Tyler Ford is a writer, activist, actor, and public speaker who advocates for

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

and

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

people. Ford appeared as the first transgender contestant on ''

The Glee Project ''The Glee Project'' is an American reality television series from Oxygen. It served as an audition for the Fox musical comedy series ''Glee'', and the prize for the winner was a minimum seven-episode arc in the following season of the show. The ...

'' in 2012. Ford lives and works in New York City.

Life

Designated female at birth and raised by a single mother in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

, Ford transitioned to male in college, but later came to identify as

agender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

. Ford is of mixed black and white Jewish ethnicity. Their writing and speaking frequently addresses their challenges living as a transgender

person of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

. Ford gained national attention when

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

brought them as her date to The Foundation for AIDS Research (AMFAR) gala in 2015. Cyrus sought to raise awareness of people with non-binary gender identities as part of her

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

advocacy work with the

Happy Hippie Foundation The Happy Hippie Foundation is an American non-profit organization founded by entertainer Miley Cyrus on September 17, 2014, and officially launched to the public on May 5, 2015. The foundation focuses on youth homelessness (particularly among L ...

; Ford and their friend

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

joined Cyrus in that effort.

Work and activism

Writing

Ford wrote an article for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' in 2015 and has written multiple articles for ''

them. ''Them'' is an American online magazine, online List of LGBT periodicals, LGBT magazine launched in October 2017 by Phillip Picardi and owned by Condé Nast. Its coverage includes LGBT culture, fashion, and politics. History In 2017 Picardi, ...

'' in 2017 and again in 2018. They have written for MTV, ''

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

'', and other web sites.

Public speaking

Ford has presented at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

(SXSW). They gave the opening remarks for New York Youth Pride parade in 2018, in which they talked about their coming out and transition.

Television

In June 2017, Ford began voicing a non-binary character Milo on the

Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pri ...

animated series ''

Danger & Eggs ''Danger & Eggs'' is an American animated series created by Mike Owens and Shadi Petosky that premiered on Amazon Video on June 30, 2017. The show focuses on the adventures of a "gender-free female lesbian child and her giant large-gamete friend," ...

''.

Awards and recognition

Ford was named as one of

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's best

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

stars in 2015, and as one of the

Dazed ''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...

100 visionary talents in 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Tyler 1990s births Non-binary writers American LGBT rights activists Living people Transgender rights activists LGBT people from Florida LGBT African Americans People from Boca Raton, Florida Activists from Florida Vanderbilt University alumni Writers from Florida Non-binary activists Agender people