Transfer Student Sam Sharf F23 Advocates for Adolescent Gender-Affirming Care for GLAAD
Sharf, who transferred to Hampshire from New College of Florida, wrote about her experience of medical transition at an early age and how it afforded her the opportunity to grow into her true, joyful, successful self.
Sam is a transgender activist, student, and nationally ranked chess player. Originally from Florida, she was a leader against the policies of Governor Desantis, garnering a growing media platform. She has been an outspoken advocate on LGBTQ rights, academic freedom, and a multitude of other topics. Her insight has appeared in pieces from MSNBC, NBC News, Fox News, The New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, Daily Beast, VICE, The Economist, and others.
She published a story in GLAAD about her journey and the importance of being able to transition to “experience life at a greater capacity.”
“Five and a half years later, here I am as a 23-year-old young woman. I am a living example of the successes of gender-affirming care. As a college student, my experience is now much different than that of when I was younger, and I am finally able to perform at my academic potential. I study sociology, gender studies, and Spanish. During this journey I have also restored my interest in chess, which has been integral in my cognitive and emotional growth...
“My newfound happiness and self-love is a remarkable turnaround from the repressed, self-hating child I was. I know I am living as who I was meant to be because being a woman is ontologically inherent to my existence, I’ve known nothing else, when I was not living as a girl, I was dreaming of being one. Without gender affirming care, I would not be where I am today. If I even managed to make it to this age, I would still be suffering from confusion about my identity, living without real connections, and loathing myself. I also would have continued the irreversible changes that the remaining years of male puberty would have brought...
“The science is on our side. We must allow transgender youth to be themselves, and thrive.”
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