Oh god, I can’t even imagine trying and being frustrated so many times! That’s really horrible…

Heroic? I know I did set an example, for a while, ‘back in the day’ (and BTW, I did not continue after that 18 months); but I cannot see myself as a heroine, only as someone who did what she had to do to stay alive.

At one point that meant sex work; at another it meant pretending to be a man; at another it meant being ‘out’; and later being woodworked. I did what I had to.

In terms of succeeding in transition, back then, I see it less as heroic and more as unbelievably lucky. Just by statistics, there had to be 10K trans people in my city at the time. I was one of a dozen women who were transitioning there in 1989.

That’s like winning the lottery.

Thank you for writing, Thea. ❤