Twenty Five Years Ago

She's my age.

But when I was in my early 20's, the idea of transition was light years away from me. OK, I should have been born female, well, so what? The discomfort was minor. I could live with it, it might even go away.

I didn't know that it gets worse.

I was never attracted to boys, and I thought that was necessary. Actually, at that time, so did the medics: I would have been refused treatment on those grounds alone.

Also, I had the build of a footballer, not a cheerleader like her. That was also a disqualifier in those days, only women who were pretty could be considered. Ones who were so obviously feminine that no-one could suspect. Even then, as the surgeon said, he faced social stigma from his peers. "It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it" sums it up.

But I didn't know any of that at the time. I've only found this out in the last 2 years.

Had I been allowed treatment then, had I needed treatment then, my son could not have been born. So having had a look at this video, I can truthfully say that I have no regrets. Intellectually I always knew that, but now my heart agrees.