“Talking to students in general is sort of the main focus of my public speaking and the reason for that,” Bailar said. Talking about gender identity to people when they’re younger helps them form their own identity and what they perceive as “normal,” he said. “We expected didn’t have as many trans/LGBTQ inclusion resources … and we heard from the requests feeling like it would be a really good thing to bring that sort of exposure,” Bailar said. Bailar said Kansas wasn’t purposefully his first stop, but it was a place he had on his mind. The talk at WSU is a part of his fall speaking tour that also includes stops at the University of Kansas and Kansas State. He has also appeared on the Ellen Show and 60 Minutes. native, has given over 100 talks at universities, corporations, and conferences. “I obviously decided to end up swimming for the men’s team, and that decision was mainly hinged on the fact that I knew that that was going to make me the happiest and was what was right for me.”īailar, a Washington D.C.
I said no at first,” Bailar told The Sunflower in a phone interview. The event is a part of WSU’s Diversity Lecture series.īailar originally committed to compete for the women’s swim team at Harvard, but after he took a gap year due to mental health issues and realized he was transgender while receiving mental-health treatment, the men’s coach extended an invitation for him to join the team. Schuyler Bailar, the first transgender athlete on an NCAA Division-I men’s team, will speak Thursday at Wichita State about LGBTQ issues, masculinity, mental health, and eating disorders. Transgender swimmer, Schuyler Bailar, ’19 came to Harvard recruited for the women’s team and became a member of the men’s team.