Jun 2, 2015 4 min read

To one generation, the former Bruce Jenner was known as an Olympian, and to another, as a star on “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.” Now, the Caitlyn Jenner story has the opportunity to bridge a generation gap with her debut on Vanity Fair, said transgender Trinity High School graduate Emmett Patterson.

“It’s tapping into an older generation who say, ‘Oh, I never knew anyone who was transgender.’ Well, now you do,” said Patterson.

The Vanity Fair cover story’s headline, “Call Me Caitlyn,” was quickly adopted as a rallying cry for tolerance. But the glossy image is far removed from a typical transgender experience where locals still fight for legal protections.

“Caitlyn has a lot of privilege in many ways that a lot of trans people don’t have,” Patterson said. “That allows her to be out and comfortable and maybe even live authentically more quickly.”

Pennsylvania’s employment discrimination law does not protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Senate Bill 300 and House Bill 300 in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would change that.

“It’s a big deal, because you can get married in Pennsylvania, but then you can go to work and get fired,” said Washington County Gay Straight Alliance Chairwoman Kathy Cameron. “It’s so wrong that you don’t consider it exists, but it does. It’s antiquated, but it’s reality.”

Patterson, who studies at American University in Washington, D.C., teaches a class on transgender health barriers. He said the problems transgender people face are interconnected.

“All of these barriers rely on each other and keep perpetuating,” he said. “You’re not going to get hired because you’re trans, so now you’re not going to get a house or health care or your basic needs met.”

Caitlyn Jenner’s debut started a conversation about transgender issues, which Cameron hopes will be a starting point for people to begin educating themselves and accepting transgender people in the community.

“If more people can learn about what it means to be transgender and they have a way to foster acceptance, if a celebrity being visible is making that possible, it’s a great thing in my world,” she said.

Patterson said he had a different story from many transgender people because of the support he received.

“I think if I didn’t have that family support, as well as support from my mentor and boss who gave me a job, I wouldn’t have made it,” he said. “That’s not hyperbole. It’s very real.”

Patterson said he can be himself “more intentionally” in Washington, D.C.

He was able to reach out to a transgender support group at a difficult time when four of his transgender friends died. Because other group members shared some of his experiences, they understood without Patterson having to explain the implications.

“When people like you are dying all around you, what does that look like?” he asked.

He hopes the same support will come to his hometown. He said there are many transgender people in the county, and he hopes to see them thrive.

For now, Cameron said many transgender people have reason to fear being public about being transgender.

“There are repercussions to being open, out and honest where we live,” she said.