When Angelica Ross was stationed in Japan with the U.S. Navy, her shipmates dangled her out of a third-story window, demanding that she admit that she was gay. "They knew this black blonde-haired boy didn't belong when she showed up to the physical with her toenails painted," she would later write on her Facebook page. Ross left the military after that incident. Other people might have been so terrified and angry enough to spend their time raging against the world, but Ross had other plans, describing herself as a "promoter of peace and happiness." In that capacity — when she isn't working as the TransWorks coordinator at the TransLife center of the Chicago House—Ross is a web developer, singer/songwriter, actor, activist, speaker and spokesmodel. On March 30, Ross will host the Trans 100, an event she co-produced alongside her roommate, friend and co-director, Jen Richards. She promises an array of stunning dresses for the occasion, but took time out of preparations in order to chat with Windy City Times. Windy City Times: How did you get involved with the Trans 100 event? Angelica Ross: I've been friends with Jen for a long time, but I came in as the editor of the video of the first Trans 100. It was one of those things where I knew it was an amazing idea. So I just rolled up my sleeves and got involved. It was a great moment and I just wanted to be a part of it.
WCT : What does an event like the Trans 100 mean to you?
Angelica Ross: Well, the media has had its own way of depicting trans life.
WCT : Not always successfully, when we are forced to deal with people like Katie Couric, Maury Povich and Piers Morgan.
Angelica Ross: Right. People don't know the breadth of our community and the strengths and the talent we have because they haven't been paying attention. Meanwhile, we've been organizing, connecting and supporting one another. So this event, for me, uplifts and trains us as a community to stop feeling like we are in competition with each other. Our community can be very judgmental. Whether you're a showgirl, sex worker, work at a nonprofit or an entertainer we know—as trans people—no path is easy, so instead of judging one another, we need to be able to add understanding. I think that, this year, with the showgirl review as part on the show, we're saying this is a night to celebrate all different types of people in the community.
WCT : I've been guilty of being judgmental myself. I used to watch the girls, for example, who appeared on Springer and Povich and think "they are doing nothing but a disservice to me as a trans person. I am not represented by those people."
Angelica Ross: One thing that people find surprising about me is that I've been one of those girls. I've been on Maury Povich twice. I viewed it as an opportunity to overcome the fear of being clocked and called "a man" and all that sort of stuff because once you have a whole audience yelling that at you, there really is no way to go down from that. I even talked to the production staff and tried to give them a trans-competency training around what was wrong with what they were doing. They changed some wording of their show titles after that. I think the girls who do go on shows like that are sold on the "any publicity is good publicity" kind of deal. It's sad but at the same time I don't blame them for it.
WCT : You didn't feel exploited in any way by the producers of that show?
Angelica Ross: At the time, no. Only because I walked into that space very aware of its dynamics, and so I tried to use them to my benefit. In the green room, I'd have discussions with other girls on the issues of being trans and having to live with other people's perspectives of being "deceivers."
WCT : It sounds like the Trans 100 is a very public way of changing perspectives.
Angelica Ross: Yeah, but it would be nice one day to not to have to single out trans people and instead say that we are just human beings. I'm reaching my limit of teaching and talking trans all the time. I want to just be the woman that I am. But I know that I have gifts I can use for this right now. I look forward to a time when I can just focus on being a musician, writer and a Buddhist.
WCT : Is that the religion you were brought up with?
Angelica Ross: I was raised in the Pentecostal church in Racine, Wis., with people speaking in tongues and passing out and all that good stuff. My assessment, in hindsight, is that there were a lot of people who were faking this "close relationship with God." I was in a gospel group at 16 and I believe my gifts in music and singing were spiritual, and that's when I felt a more authentic connection with religion. I was the type who would preach and read my Bible but it got to a point that I was doing some of that to try and "pray away the gay." Once I realized who I was and when I started to get suicidal around it, I felt like God spoke to me. I was told, "You are trying too hard to make me love you. I made you. I know who you are. I know the gifts you have. Just move forward." My decisions since then have always come from a place of intention and courage. I left my home and that church and drove to Rochester, N.Y., and that's where I started doing drag but I was told by others that I looked like a "tranny." I thought it was so offensive.
WCT : I always found that to be a hateful word. It's been used so many times by people on the far right: those sorts of people who use the word "freak" in the same sentence.
Angelica Ross: I hate it too but, at the same time, I try to respect the fact that other people have claimed that word. As a black woman I can say that, just like the "N" word that's been used hatefully or as a punch line, there are certain communities who have taken the word "tranny" and owned it. I can accept it but I won't use it myself. I hope that one day we can let go of all the labels. Like when I go to work, I put on the "trans uniform" but in my personal life, I take that off and I'm a woman. That's all I am.
WCT : Speaking of uniforms, tell me about your days in the military.
Angelica Ross: When I was in Rochester, my mom disapproved of me but she would still send me boxes of food and stuff. She said, "You're going to hell but I love you." I tried to see if I could conform, so I enrolled in the navy. I turned 18 in boot camp and was shipped off to Japan. After four months, I hightailed it out of there.
WCT : It was there that you were hung out of a window?
Angelica Ross: They were people I thought were friends. I went to a party and there was a lot of drinking. There were girls and guys in the room. The door was locked behind me and I was interrogated. This one guy was asking me if I was gay and I don't know if it was because he was drunk but he kept repeating to me, "Say 'I'm not gay.'" He grabs me and hangs me out of the window and he keeps repeating it. They finally let me out of the room and I went to the chief. But they came up with the story that the reason why that happened was that I wanted to suck all the guys off in the room and they got upset. It was my first taste of real human indecency. They discharged me with no benefits— just a plane ticket home. I didn't want to sacrifice my life anymore for other people. It was a strong catalyst for me to start transitioning. There's a momentum in our community now, and I feel prepared for the things I'm doing but it's a real battle because not everyone who smiles and sets up programs have the right intentions and vision.
WCT : Can you be more specific about that?
Angelica Ross: We've seen, in big and small ways, a lot of appropriation of people's stories that have turned into a commodity to attract funds or whatever the case may be. We've always had this assessment from the outside of who we are and what we need to "cure us" or "fix us." A lot of programs try to appear that they are informed but they aren't in a real way. I've known girls who have worked for a non-profit and left because they can't handle the politics or the organization benefitting from grant money that doesn't trickle down to the people that actually need the help. When you're in the community, you want to roll up your sleeves and fix what needs to be fixed.
WCT : At the last Trans Day of Remembrance, people said that the "T" in LGBT is silent. Do you agree with that and, if so, what can we do to be more a part of the greater community?
Angelica Ross: It's complicated because we have fundamental and differing issues. Society has a whole struggle separating sexual orientation and gender identity. But there's a wedge that's developed between gay men and trans women. Same thing that I've seen happen between lesbian women and trans man where they can no longer relate as a community. There's a lack of understanding from the "L" and the "G" in a way that we have been pigeonholed as entertainers for the rest of the LGB community.
WCT : But people like Bryan Fischer and Scott Lively don't make that differentiation. They hate us equally.
Angelica Ross: Look—we've got to all make a commitment to true equality. So when certain things become an alarm, like trans women dying, we should all sit up and take notice. Events like Pride are all centered around gay men and lesbian women. I go to events like that and I'm bored to tears. So trans people have to work really hard to make it real because they already are coming from a place of not really having a vested interest in the community.
WCT : Focusing on the Trans 100 event, you've been saying on Facebook that you've had a lot of dresses made for it. How many are we talking about?
Angelica Ross: I haven't landed on a number yet. So far it's four, but I probably don't know what I'll be wearing until the actual night.
WCT : What else can we expect?
Angelica Ross: I'll give you this little tidbit: The showgirls revue has a couple of Chicago legends performing. I will be returning to the stage as a showgirl during that medley and intend to slay the crowd with a great performance! For more information, visit www.thetrans100.com .
