Transgender couple seeks acceptance
By Rachel Alexander
As of Saturday, April 20, 2013
http://union-bulletin.com/news/2013/apr/20/transgender-couple-seeks-acceptance/WALLA WALLA — For Lisa Anderson-Thornton, just being herself cost her a family, a church and most of her friends.
#She is a transgender woman, meaning she was born genetically male but lives and presents herself as a woman because that is her mental image of herself. Although she spent most of her life presenting herself as a man, Anderson-Thornton has felt female since she was 5 and has struggled with her gender identity her entire life.
#She began her physical transition — changing her clothing and taking female hormones to match her view of what her body should look like — in 2006. That started after serious injuries forced her to retire from her job as an Oregon State Police officer in 2004, when she decided she wanted to live as a woman.
#It was a decision that ended her marriage and ostracized her from the Walla Walla church she'd been heavily involved in for years.
#"The congregation was told I was possessed by the devil," she said.
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#For the past year she's also had a boyfriend, Will Lambert, a transgender man. Both have legally changed their names and genders on official documents. Together, they hope to create a safe space for other transgender people in the area by speaking about their experiences of being transgender in rural America.
#"If we go to a big city, people don't even look at us twice. Here, we're an anomaly," Anderson-Thornton said.
#Lambert, who began his physical transition about a year ago, said he didn't lose as much as Anderson-Thornton in the process. He attributed this to changes in cultural attitudes toward transgender people over the past few years, as well as having a supportive brother.
