Last night at my peer counseling training, we had a LGBT panel. One thing that struck me was a comment someone made on how the "coming out" process is never done. You have to do it again and again and again. That's why so many will leave small towns and move to big liberal cities, so it's not a big deal. I can't imagine having to do that, I wouldn't want to. It's too bad it has to be a "thing"--where even if you are accepted, people will tend to identify you by your sexuality. And if your preferences change, that had to be a big deal, too. You can't just be doing your thing.

One thing I didn't get, maybe never will, was when they defined transgender. I have never felt like a woman in a woman's body. I am a person (or soul, or whatever) in a body that happens to be female. I would have no problem being a man--though nearly 26 years of socialization as a female would make it hard at this point. But I could have switched ten years ago, and it wouldn't have felt like a big deal for me. Of course, there's nothing for me to get, people should do whatever feels most honest to them. But how common is this idea of an internal, "mind" gender? Do non-trans people feel it, too? I'm glad people are more concerned with people being themselves than sticking to rigid gender roles, but I am curious about how a true self could have anything to do with a gender identity.