Interview with Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry

Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry is a Colombian-born transgender human rights activist whose work has taken her across four countries and more than two decades of advocacy. Born and raised in Cali, Colombia, she grew up feeling more connected to what society traditionally described as “female things.” Her path to transition was largely solitary. Colombia had no transgender support groups at the time, and Lizethe recalls having to navigate her transition without the community resources, online information, or support networks available to trans people today. One of the few transgender people she knew about was Lynn Conway, whose work she encountered through articles. Her experiences with discrimination began early. Bullying forced her to abandon her university education, and even after completing training for a new career, she struggled to find employment because she was transgender. While she eventually found greater personal peace through her physical transition, she discovered that the more difficult challenge was society's response to her identity. Those experiences became closely connected to her activism. Over more than 20 years, Lizethe has worked with human rights organizations in Colombia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark, addressing different issues affecting marginalized communities. In Colombia, her work included HIV/AIDS; in Germany, she advocated for transgender rights; in Spain, she focused on employment opportunities for immigrant trans people; and in Denmark, she became involved in visibility and human rights for transgender couples. 

 

Lizethe was also involved in the Danish asylum debate surrounding Fernanda Milan, a transgender woman from Guatemala whose asylum claim brought international attention to the question of transphobia as grounds for protection. The case demonstrated to Lizethe the importance of visibility, public discussion, media attention, campaigning, and political advocacy in changing attitudes and policies. Her activism has never been limited to transgender-specific issues. Lizethe believes trans people are part of society as a whole and can contribute by supporting other communities, including women, families facing difficulties, seniors, and people experiencing loneliness. She argues for stronger cooperation within trans communities as well as partnerships with human rights organizations and governments. Today, Lizethe lives in Helsingør, Denmark, where she continues working for transgender visibility and human rights. Outside activism, she enjoys swimming with her partner Alexander, taking walks, keeping up with developments affecting trans people, and continuing to learn. Her perspective is shaped by a life that has crossed continents, cultures, and very different stages of transgender visibility, from a time when she had almost no access to transgender community or information to a present in which she continues to work toward greater freedom and recognition for others. 

 

Monika: Today we are going to Helsingør in Denmark to meet Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry, a remarkable woman and transgender activist born in Colombia. Lizethe participated in many initiatives targeting the improvement of transgender rights in such countries as Colombia, Spain, Germany, and Denmark. Hello Lizethe!

Lizethe: Hi Monika! Thanks for the invitation!

 

Copenhagen LGBT Pride 2012.

  

Monika: You've spent more than 20 years working with organizations defending human rights in Colombia, Germany, Spain, and Denmark. Could you tell me a bit more about that work?

Lizethe: It was a great experience for me, one that taught me a lot about human rights in different periods of my life. For example, in Colombia I worked in the field of HIV/AIDS; in Germany, I worked for the rights of trans people; and in Spain, I focused more on labor insertion for immigrant trans people. Now in Denmark, I work for the visibility and human rights of transgender couples.

Monika: Looking back over that span of time, do you see real progress in the rights of transgender women in these countries?
Lizethe: Yes, I do see progress, because we're talking about a period of more than 20 years. But of course, we still need more rights, especially for trans women of Latin America.

Monika: More and more transgender women are arriving in Europe from other continents seeking asylum from transphobic conditions back home, and in most cases the European governments turn them down. What would it take to change that?
Lizethe: We have a great example right now in Denmark, in the case of Fernanda Milan, who came to Denmark. The Danish government did not grant her asylum. But she is strong, and with the help of other people, campaigns, visibility, and the media, the Danish government has now included transphobia as grounds for asylum in Denmark.
Monika: You witnessed Fernanda Milan's case firsthand, a transgender immigrant from Guatemala whose asylum claim was being decided in Denmark. Could you tell me more about her case?
Lizethe: As I said, we must create more visibility, social discussion, and campaigns around the issue of transphobia. We also need an assertive political discourse to help other countries' governments accept gender identity as valid grounds for asylum.
Monika: And how did the Danish media and the public at large react to Milan's case? Hostile, friendly, or indifferent?
Lizethe: The Danish media were interested in how Fernanda's case developed throughout the whole process, and the public followed the debate too. I t could have gone better, but given that it was the first time Danish society had discussed asylum for a trans person, it was OK.
Monika: You've lived in a number of countries. Where did you actually grow up?
Lizethe: In Cali, Colombia.
Monika: Let's go back to your childhood. When did you first feel that being a boy or a man wasn't who you were?
Lizethe: All my life I felt more identified with “female things”.

Thinking about how to improve the life of trans-brothers
 and trans-sisters in Latin America.

Monika: For many transgender girls, school, college, or university is the most traumatic period, full of discrimination. Was that true for you as well?
Lizethe: Yes, it was very difficult for me. I had to stop my university education because of bullying.
When I finally managed to complete my new choice of career, I had no support or promotion within that sector to help me find work, and the result was that I couldn't find a job because I was trans. My school colleagues all found work. I had no one to help me build a future for my career.
Monika: At what age did you transition into a woman? Was it a difficult process, and did you have support from family or friends? Did it affect your job situation at all?
Lizethe: I'd say the transition itself was not very difficult for me; what was harder was society's response to it. Because those are two different things. When I was alone in my apartment, I felt happy and at peace with myself, but out in the world, I faced a lot of attacks and disregard from other people because of my transition.
Monika: Did you ever struggle with passing as a woman?
Lizethe: When I started my transition, yes, I had problems with passing because my body was still shaped by masculine hormones. Today I don't have any problems with passing as a woman at all.

Monika: Some believe modern cosmetic surgery makes transitioning possible even in your late 50s or 60s. Do you think that's realistic, and what advice would you give transgender women at that age?
Lizethe: I'd say it's more a problem of how society perceives trans women, and of the stereotype of feminine beauty. We need to change that mentality, and the way women in general are looked at. All women are different, and trans women should be accepted as women regardless of their looks.
Monika: Did you have any transgender role models to look up to during your own transition? How much did you actually know about being transgender back then?
Lizethe: At that time I used to read articles about Lynn Conway, a transgender engineer and professor in the USA. She was the only one I knew of. Back then, there were no groups for trans people in Colombia.

In the Danish newspaper, claiming human rights
for trans couples.

Monika: What was the hardest part of coming out for you?
Lizethe: The hardest thing was the transition itself, because I had to go through it alone. There were no support groups, no YouTube transition videos back then.
Monika: What did it feel like when you finally felt you were a woman?
Lizethe: I  felt like a woman the whole time, but once I'd finished my physical transition, I felt ready, and eager, to keep building my life: my professional career, my friendships, my own family, culture, sports.
Monika: And what do you enjoy most about being a woman?
Lizethe: Now I feel free being who I am. I no longer feel discriminated against by society for expressing myself. I never agreed with society's narrow definitions of what is feminine and masculine. I'm not so focused on the body, but more on my feminine spirit, and that inner being has to be free to live life. If I am not free, I cannot live.

Monika: In the USA, more and more transgender women are coming out, and unlike in past years, some of them hold real celebrity status or wide recognition. Do you think Europe and South America will see more women like that too?

Lizethe: No, it's not the same. South and Latin America need more empowerment. They're getting there, but it's difficult. The culture is “macho” and violent. It's very hard for trans women there, and even harder for trans men. There's little to no visibility.

In Europe, we need more solidarity and mutual help among trans people, especially in the workplace and in sport. There are good examples in Europe of trans people in parliament, but we still need more collaboration among ourselves.

Monika: And yet we still hear horrifying news about transgender women being killed or beaten. What do you think it would take to prevent that?

Lizethe: First, we need to pool human, economic, and political resources and build large-scale projects. We also need to collaborate with other human rights institutions and with the government. And we need to make these projects visible through the media and public discussion.

We also need to work with trans communities to identify potentially dangerous situations, ones where someone's life could be at risk. Once you can identify those situations, it becomes possible to prevent them.

With her man, a trans human rights activist too.

Monika: Are you active in politics yourself, any lobbying campaigns? Do you think transgender women can make a real difference there?
Lizethe: I think we can make a difference, but also by giving our service to other, non-trans communities, families with problems, women with problems, seniors, lonely people, and so on. Because we, as trans people, are part of all these communities and of society in general. They face the same problems we do.
Monika: Has anything you've read recently, a book or article, shed new light on the transgender experience for you?
Lizethe: Yes, something about the Danish woman named Maria Hanning, the youngest transgender person to undergo a sex change in Danish history. She creates positive visibility for young trans people.
Monika: What do you usually do with your free time?
Lizethe: Normal things. I do sport, like swimming with my partner, Alexander. I still work on trans visibility online and keep updating my knowledge on trans issues. I take walks here in the quiet city where I live now, Helsingør.
Monika: Quite a few transgender women end up writing memoirs. Has that idea ever crossed your mind?
Lizethe: Maybe in the future, once I have more experience to draw on. But I'd want to write it not just for myself, but for everyone, not only trans people.
Monika: Would you say you're a happy woman today?
Lizethe: Yes, I've always felt very happy with myself and my spirit. And even more so now, because I have a life project with one person, my partner. That's very meaningful to me.
Monika: Lizethe, it was a pleasure to interview you. Thanks a lot!

All the photos: courtesy of Lizethe Alvarez Echeverry.

© 2013 - Monika Kowalska  

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