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| Ohio State versus Michigan. |
When I seriously began to think of pursuing my male to female gender transition, I wondered what I would do about all my male baggage in my new feminine life.
Since I was nearly sixty years of age, I had plenty of
baggage to consider what I was going to keep and what had to go. By far, my
sports baggage was the largest piece of baggage I needed to wonder about was my
love of sports. Especially football and baseball.
Ultimately, I found I did not have to worry about anything
because ciswomen around me were catching up to me in their love of sports. To
make it clearer, as I looked around during the big games I was watching in the
sports bars I was hanging out in, I was beginning to notice more and more women
in their football jerseys around me. All of a sudden, I did not feel so out of
place. I knew some women were into sports, such as my second wife, but not to
the level I was.
Also, what helped me was the customer/regular relationships
I built with the bartenders I saw on a regular basis. It even got to the point
when my beer was always waiting for me when I sat down in front of a big screen
television to watch a game. When all of
this was happening, I was deciding I could take my love of sports with me as I
transitioned into transgender womanhood. It was just part of my inheritance.
Little did I know, the best was yet to come, and I could
bring my sports baggage with me. It turned out, my wife Liz and other ciswomen
friends I had made along the way were all as passionate as I was about watching
sports. I even was living life large when I was invited to go to a women’s roller
derby match one day in Cincinnati by my lesbian friends. It was also a dollar
beer night which also added to the fun.
The whole focus of this post is “The Game” is today. Or in other
words, the Ohio State/Michigan football game. I make no secret of my love for
the Ohio State Buckeyes as Liz is also so we will be tuned into the game. Ironically,
the game was one of the main days out of Thanksgiving and Christmas we ever got
together. The good news is, I have a better person to watch football with (my wife
Liz) who helped me build my life as a transfeminine person, rather than tear it
down like my brother did.
No matter how the game goes, I will forever be grateful to
all the cis women in my life who encouraged me to be me which included bringing
along my love of sports. It probably all came from playing sports (primarily football)
which kept the bullies away at the same time. So, it worked well, even though I
made it through a couple broken bones. One funny story I have about broken
bones was when I broke my collar bone. The doctor who examined me said he would
not reset the bone, and I would always have a lump where the break was. Then,
the doctor said it would not matter since I would not be wearing a strapless
gown in my life. I thought, if he had really known, he would not have said such
a thing. Of course, I was worried from then on about that lump on my collar
bone and always remember what the doctor said.
Any piece of advice I may have for anyone considering a gender
transition of their own, is to look at your baggage closely and then what the
ciswomen around you are doing. The world of women is always evolving with the
world and is never staying in one place. It happened to me with sports and can
happen to you too with some of your questionable baggage. It could be a chance
for you to be a leader rather than a follower. If you follow your heart, others
will find no problems with you. People are like sharks and have the tendency to
circle the wounded ones quickly. Don’t give them the chance to see you bleed.
I know it is impossible to bring all your male baggage with
you. Afterall, he had a hand in making you who you are today. Possibly, it all
could make you a better person as a trans woman. You already are because of the
understanding you have of the two main binary genders and you can build on that
success.
Maybe you can be a trans girl with her football too, and GO
BUCKEYES!
