This helped me SO MUCH. It occurred to me that there is some overlap in experience between the lack of male privilege growing up as trans and some of my experiences growing up as a non-gender conforming gay cis-male. That was a real lightbulb-over-head moment.

I have always instinctively been a trans ally, simply from a general human rights stance, but lacking deeper understanding and the experience I was often unable to counter the more toxic arguments. Sometimes the toxic arguments triggered in me very unpleasant memories of how I was bullied as a cis-male sissy-boy, a body-flash of the fear I felt as an outcast. That also prevented me from responding coherently.

Now I'm a small step closer to being able to do that. I look forward to reading more of your articles. Thank you for what you are doing to expand understanding of gender, sex, sexuality and their many expressions, also for the compassionate way you present yourself.

And you know what else? Even when my understanding was almost non-existent, I held fiercely to one core principle, which I will always hold: I'm never, but never, going to put a fellow queer down.

DR