Lately it seems, I'm increasingly writing about transgender women breaking the gender barrier and becoming more and more visible. The fact that several of the most visible right now are transgender women of color. Women such as Laverne Cox and Janet Mock are truly "out and proud" - but after listening to Laverne I learned life is still not as easy for her as most of us would think. As her Mom told her-her hands and feet were too big for a woman's-even though now she has her Mom's full support.Now Best-selling author and transgender activist Janet Mock (left) has been named a special correspondent on in Entertainment Tonight. In her first appearance she delved into the issue of cisgender (nontrans) actors playing trans roles and a host of other topics in an interview with Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor. (More here.)
Certainly, I am thrilled every time I see a positive transgender story and now even more thrilled when a trans person is actually involved in the process. (rare) I know the only persons who can truly understand my mtf gender transition are those friends of mine who are going through it too.
I do wonder how all of this "plays at home." I remember years ago when the transgender term was rare at best and most cross dressing images were characters up to "no good." When my wife and I were watching one of these shows, the cross dressed character became the "elephant in the room." I did my best to not be too excited.
I also wonder if this rush of transgender education and publicity helps those of you (in a relationship) considering playing in the girl's sandbox. For women like me, I can only hope my friends and acquaintances think, "Hey! There is a person like Cyrsti!"
