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‘Mormon Land’: 2018 grad discusses the challenges he faced and the fears he had as a transgender student at BYU

(Isaac Hale | The Daily Herald | The Associated Press) In this Oct. 18, 2017, photo, Andy Winder, then a senior at Brigham Young University, who is also transgender, poses for a portrait in Provo.

(Isaac Hale | The Daily Herald | The Associated Press) In this Oct. 18, 2017, photo, Andy Winder, then a senior at Brigham Young University, who is also transgender, poses for a portrait in Provo.

By https://s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/sltrib/d23c9c3d-6a35-4583-8f7c-a59ca4e57a79.png The Salt Lake Tribune
 | May 1, 2019, 2:10 p.m.
| Updated: 3:34 p.m.

Matt Easton made headlines around the world after stating during his recent valedictory speech at Brigham Young University that he is “proud to be a gay son of God.”

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its flagship school aren’t the easiest places to be an LGBTQ member and student. Belonging to those institutions can be especially challenging for transgender individuals, for whom the rules are even muddier.

Andy Winder knows that firsthand. He started undergoing hormone-replacement therapy during his sophomore year and lived, worked and studied in near-constant fear that he would be expelled.

Winder made it to graduation — in 2018 — but the path to a diploma didn’t come without bumps and bruises, twists and turns. The 21-year-old writer discusses his journey on this week’s “Mormon Land” podcast.

Listen here:



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