Hooray, Zythyra! Reflections on 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance

[NicholeW.]

Z has their blog cross-posted on the front page at Pam's!! Yah!!

Reflections on 10th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
by: zythyra
Thu Nov 20, 2008 at 14:59:55 PM EST

As always, this is a difficult day. I've been aware of Transgender Day of Remembrance since its first year, and have always commemorated it in some way each year. Sometimes attending an event if there was one in my region, often lighting a candle at home, and in the last few years, saying something about it to the congregation of our local UU during a Sunday service.

Every death hits me hard. For any transperson, I think there is always a feeling of "there but for the grace of G-d/dess go I". I transitioned and did over a year long full time real life test in a rural southern town in 1993. No HRT, nada. If angels exist, there was certainly one at my shoulder, for I passed perfectly... as a man with long hair and a baritone voice wearing women's clothing and jewelry. For the most part, people treated me with respect and used my new name and pronouns however I had a few close encounters during that time in which my possible last moments in this earthly plane were staring at me rather harshly.

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/