Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Haylee Veazey

Haylee Veazey identifies as a bisexual transgender woman assigned male at birth. She was born and raised in Farmington, New Mexico and grew up in a conservative Christian home. She has an older brother and a sister but was practically raised as an only child since her siblings left home when she was still young. Her father retired as a firefighter and her mom retired as a transcriptionist. From a young age, Veazey knew she wasn’t a boy. She also knew, however, that it wasn’t okay for her to be a girl and, growing up in a religious household, part of her thought she was going to hell. She buried and fought the feelings, the stress, and the dysphoria by throwing herself into her schoolwork by reading, studying, listening, and paying attention. She was bullied in school since people thought she was weird and overweight, so she kept quiet and became a loner with a few friends. She knew she was a woman by puberty and figured out how to recognize herself as a trans woman. She then talked to people online about trans issues. Veazey came out to her mom, and she took it better that she expected, coming to acceptance within six weeks. Her father, however, disowned her but allows her mom to still have a relationship with her. She’s not particularly close to her siblings but her sister is supportive. She’s unsure of her brother, however, since he hasn’t spoken to her since coming out to him. After coming out she remembers her stress levels decreasing and she could think clearer and make better decisions since she was no longer carrying the weight of her identity. Veazey is currently with a trans woman who she met online. She scheduled her gender confirmation surgery, had laser hair removal, and is on hormones since 2014. Before transitioning, she felt safe in public space since people would give her more space and respect but now that she presents as a woman it’s nerve-wracking. It led her to make transgender health care her passion and specialty. She went to medical school and now works at a hospital as a resident physician. In 2016, she initiated an adult gender and sexual health clinic at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.