Interview with Jamie Roberts

In a world that often asks transgender women to fight simply to be seen, Jamie Roberts meets every challenge with both fierce intellect and unwavering grace. A graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law and a dedicated public defender in LaGrange, Jamie is not only a tireless advocate in the courtroom but also a guiding force in her community. She has served as Chair of the Board of Directors for Georgia Equality and as Treasurer for Atlanta Gender Explorations, roles through which she has shaped policy, mentored countless others, and reminded us that change begins with courage and connection. Her activism is deeply personal, rooted in the understanding that true justice must include safe shelter, affirming healthcare, and the dignity of self-determination for all transgender people. Jamie knows the cost of visibility: rejection, violence, loneliness, but she also knows its reward. 

 

Through every loss, she found her voice. Through every injustice, she crafted a roadmap for others to follow. Her story is one of resilience, hard-earned wisdom, and an unshakable belief in the power of solidarity. What makes Jamie especially remarkable is the tenderness with which she balances sharp political insight and profound emotional truth. She speaks candidly about dysphoria, internalized biases, the ache of lost friendships, and the long road toward self-acceptance. Yet through it all, there is a quiet fire in her words, a love of community, of justice, and ultimately, of herself. In this interview, Jamie reflects not only on policy and progress, but also on what it means to survive, to serve, and to love, starting with learning to love oneself. Let us now listen to Jamie, as she speaks with clarity, conviction, and a voice that deserves to be heard.

 

Monika: Today, I have the pleasure and honor of speaking with Jamie Roberts, an inspiring American transgender activist. Jamie is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law, a public defender in LaGrange, the former Chair of the Board of Directors for Georgia Equality, and currently serves as Treasurer of Atlanta Gender Explorations. Jamie, welcome, and thank you so much for joining me today!

Jamie: Hello Monika! Thank you for having me. I'm really looking forward to our conversation.

Monika: You’ve been deeply involved in transgender advocacy in Atlanta for many years. In your view, what is one of the most urgent issues facing the trans community there today?

Jamie: I believe the biggest challenge for the trans community in Atlanta is to create stable short-term emergency shelters, as well as longer-term supportive housing for trans people. The shelter and care system we have to deal with now in Atlanta is private and faith-based, which means they believe their god does not approve of trans people. Any trans person who seeks shelter with them must be housed according to the sex or gender assigned to them at birth, and the clothes you wear in their shelter must reflect the same.

 

Atlanta TDOR Speaker
Jamie Roberts (YouTube)

 

Monika: That sounds incredibly harmful. How does this policy affect trans individuals, especially trans women, in practice?

Jamie: This policy, which is universal throughout the city, presents an untenable choice to trans women in particular, who must be housed with abusive men and wear male clothes to get shelter. This deeply distressing situation has been linked to higher suicide rates among trans women, and others to rely on sex work to survive. If no one is going to give us shelter that is safe and respects our dignity, then we as a community must figure out a solution ourselves.

Monika: Could you tell us about Georgia Equality’s goals when it comes to supporting transgender people?

Jamie: Georgia Equality seeks to better the lives of trans people by lobbying city, county, and state lawmakers, as well as other policy decision-makers, to pass laws that allow us to attend safe schools, find employment without discrimination, use public accommodations without discrimination, access safe medical treatment, and build families without being told we can’t marry unless we sterilize ourselves or that we have to give up custody of our children because of our trans status.
Monika: Within the broader LGBTQ+ community, the transgender cause is often grouped together with those of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people. Do you think this coalition allows the transgender community to advance its own specific goals effectively?

Jamie: You raise an important question regarding our place as fellow activists in solidarity with gay men, lesbians, and the openly bisexual. One problem we will always face, I think, is that our population size is smaller than that of the other letters in the TLBG coalition, especially as long as part-time crossdressers or people who pass very well refuse to identify themselves with us or with the community at large.

Monika: That must make visibility and advocacy much more difficult. How does this imbalance play out within the coalition itself?

Jamie: At the same time, we bear the most violence and discrimination of any identity in the coalition, at times even having our suffering co-opted by the other letters in the coalition, while we ourselves are made invisible as trans people. So the answer to this question is of great import to organizers within our population everywhere. I've joked before with activists from the other letters in the coalition that we're more huddled together out of fear of our common enemies than anything, and it's funny, because there's a lot of truth to that. Often, we don't have a lot in common with the other letters in the coalition, other than our common enemies.

Monika: Despite the differences, do you personally believe in maintaining this alliance?

Jamie: For myself, in my own mind, however, this is sufficient. That we are such a small minority, yet so visible and vulnerable, means we cannot afford to indulge a strategy of engaging with the world in isolation from our most likely allies. Many times, our journey to the "T" makes stops or actively resides within the "L" or the "G" or the "B". 
Monika: Based on your legal experience, what kinds of challenges do transgender individuals typically face that lead them to seek legal assistance? 

Jamie: As a lawyer who represented trans clients in private practice, and who is currently employed by the state to represent people in criminal cases who can't afford a lawyer, I've had a lot of experience with many kinds of issues faced by trans people. Identity issues are always important, how we get the state and private parties to validate and acknowledge our gender identities. 

 

She's watching you to see how well
she'll be treated.

 

Monika: Could you give some examples of the kinds of cases you've worked on? 

Jamie: I had a case where I defended a trans person being evicted from public housing. I've represented trans people many times who were arrested for theft because they couldn’t find a job and were trying to eat or clothe themselves any way they could. I’ve also worked with trans individuals who, broken down by age, disease, or abuse, needed access to disability benefits. Most of the time, it’s giving out bits of advice here and there for free. It’s what I feel I owe the community for my own luck and privilege, because who knows what will happen tomorrow, and I could be the one needing a friend or an ally?

Monika: Besides direct legal work, how else do you support the transgender community? 

Jamie: Many times, I also contribute my technical knowledge and experience to help build institutions that can serve the entire trans community. If we can make them valuable and self-sufficient, then that's the legacy we leave after we ourselves are gone.

Monika: During your transition, were there any transgender role models who inspired or guided you on your journey?

Jamie: Yes, my role models were trans women in my community who built the organizations that were present to help me, I'm thinking of Dallas Denny, Erin Swenson, and Dee Dee Chamblee. These women in Atlanta taught me how to carry myself with dignity and how to have self-esteem, as well as teaching me the history of our struggle.

Monika: What was the hardest part of coming out as transgender for you? 

Jamie: One of the hardest things about coming out was losing my marriage to my wife at the time. In hindsight, it was for the best, because her rejection told me a lot about her character. But it was hard losing that stability. Also, I lost nearly all of my friends.

Monika: How did you cope with those losses and the challenges you faced during your transition?

Jamie: The most insidious part of my coming out was realizing how deeply sexist, ableist, racist, and cisgender cultural norms were embedded in my psyche since birth. This made me feel like a social pariah in many ways, while I still desperately wanted to pass as a cisgender female to the point of obsession. I compared myself to impossible standards of beauty and felt so disappointed when my body did not change exactly as I wanted.

Coping with my dysphoria began a long and painful process of questioning and examining all my preconceived notions about normality, my own internal transmisogyny, and my place in society. It was the start of a long journey of self-reflection that continues to this day. I also had to cope with how the world saw me before and after transitioning, feeling disappointed by so many who let me down. On top of that, I faced physical attacks, vandalism against my property, and public shaming intensely at first, and I had to find a way to manage and hold myself together despite the trauma.

Monika: How would you describe the current situation of transgender women in American society overall?

Jamie: I view the present situation of trans women in America with guarded optimism. While we’ve made many gains in the last decade, particularly with a supportive federal administration working alongside great organizations like the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and Lambda Legal, among others, we are also seeing progress in many local municipalities and state governments.

 

Tracee McDaniel & Jamie Roberts (YouTube)

 

Monika: How does the United States compare to other countries in terms of safety and acceptance for transgender people?

Jamie: That said, we know that the U.S. may not be the best place for trans people to live compared to places like Argentina, parts of the European Union, or even Canada. While our country plays a significant role in global security dynamics, it also remains a dangerous place for many transgender people, with reported rates of violence comparable to some of the highest in the world.
Monika: How do you feel about the visibility and representation of trans women in American media today?

Jamie: Although trans people are more visible in the media than before, and some of our own are becoming celebrities, like Laverne Cox and Janet Mock, we are still frequently maligned and misrepresented. For example, in the same year that Laverne Cox, a trans woman, had a breakout role playing a trans woman (in prison, unfortunately) in a well-received series, we also saw Jared Leto, a cisgender heterosexual male, play a trans woman in Dallas Buyers Club. The character was terribly written and perpetuated the “tragic trans” stereotype common in media created by cisgender people who add trans characters simply to exoticize or titillate their stories.

Monika: Can you elaborate on the problems with that particular portrayal and its impact on the trans community?

Jamie: In Dallas Buyers Club, the trans woman character, Rayon, was never addressed with female pronouns despite the film’s promotion labeling her “transgender.” She wasn’t based on anyone the real Ron Woodruff knew but was included merely as a plot device to show his moral evolution while dealing with AIDS. Everyone in the film was mean and violent to her, and she was there only to suffer nobly, without critiquing or resisting her treatment. Meanwhile, Jared Leto has won many awards for this role, focusing on how he humiliated himself to play it, yet refuses to acknowledge that he profited from our pain and tears. He won’t even use female pronouns for the character, instead calling trans women “creatures.” Meanwhile, real trans actresses struggle to get roles, and this kind of portrayal only reinforces harmful stereotypes and invisibility. It’s infuriating!
Monika: Could transgender rights become the new frontier in the ongoing struggle for human rights?

Jamie: Certainly, our Vice President Joe Biden said so last year, so there must be some truth to that, at least in the minds of many cisgender people who had never had to consider the issue until confronted with it in everyday life or through the media. We know our struggle is not new but has been ongoing for quite some time. It’s merely a sign of progress that more people are talking about it now and that we can point to specific victories in various places.

Monika: How do you see the path forward for transgender rights in the broader context of social justice movements?

Jamie: I think many people see our recent visibility as a fad or media fixation, but the work continues city by city, state by state, and nation by nation until we secure the universal right to exist as we are and thrive. Our struggle is very similar to other fights against sexism, racism, and more, there can be moments of rapid change followed by years of consolidating gains and pushing toward the next goal. This process takes place over multiple lifetimes and won’t happen on its own. Power and privilege don’t change for the sake of change; they must be shown and persuaded to do so, or they risk losing legitimacy.
Monika: Are you involved in politics? Do you participate in lobbying efforts? And do you believe transgender women can truly make an impact in the political arena? 

Jamie: Yes, I am active in politics. Currently, I serve as Secretary of my County Committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia. I actively campaign for candidates and also lobby elected officials at the local, state, and national levels on many topics, including transgender rights. I believe it is necessary for trans people to be active in politics because it is the best way to ensure that people in power are educated about our lives and can learn to empathize with us. It’s also the best way to shatter myths and stereotypes about us, to appear in public and civil society, and show that we are responsible citizens who have something to contribute to society, given the opportunity.

Many days she feels quite happy
and content with herself.

Monika: Could you share what role love has played in your life and how it has helped you through difficult times?

Jamie: Your question reminds me of a lyric by the poet and musician Leonard Cohen, who said that “love is the only engine of survival.” I also recall a song sung by many, including Whitney Houston, that “learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” Sometimes life and certain people treat us very badly, and we need a way to be resilient, not losing ourselves in anguish and grief. 

Monika: How do you think the need for social connection and acceptance affects transgender people in particular?

Jamie: We must remember that our species is intensely social, and the pain of rejection, ridicule, or ostracism is very real, it can be physically, mentally, and spiritually painful. We evolved to care deeply about what our neighbors think because, in the past, separation from the tribe meant starvation, vulnerability to predators, and death. Those feelings of extreme anxiety from being cut off still persist today. In times past, transgender people had to find ways to be useful to the tribe to avoid complete exclusion. Many became shamans, healers, or filled ceremonial or priestly roles that required some separation from society but were still necessary. Today, we have to think about how we can fill meaningful roles if we are not blessed with family support or don’t pass as cisgender.

Monika: What can transgender people do when they feel lonely or abandoned? 

Jamie: Sometimes, if we’ve been abandoned by everyone, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to get a cat or a dog to give us the unconditional love we need to maintain our own ability to love ourselves or others. We have to find ways to practice self-care in order to heal ourselves, this is that self-love thing I was talking about. Doing these things helps us restore our confidence in ourselves, which others can sense and which, I think, makes us more desirable. After a while, we get pretty good at inventing ourselves, and that’s when we become attractive to others.

END OF PART 1

PART 2

 

All photos: courtesy of Jamie Roberts.

© 2014 - Monika Kowalska

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