PIYAH MARTELL: Well, my birth defect affects me every day.
PIYAH MARTELL: When people see me, they’re like, “Wow that’s a half woman” or, “She has no legs.”
PIYAH MARTELL: I’m very fun, I’m outgoing, I don’t let anything stop me from doing what I want.
I go for my dreams and I live it.
PIYAH MARTELL: It means I was born with a shortened spine and I have to walk on my hands.
PIYAH MARTELL: One in a million people have it, this is rare.
PIYAH MARTELL: My disability affects me outside of the house because I would have to use a skateboard to get
around. And I would either have to use a chair or a power chair to get around so, I normally can’t really do a lot of
things like other people can.
PIYAH MARTELL: My nice little shoes that I wear inside and out of the house so I don’t hurt my hands.
PIYAH MARTELL: Growing up with sacral agenesis. Well, I always saw myself as normal through growing up and through
my teen years going to high school and all that; that’s when a lot of the bullying happened.
PIYAH MARTELL: They’d be rude, just call me names and just be like, “Oh you’re in a chair” or “You have no legs,
you’re an amputee” or whatever. I’m just like, “Oh dear, just keep on going about my positive little life” and
whatever my head thinks inside, it just pushes all those mean people away.
PIYAH MARTELL: I’ve been doing make-up for a very long time, ever since I was 15. It just makes me feel,
makes me feel glamorous, makes me feel beautiful. Makes me feel like, I don’t know, just makes, I just love it
so much and I’m really good at it.
PIYAH MARTELL: I first realized I was transgender, ever since I was younger, I wouldn’t second guess it.
It wasn’t just something that just happened or I just woke up one day and decided “Ok, well, let's go ahead
and start dressing up as a girl because you feel like, a girl.” No, I’ve always known in my heart that I am and it's
just there’s no if’s, and’s and but’s about it. I just, I just am. I have basically a girl's mind and just a boy's body
but, now I’m enhancing it with hormones and making my freaking body pop and make myself look fabulous
so that’s what it’s about, right?
PIYAH MARTELL: I came out to my family when I was 15 and I finally told them, “Ok look, I’m transgender”
and my mom, she already knew.
PIYAH MARTELL: My dad was nuts, he was not very happy with my decision. He didn’t want his son to be a
woman and he couldn’t, it took him a year and we would have arguments about that.
PIYAH MARTELL: It just, it was hard for him.
PIYAH MARTELL: Well, the physical transition for me, what I first noticed, was my skin. I noticed that my skin
wasn’t very rough anymore. I noticed that a lot of fat distribution has been going on with my body and I
started developing breasts and I had a lot of mood swings. I could eat anything like I used to have an
appetite but now I have an appetite like, crazy and it's just..
PIYAH MARTELL: Sometimes I have to stop eating for a bit because I get so hungry
and then I get a little overweight.
PIYAH MARTELL: I just want to let all you guys know
this goes for trans women, trans men, whatsoever: ‘Don’t ever put yourself down for who you are being and
who you are and your soul. And if it's right, do it because you know what, I’m tired of having to validate who I am.
I don’t -- I’m not trying to fool nobody, I ain’t trying to trick nobody, whatsoever. I’m a beautiful transgender woman
and my name is Piyah Martell.
PIYAH MARTELL: Maintaining relationships with my birth defect have have had their ups and downs.
ANDREW MANUEL: People judge me, I don’t care what people think.
PIYAH MARTELL: Well, my first impression of him was,
PIYAH MARTELL: 'What am I getting myself into?'
But then he has this like charm that I just, I was really attracted to.
PIYAH MARTELL: Just like every normal couple we fight, we argue, we bicker.
PIYAH MARTELL: We go throw little temper tantrums here and there but we always come together, and we
make it work and that’s the thing about relationships is you communicate.
ANDREW MANUEL: She’s a very beautiful girl, she’s sweet, she was nice you know. She’s just, she’s wonderful
and, you know, brightens up the day. She’s everything, I call her my angel.
PIYAH MARTELL: My birth defect has not gotten in the way of physical intimate ways with my husband;
I think it's just fine.
PIYAH MARTELL: Well, in the future, I would definitely like, to get top and bottom surgery.
PIYAH MARTELL: That’ll be in future and I can manifest my look more better. Even though I do love myself for,
you know, everything now. I kind of, changed my brain to really just be happy within right now,
for not to get too stressed out.
PIYAH MARTELL: Because it does take time, it takes time.
PIYAH MARTELL: What do I dream of being in the future?
PIYAH MARTELL: To being able to travel the world and to make the world a better place.
Allowing everybody to see me for me and to know that it's ok to be yourself and to be who you are.
