Page 28 - Final 10th Anniversary PDF For Printer

ALWAYS CONSIDERED one day your Peter and the birth. And gender identity boy or girl, came to them
I myself pretty cosmo- next day you are Paulina. As is how a person establishes and said, Mom, I think God
politan and somewhat a caveat to my experience through how they dress, made a mistake, I feel like a
educated when it comes in Thailand, I can also attest hairstyles, voice etc. girl, but I’m a boy. This par-
to most things. I thought to the fact that these young There is no single reason ticular mother never noticed
I knew what transgender men were called “girlie why some people are trans- anything that indicated her
was WRONG; I just knew boys” and they were gor- gender. Experts believe a bi- child was struggling with
the tip of the iceberg. After geous. I don’t mean beauti- ological factor is at play and the gender assigned at birth.
researching the subject, I ful or nice looking, I mean prenatal hormone levels or When her child, now in
hope to share and enlighten knock out breath takingly early experiences later in life high school, announced this
you so you will have a better gorgeous. contribute to this behavior. fact, the very first thought
appreciation of the term that came into her mind was
Transgender. ‘what did I do wrong?’
On April 14 2014, The This Mom, was a very
Supreme Court of India active member of her
recognized the transgender church. She had known
community as a third gen- these fellow parishioners for
der, which led human rights years, yet when she shared
groups to ensure their equal her child’s announcement,
rights and equal treatment. she and her family was
Some say that India leads shunned. She had always
the way for the LGBT com- considered her church
munity in many ways. India, members to be part of her
Indonesia and Thailand, all family, and was shocked
seem to be more accepting at how judgmental these
of this community. I per- ‘Christians’ really were. She
sonally can attest to this fact struggled with trying to ex-
as in 2007 and 2008, I was plain to her child the actions
teaching English as a second of her extended family.
language in Thailand. The family moved to
I can remember on a another state, because Dad
number of occasions when got a promotion. This Mom
Peter was seating in the first sought out what she hoped
seat on the third row right MOM, I THINK would be her safe place, an-
on a Monday, and Paulina other church; same religious
would take his place on sect. After what she felt
Wednesday. No one seemed God made a mistake was enough time and had
to think it was odd; except bonded with this church,
me. In the two years I taught the family was shunned
there, I would say this was By Carol Heath once she shared with them
a weekly practice. Once her child’s struggling gender
Peter became Paulina, she Transgender is often Sex is something assigned at identity.
never went back to Peter. used as an umbrella term for birth, while gender refers to A third family move
My Teaching Assistant people whose gender iden- what society considers ap- ended up with the same re-
explained that many boys tity doesn’t conform with propriate behavior for boys, sults. Now this Mom began
would wait until they were the sex which they were girls, men and woman. I to question her reason for
13 to change their appear- assigned at birth. Gender hope this information helps living as she put it. She had
ance, as a sort of coming of identity refers to a person’s you understand a little about devoted her whole life to her
age ceremony if you will. gut feeling about being the transgender community. husband and children. She
Hey, Jews have Bar/ male, female, or something I interviewed a trans- identified herself as a moth-
Bat Mitzvah, Mexican girls else. Gender expression is gender parent recently and er first. She never worked
have a Quinceanera, Native the way a person commu- was mostly interested in at a job that took her away
Americans have Vision nicates how they feel about finding out how a parent from her home. She drove
Quests, and Thailand have their sexuality assigned at would feel if their child, to all the school activities

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