Digital Transgender Archive

Interview with Quinton Neal

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Quinton Neal was born in the small, rural town of Peoria, Illinois and identifies as black, gay, and gender fluid where she switches between genders. She was assigned male at birth and uses both he/him and she/her pronouns. He kissed boys at a young age around 7 and 8. After her father was incarcerated for committing murder, she lived in shelters and public housing in Philadelphia with her mom and sister. At around the age of 15, Neal realized he was gay and interested in men, so he began having sex with men. She was bullied throughout elementary and high school for being gay and for being interested in cheerleading and feminine related activities. He had to grow up early and be the “man of the house” due to his absent father. She watched her mother struggle to support them. His mom didn’t care for Neal’s feminine gender expression since she’s religious. He now has a pretty solid support system, however, where he’s able to authentically express himself. She went to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale for undergrad. He hasn’t undergone medical transition but is thinking about it. She was pulled over, arrested, and incarcerated recently at the time of the interview but was able to bail herself out and the court dismissed the charges. He was raped years ago by a black man from church. She worked in administration at the LGBTQ Resource Center in undergrad. He’s into performance art and has done many dance and poetry performances.

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