V for Vixen

[Shana A]

October 15th, 2009
V for Vixen
Laura Roberts

http://www.hour.ca/columns/vixen.aspx?iIDArticle=18486

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the North American launch for French author Axel Léotard's book Mauvais genre, a novel that deals with some of the many issues facing transgender people in France. Léotard writes from personal experience as a trans man, though the novel is not strictly autobiographical. On the back of the book, a key quote from the author summarizes his position: "You don't become transsexual, you are born transsexual."

On the face of it, Léotard's pronouncement seems as if it should be obvious, in the same way that we know that gays and lesbians are born gay or lesbian. It's just a fact of life; deal with it. And yet I found myself wondering: What exactly does it mean to be born transsexual?