What if I did find my birth family after all these years? And how would they handle meeting a young woman instead of a baby boy who should have grown into manhood? I was left with few ideas to reconcile my concerns.
If scholars are serious about producing research that attempts to influence policy change for all families, we cannot continue to "blame the victim." Instead, research must account for the multiple social disparities that both produce and inadvertently sustain all types of families.
Perhaps this makes me gauche, low-brow, or hopelessly insensitive, but if you've written an entire book about your transitioning experience from female to male, yes, I'll admit it: I'm going to have questions about what's happening in your pants.
Jen Richards is the creator of We Happy Trans, a website that interviews trans people from across the country to showcase positive stories of trans life and change the public narrative on what it means to be trans.
True confessions: I had to call Father Toni Amato to get some help understanding the world of Sassafras Lowrey's Roving Pack. It's a world of transgender gutterpunks. The first word I knew. The second, not so much.
My transgender daughter said recently that "stories move the walls that need to be moved." I hope that our Transgender Remembrance Day story will help others begin to "move the walls that need to be moved."
Unlike most conferences that privilege theory over praxis in the fight for transgender equality, the 7th annual Transgender Leadership Summit is uniquely designed to offer strategic practical solutions through a series of skill-building workshops covering a host of topics.
A new investigative piece in The Chicago Reporter illustrates what community groups and academics have long observed, that anti-prostitution laws cause tremendous harm to people engaged in the sex trade, especially those who are LGBT.
A new day is dawning for trans people. The collective and growing momentum of public opinion, medical support, legal action, and media attention make the acceptance of transgender individuals every bit as certain as a rising sun.
By being a pioneer on the campaign trail, a committed social justice activist and a tireless advocate for transgender equality, Dana Beyer is making LGBT great.
The love my wife and I share has not been diminished by my gender transition. It's the same love we have always had for one another. Our marriage is no different from any other committed and loving relationship between two married people.
Michelle Burford interviewed me about how I overcame homelessness, poverty and constant rejection and despair while transitioning from male to female with no support at all. It was a very intense discussion of faith, religion and God. Can one be transgender and loved by God?
I'm sure you can imagine how my prejudices were perpetuated once we realized our child was transgender. I was certain that all Republicans would deny my child his rights, that religious friends would shun us and that seniors would never be able to understand. Tsk, tsk.
Earlier this week the East Aurora School District passed a policy that would provide key supports to trans youth. Soon thereafter the Illinois Family Institute urged people to complain about the policy, and today the East Aurora school district might very well rescind that protective policy.
While being trans in whatever form that takes is burden enough, it is made many times worse by the fact that those who desperately need help must first prostrate themselves before the gods of medicine before receiving treatment.
This week I spoke about the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act with the bill's prime sponsor, New York state senator Daniel Squadron, and transgender activist Melissa Sklarz. Then I talked with City & State managing editor Jon Lentz about their 2012 Rising Stars: 40 Under 40.