She is bringing more than just the past into this transition...

...she is also bringing her body.

This post is a tribute to her courage.

She came out a couple years ago as being transgender. While not undergoing replacement hormone therapy quite yet, she believes firmly enough in what her brain has denied her anatomy. She is a man trapped in a woman's body.

We were talking last night about this blog, how she reads it often and how personal challenges with which I've warred lately have undercut my efforts in more ways than one. She is a very understanding individual and I feel very comfortable discussing some of the darker sides of my personality with her. We all have ghosts. Some hang out in the future, laughing at us as though we were center stage in a crowded arena full of bad dreams. Some wait in the past until we wrest our ankles against the last link in the ball and chain.

And some hang out between genders, constantly dueling for superiority.

As she departed last night, I encouraged her to "look deeper."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're transgender but you know that already. It's time to start thinking about what you want to stand for. Maybe the courage you have regarding this change can help others in some way."

The suggestion took her thoughts in an entirely new direction. The change that she is about to go through includes a massive emotional and spiritual overhaul.

The only uniquely definitive indication of gender is our biology. Had we no gender, the emotional and spiritual aspects of our existence would still remain. This amazing brave young woman is not taking on a battle that she's never been present for. She is reconciling her physical body with the emotional and spiritual connection she has with the world and those around her.

She is a man.

If anyone would like to reach out to her for support, please send me a message on Facebook or an email at coreystarliper01@gmail.com for her information. Members of the LGBT community deserve a voice, they deserve an identity and at the very least, they deserve the opportunity to be the gender that their hearts and souls have designated for them without fear of persecution by people who have no idea what they've been through.  

posted from Bloggeroid