“We are just as human as you are and we demand equal rights,” said Paige LeBlanc, founder of the Trans+ Student Union and creator of the upcoming Trans Art Now show.
The Trans Art Now art show will be the TSU’s first event and will feature art from people who identify as transgender, nonbinary, two spirit, agender or gender diverse. The art will be displayed at the Blue Ridge Conference Center on Monday, March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility.
LeBlanc founded the TSU this semester after many negative experiences and harassment her and her friends faced due to their LGBTQ+ identities. After realizing something needed to change, LeBlanc first joined WCU’s Student Government Association before deciding there needed to be a separate body to advocate specifically for the transgender community.
LeBlanc’s experience with harassment went viral when another WCU student filmed video of her in the women’s bathroom on campus with the caption “A man using the girls’ bathroom at Western Carolina University. Unreal” on May 2, 2024. The video circulated quickly when a popular conservative account, Libs of TikTok, reposted it and Fox News picked up the story.
“About 14 million people saw that. I filed a Title IX complaint for that, which ended up resulting in no punishment,” LeBlanc said.
Ivory Dozier, vice president of the TSU, has helped LeBlanc plan the event. Dozier’s role has included creating a slide show featuring all the works of art, as well as making sure all the submissions meet the criteria.
“It’s just super important to have that community aspect right now, especially with everything that’s kind of spooky and scary,” Dozier said.
To Dozier, the goal of the art show is to show a broad range of trans and gender-nonconforming experiences. Dozier feels the best way to fight back is by celebrating trans joy and community in a time where that is being taken away.
“I think art is just such a cool way to express yourself in general,” Dozier said. “And again, it’s just a way to be like hey we’re here and we’re not going anywhere.”
Neil Wetmore, WCU student and liaison for Sexuality and Gender Alliance, submitted a collage that explores his Catholicism and trans identity. He hopes to push back against the idea he tends to see expressed that trans people are less worthy of being loved by God. Wetmore feels that religious rhetoric is currently being used to put down trans people.
“I suppose what I am trying to get out of this is to be seen as who I am and have my lived experience shown in some way,” Wetmore said.
LeBlanc said that the Trump administration has proposed many changes to healthcare, social and educational policies which are inherently targeted at the transgender and nonbinary community.
“I feel that now is the time more than ever for us to proudly use our voices to declare that we are here,” LeBlanc said
LeBlanc hopes that the art show will be a reminder that trans people exist and are not going anywhere, as well as a proud celebration of the LGBTQ+ community on campus.
“Whether you’re queer, trans, straight, cis, we want you there,” LeBlanc said. “You might learn something, or you might appreciate a piece of art. Just come out and join, enjoy some art!”
