Sue Bird Is Off My Favs List

With the number of states that are now enacting legislation to restrict or outright prevent gender affirmation treatment for youth, including hormones and surgery, this is an issue that will need to be resolved. It isn't going to go away.

Sometimes nature makes a mistake and assigns a penis to a person whose brain will be aligned with the female gender, and vice-versa. Many will not accept it,and reject a person outright who falls into this category as a "freak of nature" (or worse, making it up to get attention) and want them to be limited in societal participation. Much like the developmentally disabled where long ago locked away in asylums because there was something "wrong" with them.

"Transgender" is an entire spectrum. Some males want to be female. Some females want to be male. Some don't want to change, but don't feel like their assigned gender. Some are gender neutral. Some transgender people are attracted, sexually and romantically, to those within their same assigned at birth gender, some the opposite, some to both equally, some not attracted to anyone of any gender or gender identity. The combinations are endless.

Society today is not ready to deal with transgender issues, but they are not going to go away. Society has barely accepted gay lifestyles. Transgender is very different than being gay. A man being attracted to another man, or woman attracted to another woman is one thing. Some people still find this objectionable. For some who have accepted same gender relationships, they find transgender to be completely abhorrent. Even some folks who are gay do not understand, or accept, a transgender person. How can someone with a penis identify as female? How can someone with a vagina identify as male? Biology with external presentation and internal identity within the brain does not always align. Both are part of a transgender person's biological make up. Nature is not always perfect.

I know a number of people who have transgender children, and know someone at work who is transgender. I have a close relationship with a transgender person, who just recently came to the realization they are transgender. Some want to transition through hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Some don't want to go to that level, but want to be present and be identified as male instead of female or vice-versa. Some just don't feel male or female - known as gender neutral. What I know from all these relationships is that a transgender person is deeply impacted with depression, mental health issues, suicide ideation and drug and alcohol use disorders because of the societal pressure of having to live as a gender they do not identify with. Nearly all of them, once they acknowldedge the fact that they are trans, find a measure of happiness they were never able to find before. Although they still face the societal rejection of who they see themselves to be, so they can never really feel safe. There is a lot of hate, rejection and oppression exerted by external society on these people. No wonder their depression and suicide rates are so high.

The only problem with a transgender person wanting to participate in a sport that is not aligned with the sex organs they were born with is biological males participating in sports typically aligned with biological females. I have mixed feelings on this. I participated in girl's track in high school. I was, for a time, the fastest sprinter on the team. As my younger self, if a biological male were to compete on the girls team, or on another school's team, and I was beat out in races, I would have felt it was grossly unfair. But as a more mature adult, with my greater understanding of the issues that transgender youth face, I can see where allowing that youth to participate in a sport with the majority of participants biologically female could be a literal life saver.

Allowing puberty blockers, hormone therapy (T or estrogen) is one way the field could be leveled for trans male-to-female athletes. I am not in favor of gender reassignment surgery until someone becomes of legal age to make their own decisions. We know the prepubescent or pubescent brain may not understand the permanence of such an act. Hormone therapy, puberty blockers can be stopped. You can't but the parts back as easily.

I think were I come down on the issue is that I would not be in favor of a biological male who is not undergoing any kind of hormone therapy to compete on a girl's team. But if they are undergoing hormone therapy and puberty blockers, I might be more inclined to accept it. It is a shame that many states are now making that option entirely impossible.

People do not advertise that they are transgender, or that they have a loved one who identifies as transgender.  For obvious reasons, and also because it is not their story to tell. You might be surprised at the number of people you know, indirectly or directly, who have a transgender son, daughter, uncle, aunt, cousin, friend, coworker. 

I am a proud transgender ally.  No, I am not transgender myself.  But I respect everyone, except those who harbor hate against others for no reason other than their race, religion, ethnic background, sexuality or gender identity.  Way too much hate in this world, not enough love, and certainly not enough acceptance for people to just "be their authentic self".