreciative of both her career and the fact that her vehicle was also functional.

They claimed that they would be grateful for one another as well.

Whether they lived in a town or far out in Wiconisco, their words in that tiny shop quickly started to sound like wishes, commonplace goals that most people strive for.

” You know, I want people to be happy with their lives, she wants content, and so do I.” That’s pretty straightforward, do n’t you think? Billie Jean remarked. ” I have no idea what transpired in America to make that but challenging.”