Quote from: Ms Grace on January 14, 2014, 06:26:07 AM
Thanks all for your wonderfully helpful thoughts and comments. Mirroring the situation Joan mentioned with her brother's break up I've been holding back from outing myself to my family until things have calmed down with my sister (plus an issue with my mother's health). Looks like that might take a while though. I was planning on outing myself around May, but I'll go earlier if I need to.

As far as any session with my niece's counsellor, if and when a session happens I'll play it by ear. My sister may be misrepresenting what the counsellor sees as the purpose of it all. As Emma points out the session is about my niece, not about me!

Thanks! I try to be helpful where possible, and just plain silly where not...

And yeah, there is a huge degree of irony in this predicament. Not lost on me at all!

There's also the possibility that you are, in fact, a great role model for what someone born a man can do and be.

You are clearly loving, kind, thoughtful and sensitive.

You're there for your sister and your niece.

And you're following your dream to lead the best possible life you can, in the way that's right for you, while always respecting the way that might impact on other people.

Sounds like a damn fine role model to me, hon!

Quote from: Carlita on January 14, 2014, 09:56:56 AM
There's also the possibility that you are, in fact, a great role model for what someone born a man can do and be.

You are clearly loving, kind, thoughtful and sensitive.

You're there for your sister and your niece.

And you're following your dream to lead the best possible life you can, in the way that's right for you, while always respecting the way that might impact on other people.

Sounds like a damn fine role model to me, hon!

Ditto

I often think in societies where two-spirits where recognized norms that our role was to guide the polarized sexes to understand each other by bridging the divide.

Grace,

I have wanted to respond to your post from the first time I read it.  It has just taken me a while to figure out what to say.  I've been there, with my neice. My middle name was Loren, her first name is Lauren.  It was as close as my sister could come. My first reaction was that it hurt to my core.  My second was a sense of pride that someone felt that way about me.  If pain and pride go together, this was the ultimate blend.

Somewhere in there I realized that it wasn't about me.  It was about my niece.  She loves me very much.  She looks up to me.  She trusts me.  But the key there was she needs ME!  She does not need a male relative; she does not need a female relative.  She needs the one who listens.  She needs her adult play- mate.  She needs the one who cries with her and tells her everything will be OK and the one who does not tolerate anything but her best.  And as a man or a woman, I will be there for her.

In the end, she didn't care if I was him or Jen.  She was a little confused at first but there was no issue.

Hugs,

Jen