Erica Anderson Comes to Texas State

Dr. Erica Anderson is a leading expert in transgender medical practices. With a successful career in psychology, she’s considered one of the most well-known and respected transgender doctors in America, but her fame extends beyond the medical world.

Having starred on a popular reality TV show in Sweden, Anderson continues to receive invites back to Scandinavia for Pride celebrations. While you might not be able to witness her Swedish celebrity status in action, you can catch her at Texas State University in San Marcos giving a lecture on transgender medicine and education Thursday, Oct. 18.

Today, Anderson is a psychology professor at the University of California San Francisco. But as a specialist in behavioral pediatrics and pediatric endocrinology, Anderson is also part of UCSF's medical staff, assisting in both the greater Benioff Children's Hospital and also UCSF's Child and Adolescent Gender Clinic. At the latter, she works with trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming youth and their families. Anderson tells Qmmunity, most of the children she works with have never met another transgender person before. “I always tell them, ‘Well, that’s not true anymore, because I’m trans.’” This interaction, she notes, helps trans youth associate transness with success. As part of her role at UCSF, Anderson also consults with other healthcare professionals on gender confirming care and assists with training students in the rapidly advancing field of transgender healthcare.

Anderson happily notes, too, that more and more trans folks are entering medical professions pointing out that there are “few older [trans] people that are in the medical field. Many of them that you see are from the younger generations.” But it doesn’t always come easy. “I’ve been discriminated against, and I know other transgender professionals who have been, too,” admits Anderson.

To combat that discrimination, Anderson also holds a master’s degree in theology. This knowledge of scripture, she tells Qmmunity, equips her to better refute religiously-rooted opposition to the LGBTQ community. “There is a difference between what is truth, and what you believe,” Anderson sums up. Truly, it’s her combined knowledge of theology and science that has substantiated her career in transgender advocacy and star power. During her Swedish television career, Anderson became the first openly transgender character on prime time television starring in All for Sverige (Everything for Sweden), for which she was nominated for two GayGala Awards including Trans Person of the Year.

Anderson continues to help expand trans visibility. Her lecture on the gender spectrum at Texas State will dive into both historical perspectives and current trends, while providing advice and insight to the local trans community. Listen in, Thursday, Oct. 18, 7pm, at Texas State University, 601 University Dr, San Marcos.