Transitioning to the right identity

[Natasha]

Transitioning to the right identity

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110728/LIFE03/110729701/-1/NEWSMAP
7/28/11
By ALEXIS HAUK

With his thick scruff, broad shoulders and deep voice, Raven Clarke – aka "Ray"– looks every bit the confident, amiable young man. But what his relaxed attitude and gregarious demeanor don't immediately convey is how long it has taken the 24-year-old from Falmouth to get to this point.

That's because Ray was born Rachel Joy, in the physi­cal body of a girl – a biologi­cal fact that always felt out of sync with his true identity. It's a condi­tion that the World Professional Association for Trans­gender Health calls "gender identity disorder."