Interview with Dawn Ennis
Date31 July 2025
Mediumborn digital audio file
DimensionsDuration: 34 Minutes, 48 Seconds
ClassificationsInformation Artifacts
Credit LineCommunity History Project Collection
DescriptionAudio file of interview with Dawn Ennis. She was interviewed by Francis Goldberg-Doyle on 31 July 2025 in Hartford, Connecticut.
Dawn Ennis was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
When addressing her moment of change, Dawn recalls her coming out in 2013. To Dawn, change, though scary, is something one must embrace, even if there is a lack of control over change.
Dawn describes experiencing gender confusion in her youth, stating, “I don't understand why everybody says that I'm a boy when I know I'm a girl.” Coming out was tumultuous for Dawn, as she faced great media backlash for her transgender identity. Initially, there was support from her workplace, but two months after coming out, due to the media spotlight, Dawn had a breakdown and opted to go back to presenting as male. After that, she decided nothing would make her continue to present male, with the exception of her daughter's Bat Mitzvah.
Prior to her change, Dawn described herself as being more “angry” because she wasn’t “being true.” After her coming out and gender transition, Dawn reflected on relationships, explaining how some people in her family have fully cut her off, while others are still actively in her life. She also notes that her children, since the death of her wife, have come out as part of the LGBT community. Overall, Dawn notices that since her transition, she is much more secure in who she is, more comfortable in her own skin, and she makes the statement that “I’m me.”
Dawn Ennis was interviewed as part of the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History's Community History Project discussing moments of change in her life.
When addressing her moment of change, Dawn recalls her coming out in 2013. To Dawn, change, though scary, is something one must embrace, even if there is a lack of control over change.
Dawn describes experiencing gender confusion in her youth, stating, “I don't understand why everybody says that I'm a boy when I know I'm a girl.” Coming out was tumultuous for Dawn, as she faced great media backlash for her transgender identity. Initially, there was support from her workplace, but two months after coming out, due to the media spotlight, Dawn had a breakdown and opted to go back to presenting as male. After that, she decided nothing would make her continue to present male, with the exception of her daughter's Bat Mitzvah.
Prior to her change, Dawn described herself as being more “angry” because she wasn’t “being true.” After her coming out and gender transition, Dawn reflected on relationships, explaining how some people in her family have fully cut her off, while others are still actively in her life. She also notes that her children, since the death of her wife, have come out as part of the LGBT community. Overall, Dawn notices that since her transition, she is much more secure in who she is, more comfortable in her own skin, and she makes the statement that “I’m me.”
Object number2024.79.59
NotesSubject Note: The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History’s Community History Project (CHP) is a public-facing initiative, focused on contemporary collecting, gathering items of the recent past as well as from events happening today. This program developed community historians to identify, document, and preserve their experiences as residents of Connecticut, and to share these experiences during a series of community presentations. The project focused on the theme "Redefining Moments of Change." Conneticans share stories of people or events who have changed their lives or how they have sparked change in the lives of others.Cataloging Note: Digitization and access to this collection is supported by a Congressionally Directed grant through the U.S. Department of Education.
Subject Terms
- Hartford
- Oral history
- Interviews
- Oral narratives
- Family
- Death
- LGBTQIA+ people
- Transgender people
- Women
- Relationships
- Mental health
- Journalism
- Loss
- Job loss
- Motherhood
- Fatherhood
- Divorce
- Trump, Donald, 1946-
- Biden, Joseph R., Jr., 1942-
- Gender roles
- Gender transition
- Gender identity
- Labor unions
- Women's clothing
- Men's clothing
- Gender therapy
- Publicity
- Male gaze
- Interviews and Oral Histories
- Born Digital Audio
- Community History Project U.S. Department of Education grant
- Redefining Moments of Change Collection
On View
Not on view
30 October 2025
3 October 2025
2 July 2025
