AC Dumlao
| AC Dumlao | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | December 17, 1990 |
| 🏫 Education | Vassar College |
| 💼 Occupation | Activist, educator, artist |
| 🌐 Website | callmethey |
AC Dumlao (born December 17, 1990) is a transgender, non-binary, Filipino-American activist, educator, and artist, whose work centers and uplifts underrepresented and multiply marginalized people and communities. Dumlao was named a WorldPride Community Hero in 2019 during the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Dumlao has also been recognized by Parity and the New York State Comptroller for their activism.
Personal life[edit]
Dumlao was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Long Island, New York. Dumlao is the child of first-generation Filipino immigrants. Dumlao is the oldest of three siblings. Dumlao graduated from Archbishop Molloy High School, a private Catholic high school in Jamaica, Queens in 2009. Dumlao considers coming out about their sexuality to their conservative Catholic Filipino family as the biggest risk they ever took, and is driven to help others through the visibility of their own experiences.[1]
Dumlao attended Vassar College, where they studied Drama and Psychology. At Vassar, Dumlao was involved in theatre directing, and wrote their thesis on boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb. Dumlao has cited their theatrical education and training as foundational in guiding their work and values.[2]
After graduating from Vassar in 2013, Dumlao worked at Magnetic and M+R, where they developed a background in advertising.
Dumlao came out as non-binary in 2016.[3] Before college, they had little understanding of a gender spectrum beyond the normative male-female binary. They have described the positive impact that coming out as non-binary and finding the appropriate language had on their mental health, self-perception, and sense of belonging.[4] Dumlao has described their understanding of gender fluidity and the gender spectrum as “multi-dimensional galaxies that are filled with the intricacies of ourselves from gender expression to our hopes and dreams.”[5]
Activism[edit]
In an interview, Dumlao acknowledged how their intersectional experiences inspire their work: “As a non-binary person navigating the world with non-European facial features and a petite brown body that is cis-assumed, I share experiences of both my social dysphoria and gender euphoria as a way to not only create visibility, but to work through my continual discovery process of what non-binary identity and expression mean to me.”[3] Dumlao has often cited the importance of visibility and intergenerational engagement in their work.[3] They consider Marsha P. Johnson as one of their idols.[1]
Dumlao is the founder of Call Me They, a social media platform on Facebook that uplifts trans and social justice issues, topics, and news, and has a combined follower base of 20,000+ across Facebook and Instagram.[6] Dumlao has also run an Instagram platform and written on exploring fashion and clothing as non-binary vehicles for self-care and expression.[7] As an activist and educator, Dumlao has written and spoken on transness, queerness, Asian American and Filipino American formation, and their respective intersections, and has been featured in NBC, Allure Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, Vice Media, Business Insider, and more.
Dumlao is a Program Manager at the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), a civil rights organization advocating for transgender equality through litigation and policy work. At TLDEF, they manage The Name Change Project, which connects low-income transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) people with pro bono legal representation to navigate TGNCNB clients’ legal name change processes.[8] Dumlao also leads TLDEF’s Public Education and Community Education initiatives, and is the lead trainer for trans cultural competency programming.
Dumlao centers theater in their activism and community engagement. Dumlao performs with AfterWork Theatre, and currently serves on the Afterwork Theater’s “Strike-A-Chord” Core Committee for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dumlao directed and co-produced Post Traumatic Supe Delightful (PTSD), a theatrical program addressing campus sexual assault. PTSD premiered at The Kraine Theater as part of the 9th Annual FRIGID New York Festival, and has toured nationally, with stops including Middlebury College, Rice University, and Goshen College.[9] Dumlao has also directed The Forest by Antonia Lassar, Say My Name: A Benefit Concert for the Trevor Project (Davenport Theatre), Glutton for Punishment (EstroGenius Festival, Best Director Award); Between (Gallatin Arts Festival).[citation needed]
Dumlao has advocated for mental health awareness, with a special focus on where mental health intersects with race and gender. As a trans non-binary person of color with experiences with mental illness, Dumlao cites the prevalence of white, cis figures in mental health spaces as a driver of their work to end stigmatization of mental health and medication for queer and trans people of color.[5]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "#RedefineAtoZ: AC Dumlao Wants to Help Make Activism Inclusive". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Archive from Monday, July 7, 2014 - One Year Out: Angela Dumlao '13, Assistant Director of SeaWife - Admission - Vassar College". www.vassar.edu. Archived from the original on March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Dockray, Heather. "This educator wants to give non-binary people the visibility they deserve". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Tourjée, Diana. "Gender Marker X: One Person's Journey Beyond M or F". www.vice.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "PAUSE. — AC Dumlao - Artist, Educator, and Advocate". PAUSE. Archived from the original on 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ News, A. B. C. "Video: 'Call Me They' founder talks working to make non-binary, trans stories visible". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2021-03-27. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Masc/Femme: Getting Genderfull With AC Dumlao". Autostraddle. 11 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 27 March 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Stahl, Dan. "Making a name for yourself: For trans people, it's 'life-changing'". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2021-03-27. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hodson, Hannah (27 February 2015). ""Post Traumatic Super Delightful" Uses Laughter To Talk About Campus Sexual Assault". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 27 March 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
External links[edit]
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