Member-only story
It could be argued we all are transgender survivors. Even if you are not trans but are the ally of one. Crossing the gender border is not for the faint of heart.
When I think back at all the error and trial I went through as I negotiated a gender transition, I don’t know if I would have attempted it at all.
Perhaps the biggest problem I had was understanding my true gender. Sure I can use the excuse again of being raised in the pre internet generation. I felt so alone all the time assuming I was the only boy in the world who wanted to be a girl. By crossdressing in the very few feminine clothes I could get my hands on, I was able to survive this part of my formative years.
Photo Credit
JJ Hart
When I became a teen ager and beyond, I discovered I wasn’t the only boy who wanted to be a girl. When I was fifteen and almost old enough to drive I used to hang out with a friend of mine who could drive. On many days we used to stop in at his aunt’s small variety store for a bottle of pop and a chance to look at her collection of “racy” magazines. No porn but different. Similar to lower class Playboy magazines. Every once in awhile I was rewarded with an article featuring female impersonators. It was a rare occurrence but enough to show me there was another world out there where impossibly feminine men made their living as women. Mostly in far away cities such as New York and San Francisco. On the rare occasions I found such a magazine, it was impossible for me to buy it because of…
