Anna Nguyen

She Speaks Up and Sticks Out!

Not only an openly trans gender women but a model and an activist.

Anna Nguyen was born in London and raised in Vietnam and moved to Austin in 1975. Anna held a tech job just as any other person and always knew she left different however was fearful of bringing shame to the family.  She decided to see a gender specialist to help figure out her path and realized that it would make her happy to spend the rest of her life as a woman. Anna came out to her current wife in Sept 2013 knowing it would be a difficult journey for them both. After coming out to her wife she decides to take a leap on Halloween, she decided to fully dress as a woman. As a PANAM stewardess, she impressed everyone and won a costume contest. Everyone was shocked at how in character she was and how beautiful she looked and by the time she transitioned everyone already had an idea of who she truly was. By 2014 Anna’s transition was complete. Her family came around and the day her dad actually called “Anna” was a revolutionary day for her, she had felt the support for her Dad and it meant the entire world to her.

She credits her feminine appearance for the ease of her transition other who are more masculine have a harder time completing the transition and face a lot more hate crime and judgment. Ana considers herself lucky, she realizes that her transition has been a great experience and used that privilege to inspire her activisms for the queer community and also for transgender women of color. She has put herself out there in every way possible because she believes that if she can be seen as a representation of a transgender, gay, or person of a social minority it can change people's perspectives as to who our community truly is. Very often people are misguided and are filled with the opinions of others but when you get to meet someone and actually realize they are human just like you “it changes things”. This is what Anna does, she is that ONE person that “Speaks up and Stands Out” to advocate for everyone within the community. Anna says, “someone who is gay or trans is no different from someone who is left-handed or allergic to cilantro”.

Anna was President of PFLAG for 7 years before becoming VP of Operations and continues her activism and explains that “Just because it doesn’t affect us doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be present”. She is not afraid to be in harm’s way to stand for social justice. Anna along with 13 other protesters blocked the Lamar Street Bridge during the Brett Kavanaugh’s controversial confirmation to the U.S. supreme court and Austin City Limits. She also has a sign and fixture at the Texas State Capitol that states “Transphobia makes baby Jesus cry”. With no regrets and the enthusiasm to make good trouble, Anna encourages all to “protest, write letters and call you representatives” and when people make jokes about LGBTQ people, immigrants, women, etc. speak up and stick out for the population. PFLAG continues to grow, from 3 support groups to 6 active support groups and new people daily.

Ana Nguyen “Top Ten Queer Hero” in 2016, awarded the “Daughters of Bilitis” award by the Queer Women in Leadership in 2018, LGBT Female Grand Marshal of Austin in 2019, Fashion Week model in New York, London, LA, and India, and currently working for IBM’s “Tech Re-Entry” Anna Nguyen sets a whole new example for everyone around the world.  

https://pflagaustin.org/blog/2019/7/1/anna-nguyen-speaks-up-and-sticks-out