Wow! Nineteen Years And Counting!

I was just thinking, “What a long, strange trip it’s been!”

I first went out as Diana… it was like, “Oh wow! I don’t believe that I’m doing this!” The year was 1999. The month was September. I contacted a support group…

At the end of the email, she told me when and where they met. I summoned all my courage and drove there.

And the place was empty… no lights except the motion detector. Oops — it was last weekend, the second weekend of the month! So I went to the October meeting… and for the first time in my life, I was with other trans people!

I became their activity director… then eventually the director.

I heard that there was another support group called the Twenty Club (their newsletters are archived here), and I started going — something to do on a Saturday afternoon. At one meeting, this girl came in and one side of her face was all swollen and bruised. She had been beaten up on a job site in Bridgeport. When the police didn’t arrest the people who beat her, she raised her voice — and she was arrested. That was when I became an activist.

I was at a Pride event in Hartford, next to Jerimarie at the CT TransAdvocacy Coalition. In between lulls in the Pride traffic, we talked. She told me about CTAC, and I became the director of it a few years later.

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I’ve seen it all when it comes to transitioning.

I’ve seen those who rushed through it in months. I’ve seen those who hadn’t even socially transitioned demand surgery — and the surgeon said no. So she took a plane trip to Thailand. I never saw her again.

I’ve seen those who had a chip on their shoulder and were mad at the world.

I’ve seen those who were like me — transitioning part-time at first. I was male at work, and all the rest of the time I was Diana. Dipping a toe in the water to test it.

I’ve seen families disown their loved ones — and families reunite.

I’ve seen couples stay together. Couples break up over a transition. I’ve seen couples break up and then come back together again.

I’ve seen trans people change their orientation.

I’ve seen those who detransitioned — and some who retransitioned.

I have known some who were murdered. I have known succumb to the hate, 

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I’ve worked to pass legislation. I’ve given trainings in colleges. I’ve given trainings in maximum-security prisons. I am now working to help end social isolation for seniors.