In a World That is Wrong About Us | Vaughn Darst | TEDxUSC

Within the transgender community, the story of disordered eating is neither unusual nor remarkable. One recent study found that transgender and gender nonconforming youth are four times more likely to have an eating disorder than cisgender youth. The pressure to conform is immense for all young people, and it turns out this burden is dramatically compounded for transgender folks who want to control their body size and shape to meet the world’s expectations. Vaughn's TEDx talk illuminates the needs and challenges facing the young people of their community, in hopes of finding solutions to this complex issue at the intersection of gender, body image, food, and identity. "I’m studying to become an anti-diet Dietitian and I work with people who have eating disorders. I’m also a queer transgender/non-binary person, and I’ve struggled with disordered eating since I was 9 years old. Within the transgender community, my story is neither unusual nor remarkable. One recent study found that transgender and gender nonconforming youth are four times more likely to have an eating disorder than cisgender youth. The pressure to conform is immense for all young people, and it turns out this burden is dramatically compounded for transgender folks who want to control their body size and shape to meet the world’s expectations. My TEDx talk will illuminate the needs and challenges facing the young people of my community, in hopes of finding the solutions we need to this complex issue at the intersection of gender, body image, food, and identity." This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx