In my situation I was different not because of anything obvious like toys or the way I presented myself or who I was attracted to, but because of my attitude and view of the world-things that are very hard to see.

I was interested in trans when I first saw a trans woman in London when I was 10 years old. I simply saw a strong person being who she wanted to be, damned the torpedoes and what other people thought. That’s what attracted me to her as a person more than anything.

Dealing with the issue of how distorted our society is by the commercial and political mechanism that control us and it’s impact on our attitudes and perceived sexuality is extremely complex. For me, this is what trans was about and it would have been extremely difficult to diagnose and understand at a young age. I still don’t understand it very well.

But for others, it’s more black and white.

I suspect for most people knocking on the trans door, it’s a very gray and complex emotional and psychological area and we currently don’t have the tools and knowledge for our institutions and parents to understand to help guide the child. So getting out of the house and out of high school seems to be a critical first step for most trans people before they consider any hormones or surgery.