Third Place Amber Rodriguez
Beyond the Binary
Generation Z is notorious for breaking rules and paving the way for freedom of gender identity and expression. Although LGBTQ rights have expanded since this generation’s birth, a slew of anti-trans bills across the nation, including Nebraska, are threatening the marginalized community of LGBTQ youth and adults. A glimpse into the lives of two young adults in the transgender community of Lincoln, Nebraska, represents a margin of those exploring their gender identity, embracing the journey, rebelling against the hate, and fighting for future generations.
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From left: LGBTQ friends Olivia Campuzano, 21, and Mari Pilling, 21, sit together on the lobby steps of their shared apartment building on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Olivia Campuzano uses she/her pronouns and identifies as a transgender woman. “The generation directly above Gen Z really set the playing field when it came to sexuality and that made Gen Z the age of neo pronouns, or multiple people on the street being some type of queer. All that meshing together made it so that people can express their identities in more complex ways,” Campuzano said. Mari Pilling uses they/she pronouns and identifies as a demigirl, someone who partially identifies as a woman. “I believe we're bringing a fresher outlook on life and a new perspective that I think past generations have just shot down immediately and we're bringing new concepts and ideas, but you have to realize that the world evolves together,” Pilling said. Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism
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Olivia Campuzano, 21, begins a weekly morning routine as a transgender woman by shaving her facial hair in her apartment bathroom on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Campuzano started her hormonal replacement therapy in May 2021, since then she noticed changes in her body, such as smoother skin and thinner facial hair. “Facial hair makes me dysphoric,” Campuzano said. “Over time, HRT makes me feel better about my face, so I don’t have to shave as often.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Mari Pilling, 21, with a big smile, replicates an old photo of themself standing on the football field of Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Pilling took the first picture on the 50-yard line of the field in 2019 before being accepted into the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as a student and coming out about their gender identity. “I wanted to recreate that after me coming out from last summer and just how I evolved and became more comfortable in my own body and expressing myself,” Pilling said. Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Olivia Campuzano, 21, applies black eyeshadow on her eyelids during her makeup routine in her apartment bathroom on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Campuzano began experimenting with makeup in her transgender journey during the summer of 2022. “It was kind of scary at first,” Campuzano said. “I only ever did it late at night in my bedroom, but I was able to work up my confidence over time to go out in public.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Mari Pilling, 21, poses in front of a demigirl pride flag with arms covering their bare chest in their apartment on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Pilling, like some members of the transgender community, battles a complex love-hate relationship of their breasts as an assigned female at birth who wants to be perceived genderless at times. “I have those days where I don't want to have a chest at all or would rather have a flat cast, but then there are those days where I do and I'm happy that I have my boobs,” Pilling said. “I definitely enjoy my femineity side and that’s okay, but the more I start to get comfortable with my own body, the more I realize that the androgenous look is definitely what I’m going for.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Mari Pilling, 21, giggles with anticipation for a new hair look while Olivia Campuzano, 21, helps touch up their roots with more black hair dye in their apartment bathroom on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. “Body modification and hair dye help me achieve my overall aesthetic,” Pilling said. “Shorthair has always been my kind of go to. I always have a fun time exploring with hair cut but now that I'm older, I have a better time exploring the hair color and just discovering who I am, who I feel like on the exterior and making sure the exterior matches interior as well.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Olivia Campuzano, 21, lays on her transgender pride flag with over forty HRT medication bottles scattered on the floor of her apartment on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Campuzano kept her HRT medication bottles since the beginning of her transition in May 2021, and continues to accumulate them each month as a memento. “The day I started HRT is incredibly important to me because it’s when the new me was born, who I am now and who I want to be,” Campuzano said. “My final form as person would have to be someone that is easy to trust and be comfortable around, I want to be able to make the trans youth feel safe around me as well as trans adults or any person that needs help to feel safe.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Mari Pilling, 21, with fresh black dyed hair, applies black eyeliner to their bottom eyelids for an evening makeup look in their apartment bathroom on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. Pilling loves to express their genderless identity through unisex clothing, dark shades of makeup, tattoos and piercings. “I want the art that has brought me up to this point to be represented with who I am on my skin,” Pilling said. “I definitely believe that you wear your heart on your sleeve and I'm literally putting that at practice and making sure that my story is literally left on my body.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Mari Pilling, 21, stands in silence with the demigirl pride flag wrapped around their body to protest the nationwide anti-trans bills in front of the Nebraska State Capitol on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. “Being in Nebraska or being in a red state comes with its moments, you don't know if someone's going to yell at you, scold you or preach at you, so it's always important to be aware of your surroundings and making sure you are in places that are safe and welcoming,” Pilling said. “I think one of the most important things about our generation is speaking out and showing up because we are starting to realize more and more with these anti trans bills that if we show up and we speak out, we have strengthened numbers, and it could do a lot of good.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism -
Olivia Campuzano, 21, stands in silence with the transgender pride flag outstretched by her hands to protest the nationwide anti-trans bills in front of the Nebraska State Capitol on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Lincoln, Neb. “Living in the state of Nebraska as a transgender adult is worrisome for my safety and the safety of the transgender youth. There are bills in the country that are being proposed to take HRT access and gender affirming care away, and it makes me feel uncomfortable here in the Midwest,” Campuzano said. “The queer communities down here can be very tight knit, but the more bills that get proposed to take away the rights of trans people, the less safe it gets.” Photo by Amber Rodriguez / Junior / Journalism