Janet Mock on Embracing Who She Is

Less than five years ago, Janet Mock was like any other career woman in New York City. After finishing grad school, she worked as an editor for People. Then in 2011, Janet decided to share her story of growing up as a trans girl in the magazine Marie Claire.

Janet says she didn't want to become "othered" when she told her story. "I still think that for most people the most interesting part about me is my transness. And so for me, I still feel like there is an 'othering' about that," she says. "But I think there's a lot of power in saying that I will proudly and unapologetically embrace that part of my identity for once, the one part of my identity that I was taught growing up to be silent and shamed about."

Janet says owning one's identity is something everyone faces in his or her own way. "I will stand here in that complicated mist of existing as a person, as a trans person, as a trans woman," she says. "I think that there is power in that, but there is still an othering attached to any kind of labels that I think that kind of qualifies personhood or human."

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