Summary: Andrea Petrass lived almost her whole life in South Bend. She was assigned male at birth, and though she was able to play the part of a boy, she knew she wanted to be one of the girls. Without any role models of people who had transitioned, she had no language to express that as an option. In 2015, before her transition, Andrea sat down with Dr. Jamie Wagman from St. Mary’s College. They talked about Andrea’s childhood in South Bend, the messages she received about gender, and how, for much of her life, Andrea struggled with expressing her true self. June is Pride Month across the United States. Celebrate by connecting with The LGBTQ Center at http://www.thelgbtqcenter.org/. Also, our heart felt congratulations to Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Glezman who were married on June 16, 2018. We know that for so long LGBTQ couples, along with opposite race couples, were denied the right to marry by straight, white people. From Loving v. Virgina through Obergefell versus Hodges, the right to marry the person you choose is—and must always be—protected. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.
