Their Love: Nat’s Story

Apr 23, 2021

Nat, a nonbinary Latinx young person, experiences oppression, xenophobia and misgendering from their own family. Their mother has a spiritual experience that reveals the importance of honoring their child’s nonbinary identity. This video, created in a filmmaking workshop led by Outside the Frame and Oregon State University, draws parallels between crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and traversing the gender binary.

Parental support and acceptance can make a lifesaving difference for LGBTQ youth, who are more likely than their cisgender, heterosexual peers to experience depression, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, and other negative health outcomes. Organizations including PFLAG and Somos Familia offer support, training, and resources for parents, families, and allies who want to better support the LGBTQ people in their lives.

This film was produced with support from ENLACE, the “Engaging the Next Latinx Allies for Change and Equity” program at Oregon State University. ENLACE builds solidarity and amplifies youth voices, connecting Latinx and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth in fighting the epidemic of social isolation affecting our queer youth today. Learn more about how these videos give youth the opportunity to transform their experiences with isolation into powerful tools that help others in ENLACE director Jonathan Garcia’s commentary.

Jonathan Garcia , Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Program Director of Global Health at Oregon State University. Born in Medellin, Colombia, his work strives to achieve health equity for Latinx queer immigrants like himself. As Program Director of the ENLACE Program, he amplifies the voices of queer youth to bridge solidarity for public health and social justice. Jonathan earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University. In 2021, he was awarded the ASPPH Early Career Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of his outstanding teaching and mentoring. He is a Public Voices Fellow with The OpEd Project. Jonathan lives in Corvallis, Oregon, and speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese.