Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments It’s hard to know where to begin to appreciate the many people I’ve met and the experiences I have had that led me to write this book. I have been privileged to find creative spaces, whether at gender conferences, in books I’ve read, during discussion with friends, or even in my reaction to reports of daily discrimination and the horrors of hate crimes, that helped me form my opinions and commitment to gender equality in its fullest scope and form. I am grateful to the writer of the letter I refer to in the introduction, who challenged me to rethink my ideas of the category of “woman.” This man, who had been born with a female biology, asked me questions that made crystal clear to me how narrow my ideas really were. Trans and intersex issues were invisible to me, and I am grateful to have been jolted awake and spurred to action. Ever since then I have integrated my growing understanding into my writing, my teaching, and my own life. As a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities—I identify as lesbian and queer—I hope to make some small contribution to the social and political equality we deserve. Understanding the consequences of the gender and sex binaries, and working against that rigid system, have enriched my life. Thank you to every trans-identified and queer person who has helped me on this path. Thank you to the non-trans allies I have worked with, especially while I was at Arizona State University and working on the SafeZONE program. We kept the issues alive and visible, and these great folks continue to push for social change and justice around LGBT issues. Surveys and interviews of 150 trans-identified individuals form the basis of this work. I have full gratitude to these people for sharing their life experiences and thoughts with me. I have been lucky to meet over 40 of them personally, and I cherished each meeting. Many of the people in this book have kept in touch with me over the years, and many I consider friends. Numerous people from the Phoenix support group in Asheville, North Carolina, where I was living when I first started this research, helped me enormously. Thank-you to the five volunteers (Holly, Jessylynn, Beth, Marc, and Andrea) who formed the focus group that guided me in my survey construction. I also appreciate the support and encouragement I received from faculty and the dean while I was at Warren Wilson College. A few people deserve special mention by name for their support over the years in terms of feedback, networking, and encouragement. Thank you to Holly Boswell, who answered my numerous questions when I was starting out, and to Jamison Green for his support, our many conversations , and for writing the foreword to this book. These two individuals are exemplary activists who have worked for decades to end trans invisibility in public policy and to support people at di=erent stages of their journeys with gender identity. Many others supported me by just talking with me at conferences over the years (such as Kelley Winters, Mara Keisling, and Marsha Botzer). Thanks to my Kick Ass Sister, April Summitt, who has inspired me daily to keep writing and has listened to my writing woes, real and imagined. Peggy Coulombe and Karyn Riedell, friends and fellow writers , also encouraged me to keep on going through the various revisions. When it came time to find a publisher for this work, I could not have been luckier than to be accepted by University Press of New England. Phyllis Deutsch, editor in chief, was so excited about the importance of the work that it fed the enthusiasm I already had for it. Her energy has been infectious , and she has challenged me repeatedly to make this the best manuscript possible. I am very appreciative to the readers of my draft manuscript who gave perceptive and thoughtful feedback and, again, pushed me to be as clear as possible with a complex and provocative subject. I regret that this book took me longer than I’d intended to research and write. I had significant interruptions that included moving across the country, several job changes, and a diagnosis of breast cancer. I am sure that many people in this book have forgotten about the project and may think I never followed through. But my commitment was always to those who...