A Million Miles From Shame
Filed by: Donna Rose
December 15, 2009 2:00 PM
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/12/a_million_miles_from_shame.phpI am what many would call a "mid-life" transitioner. That is I, like many, was well into life before coming to a point where I could stop running from my gender gift and start to consider it in healthy, productive ways. Many of my generation remember a time when the word "transgender" didn't exist, when there were no books or support groups or role models, when there was no internet, and when the loneliness of feeling as though you were the only one of your kind was surpassed only by the suffocating guilt and shame and fear of being discovered.
The reason I mention this is because I have an invitation in my hand to a Holiday Reception at the White House this evening. It's not an LGBT reception, or a reception for any particular cross-section of our society. It's a reception comprised of a broad range of people brought together to celebrate the joy of the season with our President in his home. The thought that out, proud, transgender people - people who are part of the fabric of this country whether others want to recognize that or not - are part of this celebration is beyond amazing to me. It's a million miles from shame, and a day I never imagined I'd see in my lifetime.
