A petition on change.org, has called for a transgender woman to be the first runway model for this year’s Victoria’s Secret fashion show.  Carmen Carrera was born a boy who never felt comfortable in her own skin.

She first became famous for her career as a drag queen, when she joined the cast of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2011.

A year later she came out as a transgender women and became a model under Elite Models, even being featured in W Magazine this past August.

Although, in the end, Carrera was not asked by Victoria’s Secret to be in this year’s fashion show, despite over 40,000 signatures.

Carrera should be allowed to walk in future fashion shows. Being transgender shouldn’t matter anymore because every human needs to be treated equally.

Sophomore Chris Mitchell said, “If Carmen was able to become a Victoria’s Secret runway model this would mean the world for the transgender community.”

Mitchell was born as a girl who by the age of three, knew something wasn’t right.

“I didn’t really come out until my junior year of high school.  At California Lutheran, everyone has been really supportive,” said Mitchell.

On the other hand, violence against transgender individuals is 50 percent higher than violence against gays, lesbians and bisexuals, according to statistics released by the Organization of American States.

“I think it’s time society lets people be who they want to be,” said senior Anthony Nuygen.

“We are at a point were it’s okay for gays to marry as well as lesbians, and I feel as if the transgender community should get equal rights as well.”

This past August, Governor Jerry Brown passed a bill that will allow the transgender youth to use whichever bathroom and play on whichever sports team they like.   This applies to transgender students in public K-12 schools.

Some question the governor’s decision to sign the bill, most notably, Assemblyman Tim Donnelly.

In a letter to conservative outlet WND.com, Donnelly wrote that he is now going to take his kids out of public school and put them in a private school.

I don’t understand what the big deal is. If someone wants to be a different gender, we should let that person make his or her own decision.

The same goes for Carmen Carrera, or any other transgender.  Carmen Carrera could easily be a Victoria’s Secret model.  To be honest, she is stunning.

“Who cares if more than half the viewers who will tune in to watch the show are men?  Let this women walk,” said senior Janina Vega.

Even though she wasn’t able to participate in this year’s fashion show, I believe this is not the last we will see of her.

If she is able to walk in the show next year it would be a great thing for the transgender community and it will show that our society can be more accepting.

There is always more we can do to increase equality. For more information on how you can help end discrimination against transgender communities, check out transequality.org.

Zach Kaija
Staff Writer
Published Nov. 20, 2013