Avery's Story

Sometimes I wonder what kind of person I might've become had I not been bullied, or bullied others, because of what I am or what others perceived me to be. 

I wonder what my life could have been like had I the courage to be who I am at an earlier age.  

Of course, the world was a much different place--at least in its attitudes toward gender nonconformists--from what it's becoming today.  There was barely even a language to express what many of us felt, especially if we didn't fit into the stereotypes about being transgendered that early trans people, probably unwittingly, helped to perpetrate by living up (or down) to societal and cultural expectations (not to mention some pure-and-simple prejudices) about how people are supposed to live in one gender or the other.

I mean, how could anyone have understood that I loved sports just as much as I loved dresses, and that I prized nice accessories for my bike as much as I cherished fabulous accessories for my outfits?  Or that, as a female, I was still attracted to females?  (Even those who "didn't have a problem" with lesbians couldn't understand that!)

That is why I find it so heartening to see young people proudly announce who they are--and their parents supporting them.

One such child is Avery, whose story was posted the other day on YouTube:

Jacob's Journey

Here is the story of Jacob LeMay, a transgender five-year-old boy:

A Book About Jazz: Music To My Ears

Lately, I've thought about writing a transgender children's book, or one for young adults.

If I do, I won't be the first:  Jazz Jennings of Florida has just published "I Am Jazz".

Her aim, she says, is to show children--whether or not they identify with the gender assigned to them at birth-- what it's like to be transgender.

I want to read it:  It sounds like the kid of book I wish I could have had when I was growing up.

Even more to the point, she's living the life I sometimes wish I could have lived:  She began living as a girl at age five.

His Son Is No Longer In The Closet

I won't make any "trapped in the closet" jokes.  I promise.

Too late, you say.  Oh, well.  At least you might know what's coming next:  R. Kelly's son came out as transgender.  

Thirteen-year-old Jay came out to his mother, who has given him her full support.  However, it seems that Dad is not aware of the situation.

It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how he responds to the news.  After all, for all of his talent, he's best known for peeing on teenaged girls in the sudience during one of his concerts.