Matt Kailey
1955-2014
Matt was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He earned a BA in Sociology and Psychology from Iowa State University, and an MA in Education from the University of Missouri– Kansas City. From a young age Kailey knew he felt different, and though his journey took many years he eventually began his transition in 1997 at the age of 42. He began writing for Out Front, eventually becoming editor and making him the highest-ranking trans journalist of an LGBTQ publication. He became known for his column for people seeking trans-masculine advice, and his blog Tranifesto. From 2002-2003 he won awards for his short stories, notably Cam’s Decision based loosely on his experiences. In 2006, he won the Lambda Literary Award finalist for his book Just Add Hormones: An Insider’s Guide to the Transsexual Experience (2005). Matt taught courses in psychology, human sexuality, and transgender studies at Red Rocks Community College, and Metro State University of Denver. Matt died in May of 2014 of heart failure.
“What I’d say to young people, specifically, is that you’re going to change the world,” Matt once said. “You’re going to change how our world views gender, how it views sexual orientation, how it views people that are different. And so it may seem difficult or impossible, because you’re still struggling under the same constraints that all of us have throughout our life in this world. You’re still struggling with a male-female gender binary system, but you are the ones that are going to change it. And that’s why it’s so important for you to come out as who you are. Because that’s how you
can change it.”