I Can’t Carry A Tune

I am tone deaf but there is at least one trans person who isn’t…

'They Know That I'm The Real Deal': Transgender Baritone Makes Opera History
NPR
By Ari Shapiro Heard on All Things Considered
May 30, 2019

This month in Tulsa, Okla., opera singer Lucia Lucas made her U.S. debut. She also made history.

At the Tulsa Opera, Lucas sang the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni. Mozart's character is a ruthless, macho womanizer. Lucas is a transgender woman with a rich baritone voice and is the first known trans woman to sing a principal role on an American opera stage. In a conversation with NPR's Ari Shapiro, Lucas said she doesn't want her performances to be entirely defined by this historical marker.

"It's meaningful because any time something happens for the first time, it's meaningful," she says. "But it shouldn't be meaningful. Trans people shouldn't have a barrier to entry, except for just talent."
[…]
Lucas spoke with All Things Considered about her experience; hear the full conversation at the audio link.

Being out and being trans is one of the best ways to counter transphobia

You don’t have to be an activist to change people minds about trans people all you need to do is be yourself, you don’t need to be on stage, on television, you don’t need to wave the trans flag or leading a protest, all you have to do is be yourself. Go do your job, go do your shopping, and just live your life.

Ms. Lucas when she is on stage singing hopefully people will just be listening to the music and forget that she is trans. I think that is our goal to be seen as a person and not a trans person.