I fear for my safety all the time. If I am in a restaurant, a park or in downtown Chicago I get nervous. I am looking behind my back and wondering if someone is going to stab me or hurt me. The abuse I have been getting is pretty awful - I have been met with intolerance, bigotry and gatekeeping.
I couldn't articulate what I was going through but I knew I felt comfortable. I was homeschooled in a very conservative Christian family. It was only in college that I was given the freedom to explore my gender identity. It was during that time that I knew I was trans but 18 years ago there wasn't that vocabulary.
I don't need to take anything to be a trans woman. Just by identifying as one, I am valid. Many people think surgery or hormones define gender identity, but that is not my truth.
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