The recent college graduate discusses her work fighting for the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.

At 19 years old, Devin Halbal was on her way home from a friend’s going-away party when a man assaulted her on the subway and screamed transphobic slurs in her face. After reporting the hate crime to the police and beginning to do some research, Devin discovered that trans people — particularly trans women of colour like her — experience violence at alarmingly high rates. She wanted other people to know about the dangers her community faces so she shared her story in Teen Vogue. Since then, Devin has become a powerful advocate for trans rights and written about her experiences as a young trans woman for outlets like Refinery29.

For transgender people, their gender expression and identity differs from the gender assigned to them at birth. Transgender describes how someone is experiencing gender, it is not a separate gender category. Cultural stigma and discrimination prevent many trans people from accessing housing, employment and health resources. As Devin experienced, gender-based violence disproportionately affects trans women, who are 4.3 times more likely to become homicide victims than other women.

The trans community also experiences higher rates of mental illness due to discrimination and marginalisation, a topic Devin is particularly passionate about. With The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, Devin created a support group for trans-feminine people and worked to connect the trans community in New York City with housing, mental and sexual health resources.

As a young writer advocating for trans rights, it can be difficult deciding what experiences are important to share and what details she wants to keep private. I spoke to Devin about navigating those choices, how her education influences her activism and gender variance in South Asian communities.

Kwolanne Felix (KF): Why did you start speaking out for trans rights?

Devin Halbal (DH): What inspired me to start writing or just expressing my thoughts and trying to be a voice for my community was experiencing a hate crime in 2017. That was something that made me feel like, oh my God. Like, I can't believe this happened to me. But then when I was doing research and looking online, I realized that this is something that's actually really common for trans people to have my experience, and so that was kind of the motivation for me to want to share my story. And I didn't think it would be shared on such a platform such as Teen Vogue. The first time I actually wanted to be public about my identity was writing the article.

KF: What makes writing such an important tool for social change?

DH: I think it's an important tool for social change just because I feel like if you know how to write and you know how to communicate, I think that allows people to really understand you. And I think that allows people to see humanity in your experience because that's the thing. A lot of us don't share the same ideas, whether that be about race, gender, religion, all these kinds of identities. And so when you're able to be like, “Even though you don't necessarily understand where I'm coming from or even if you haven't been exposed to people that are like me, here's how I feel. And here is a direct response to my experiences in the world.” I think it allows people to just be able to maybe understand your perspective just a little bit more, sometimes a little bit more than having a conversation.

And if you don't want your identity to be super public, you can always write under a pseudonym. And I feel like that's what's also really cool about writing. You can share your experiences, you can share your ideas without necessarily being so public. You can keep that kind of cover over your identity. So I think that's what makes it a little bit different from being like a YouTuber or someone who's more visual.

KF: How has your education affected your work?

DH: My education has been really helpful and beneficial to me just in terms of understanding who I am and having really tough conversations about the world around me. And I genuinely don't think I would be able to process who I am if I didn't have my education. In order to be trans and to fight for your community or like be a voice for your community, you have to understand how these systems are in place, hurting trans people. I feel like I wouldn’t necessarily have understood how everything is connected: housing, discrimination, lack of job and racism.

“I genuinely don’t think I would be able to process who I am if I didn’t have my education.”

— Devin Halbal

KF: What is the best and hardest part of your work as an activist?

DH: Generating ideas, that's my biggest trouble. It’s like do I want to overshare, right? Like I feel especially when you're talking about your experiences and your identity, it's like what's the line of oversharing and what's the line of just being open and honest and transparent. So that's something that I'm also being wary of, especially as I continue to write, you know, personal essays. It's like which one do I actually want people to read and which ones should I just keep to myself?

The best part is just having people message me and saying that just me being visible makes them feel like they're supported and seen. Or people who also message me and be like, “I haven't come out yet, but I'm just so thankful that you exist because you've given me some kind of inspiration for today.” And even though those messages don't happen every single day, they do happen from time to time. So randomly. And that does make me happy and that does make me smile.

KF: What do you want the women who attend your support group at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center to leave knowing?

DH: I would say that the one thing I try to really let everyone in my group know is that regardless of how well you pass [as cisgender] in cisgender and hetersexual society, you are still beautiful. And you are so beautiful and like your beauty shouldn't be measured by how well you conform to cisgender and heterosexual standards of beauty.

This is a completely personal journey and a complete personal experience. So it's up to you whether or not and how you want to transition. And don't ever feel pressured to like getting facial surgeries and a whole vagina constructed because society tells you that makes a woman.

KF: How has your identity shaped the way you're maneuvering in NYC?

DH: Living in New York City is often hyped up to be this really hyper liberal space and a haven for LGBT people. But I genuinely still always worry about my safety when I'm walking alone, especially currently in the Bronx. You know, I've had people literally follow me in cars. And I also think that's because people associate trans women with sex work. So I have men following me in cars like literally begging me to get in. So I try to not be super revealing with my clothing or super out there with my clothing unless I'm with a really close friend.

KF: What would you say to people who claim that trans people and gender variance are exclusive to Western countries?

DH: I only know about it from a South Asian kind of perspective. Hijras [third-gender communities who choose their gender] have always existed in South Asia, like India, Bangladesh and Nepal. These trans women mostly, even though hijras means third gender, they've always existed. And after the Western gender binary was brought to Asia, people who were deviant or strayed away from the gender binary often had to have their own communities be outcast. But prior to that, the girls were here. They were seen as holy. And even now just all over South Asia, a lot of hijras dance at weddings, a lot of hijras bless babies, especially in Hindu areas. So it's weird because I feel like it's not a Western thing; people think it's a Western thing. This has literally existed since the beginning of time. There's a page called Vrye on Instagram and they were just talking about how transgender people have always existed and how binaries are violent, like destruction of nature.

KF: What advice would you give other young trans women?

DH: Whatever your timeline is, your timeline is completely fine. I would say don't rush into anything, you know, and even if you do make a wrong decision or even if you do something in the transition that you don't want to do, whether that be like get a procedure or even take hormones, it's fine to always not, you know, go back. It's OK to be whoever you are and whatever timeline you get is completely valid. And just try to find people who you feel really safe around and people who don't judge you.

Kwolanne Felix

is a former editorial intern at Malala Fund and a student at Columbia University. She loves history, social advocacy and her Passion Planner. You can follow her on Instagram.