The Greatest Lie Part 6

I called Dr. Wright and reported on my talks. "I’m really disappointed in your father," she said. "I’d like to write him a letter reminding him of his responsibility as the parent of a transsexual. You have taken responsibility for re-shaping your own life and are taking responsibility far beyond your years in your adopted gender. I think you’re terrific. If you were my child, I would be proud of you.

"I don’t really care what he thinks. Now, he’s just another jerky guy to me."

I moved out of the dorm and into my studio full time. Rick and Randy were sad to see me leave. "Look, I’ll miss you too, but there are to many nosy prudes around here. Both you and I are safer here. And it’s not that far!"

"Too far to walk over in the middle of the night," Randy complained.

"You are going to have to plan in advance. You could even ask me to do something other than study, drink coffee or have sex."

Actually, I was getting too busy to do much else. The memorial service and my role in killing off the Hennepin Avenue Strangler had made me an instant celebrity in the T-Girl community, and soon I was interviewing five T-Girls a week. I asked about their early gender orientation, gender awakening, peer and family reaction and relationships, sexual history, current sexual activity, history of hormone use, surgical interventions, commercial sex experience, housing, employment, educational and police harassment and discrimination. Most of the girls I talked to seemed pleased with the changes that they had made to their lives and bodies , even though almost everyone had suffered rejection, discrimination, humiliation and harassment from all quarters: families, employers, landlords, cops and clients. Their stories were varied blends of romance, comedy and tragedy, and hearing them made me feel lucky to be me. With each interview, I felt as though I had gotten to know myself better.