Last Tuesday, author and activist for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer issues Jennifer Finney Boylan delivered the 10th annual Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture. Finney Boylan was able to speak about her own experiences as a transgender woman.

Finney Boylan explained that in the 1970s when she was growing up, it was more difficult to tell if someone was gay or transgender. However, it is not as difficult today, she said. "We learn about other people through their stories and through experiences," she said, and currently, members of the LGBTQ population are now "living their lives out loud."

Finney Boylan proceeded to read an excerpt from her autobiography She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders, titled "In the Early Morning Rain," that was used and slightly reworked for the It Gets Better anthology, a collection of stories and works compiled by the It Gets Better Project. The excerpt spoke about her trip to Nova Scotia, during which she accepted herself, and was able to reflect on her life. "I thought about how I was female in spirit," Finney Boylan read.

Finney Boylan recalled looking in the mirror, dressed as a female, and seeing "a relatively normal-looking young woman."

Confused about her life, Finney Boylan was in a position to jump off of a cliff. However, the wind blew Finney Boylan back and prevented her from falling over. She then accepted herself and returned home.

After reading the excerpt, Finney Boylan educated the audience on what it means to be transgender. She said that being an ally for transgender individuals "can be a hard job" because being transgender "means so many different things." She explained that transgender is more of an umbrella term, and that all transgender people are different in what they want or what they think of themselves.

Finney Boylan listed a few types of transgender individuals, including female to male or male to female transsexuals, cross-dressers, drag kings or queens and gender-queer individuals. "All the ways of being trans are cool," she said. "We're all humans, and each of us is coming at this a slightly different way."

After Finney Boylan finished speaking, she opened up the floor for questions. A member of the audience asked if, as a woman, Finney Boylan had experienced sexism.

In response, Finney Boylan said, "Most of the male to female [transsexuals] that have succeeded ... are people who, when they were male-bodied, identified as feminists."

Finney Boylan continued to answer the question, recalling an experience she had after performing in a band at a bar. A man approached her outside and was forceful in trying to get her to come home with him. She pushed him away and left. "The fact that women were subject to violence, well, I knew that, so what did I learn? It's different when it's you."

Finney Boylan also talked about the new experiences that came along with being a woman. "I was on the receiving end of male attention that I just didn't know how to deal with," she said.

When asked by an attendee about gender pronouns, Finney Boylan said that it is always good to get to know a person, and to "use the word that makes them feel safe."

"If you use the wrong name ... you should always stop [and apologize]," she said. "If you just go on without acknowledging it, it can be really painful."

When asked by an attendee whether or not she thinks of being a woman as starting a new life, Finney Boylan responded that she does not. She explained that "embracing the person that I've been" has led to a sense of wholeness. She has accepted that her experiences as a male make her who she is today. "If there is something different about my experience, it's history," she said. "My history is different. ... That doesn't make me worse or better. It's just a fact of my life."

Finney Boylan's message was well-received by attendees, such as Margaret Borchert '14.

"It's incredibly important that people do come to events like this and expand their horizons, specifically about gender and sexuality, because it leads to a better world, honestly," said Borchert in an interview with the Justice.

"We fear the unknown and understanding other people and their gender and sexualities and the huge diversity that we have in the world means that people will be less afraid and that there will be less hatred in the world," Borchert added.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture series was established in 2004 in order "to honor Eleanor Roosevelt's commitment to social justice and her important place in women's history," according to the Women's and Gender Studies program page on the University website.

Finney Boylan, an English professor at Colby College, released her autobiography in 2003. She has also authored 12 other books, including novels and collections of short stories.