Identity

Hello there! If you’re reading this, then you’you’ve probably learned that you have a transgender (trans) or otherwise gender nonconforming student at your school. Or maybe you’re reading up in hopes of proactively making your school a safer space. Either way, we’re glad to have you here. Why create…

So you’re ready to start talking openly about your gender, and you want to come out of the shadows and live as yourself. Coming out stories are as diverse as gender itself and you have a whole lot of options in front of you, depending on the level of support you anticipate from friends, family, school, and the world at large.

For trans folks (and non-binary, genderqueer, agender, and all other gender non-conforming folks) gender expression can be a lot more tricky than it is for many cisgender people. How do you find clothing when many companies don’t acknowledge that people who are built like you exist? If you body doesn’t quite have all the bits you wish it did (or has some bits you really wish it didn’t), how can you present your body in a way that makes you feel like yourself?

So you’ve thought about sex and gender and all that good stuff and a little bird is telling you that you might be trans. But how do you know?

Whether someone peeped at your reproductive organs in utero or they waited until after you popped out into the world, one of the first things people probably defined about you was your sex, on the basis of what they found between your legs. Ever since, you’ve been stuck with the assigned gender label of “male” or “female,” and all the baggage that goes along with it. Well, here’s your chance to set that baggage down for a bit, because we’re going to go in deep on sex, gender, and identity.

Experiencing a little gender confusion? We know the feeling. In Trans Summer School, we’ll give you the big scoop about trans and otherwise gender nonconforming people, and answer your questions about the wide world of gender.

Gender identity can be complicated, and often people who are questioning aren’t comfortable in that space - but it’s a totally valid place to be.

What do you do in dating when one person is trans and one is cisgender?

There are so many things that make me glad in your question. Glad that L has at least one person that he feels safe sharing that part of himself with. Glad you reacted positively and confirmed his trust in you. But oh how I am not glad that he’s still in a situation where he doesn’t feel comfortable…

Identity can be such an obnoxious creature sometimes. Just when you think you’ve got it all sorted out, some new evidence pops up and you have to rethink things. And I don’t need to tell you how frustrating that shift can be, because you’re in the middle of it. It can be doubly trying if you’ve…