Jennifer_Boylan

This requires more than a paragraph to answer.

Gender is a social construct; I think we all understand that. I mean, there are girls' bikes and boy's bikes? Seriously? Bicycles are gendered? That's just silly.

On the other hand, gender is also biology. And transsexuality clearly has biological and neurological components to it as well.

Trying to separate whats a matter of culture and what's a matter of wiring, of course, is the way one could keep oneself busy for years.

I think as time goes on science will tell us more and more about the neurological differences between male and female.

That said, it's not "neurology" that determines whether we live our lives with dignity or honor. That's up to the people around us, and to some extent to ourselves as well.

Here's my way of cutting to the chase: why don't we just treat everyone with love? It may be that if you open your heart, and accept that many other people experience "being human" different from your own self, that all sorts of things will make sense. As my mother used to say, "the heart knows what the brain will know tomorrow."

I am sure that I don't want to engage in a back and forth on this with you. But I would ask that you respect the transgender person's experience of being alive. You're saying that instead of going through a procedure that enabled me to have my insides and my outsides match, so that I could feel at ease with my self, that I should have somehow "corrected the thought patterns." I truly don't know what this means. My thoughts weren't wrong. And anyway, it wasn't thoughts: it was a complete sense of self, a soul, if you will. I can't imagine wanting "correction" so that I did not have my soul any more, can you? That sounds terrible.

I feel very lucky that I was able to achieve a sense of wholeness and happiness and completeness. I know it's hard to understand what trans people feel, but I am asking you to open your heart, and try to imagine.

If you were blind, and could have your sight restored, I reckon you would say, yes, please. You would do that in a heartbeat.

It was a quiet, thoughtful moment. Kind of like after Frodo finally throws the ring into Mt. Doom. He just turned to Sam (or in my case, my wife Deedie, who was sitting by my side,) and said, "it's done!"

What's known to me already is that it's silly to wear a skirt when you're riding a bike, unless you're riding one in Victorian England.

Pad Thai noodles.