Madison, Wisconsin: University Archives and Records Management Services
Summary
In her oral history interview with Chloe Foor, Keva Schulz talks about her experience as a trans woman growing up in a heavy Lutheran household. As a child, Keva wanted to present more feminine, but was met with resistance from her family and peers. Through her teen years, she struggled with anxiety and other mental health issues, and often used meditation to cope with them, which was the beginning of her exposure to other spiritualities. She attended college at UW-Madison for Metallurgical Engineering, where she excelled in her schoolwork. At college, she was very involved in Calvary Lutheran, a campus church. While there, she met her future wife. After undergraduate, Keva married her wife and moved out to New York, but came back to Madison for Keva to pursue her PhD in Metallurgical Engineering. It was around this time that Keva came out to her wife, who was supportive. During graduate school, Keva was still involved in Calvary Lutheran, helping them put on “un-talent” shows where she was able to wear women’s clothing. After completing her PhD, Keva started to deconstruct Lutheranism and explore spiritualities. Keva started publicly coming out and starting hormones in 2012; her children and some of her siblings were supportive, but her brother and mother were transphobic towards her. Keva finds it hard to go to church due to the microaggressions her wife receives, and at this point she considers herself a deist and enjoys spending time in nature.