Six years after graduating, Ev Gilbert ‘18—a queer, transgender, Asian alum—came back to speak and answer questions about their life and intersectional identity to students and staff in the MLK room. Their presentation on Thursday, Jan. 4 during T-block was January’s OUTstanding Speaker Series event.

Gilbert described their journey with their transgender identity, starting from their freshman year of high school to the present during their gap year. They said their identity and gender expression has fluctuated and is ever-changing.

“[Being] trans can look any and every way,” Gilbert said. “There is no single timeline for anyone. My pronouns are always evolving.”

While at the high school, Gilbert played varsity soccer and participated in various extracurriculars, but was never involved with any of the few LGBTQ+ organizations, partly because of their scarcity. Gilbert said they wish more LGBTQ+ programs were provided.

“When I was at BHS, I honestly was very not aware of queer or trans or LGBTQ+ stuff at all,” Gilbert said. “I would have really loved to have more queer, trans representation when I was here in the curriculum and health classes.”

Attendee and senior Angela Zhou reflected on the changes in queer spaces since Gilbert’s high school days. She said that despite more existing, ethnic intersectionality represented in these spaces remains scarce.

“There are a lot of queer spaces at BHS now, but they all still feel like white-dominated spaces,” Zhou said. “It was really nice that [Gilbert] could come in—as a person of color—to talk about their experiences with intersectionality.”

Gilbert, a Chinese-American adoptee, graduated from Boston University with a bachelor’s in sociology and a minor in public health in 2022. They have worked as a Youth Programs Coordinator for LGBTQ+ youth.

Junior Selene Yo, who introduced Gilbert and co-facilitated the event’s Q&A portion, said Gilbert’s presentation served to her both as a window into new realms of intersectionality and a mirror into her own.

“I learned a lot. I didn’t really think about how things like adoption could intersect with queer identity,” Yo said. “But, I also definitely saw myself in some parts of [the presentation], especially because I am also queer and Asian.”

Queer visibility and role models, Gilbert said, are key in allowing queer individuals—especially those who are young—to feel seen and validated.

“Representation is where it starts,” Gilbert said. “I’ve always been queer; I just didn’t know it was a possibility back then.”