Blog Entry: Paul

Paul Tonight I was laying in bed, trying to sleep, and there was something I kept thinking about, so I figured I'd make a blog about it.

When my mom was little, she had this friend. I can't remember her name, all I remember that she had a sister, Paula. I remember my mom telling me when I was little about how Paula wanted to be a boy and I thought this was a little weird, but not a big deal. A lot of my friends were tomboys and in my group of friends calling someone a girly girl was worse than calling them a bitch (back when bitch was like the worst word in the world) so I didn't really think too much of it until my mom brought it up while I was going through her photo albums. My brother was in the room and she was telling him how unnatural and wrong this was (I think I might have mentioned this in another blog) and I just can't stop thinking about it now.

Paula, now Paul, came from a super conservative Christian family just like my mom's. It makes me sick to think about all the injustice he must have experienced. It's hard enough being a closeted lesbian in a conservative Christian family. I can't imagine what he must have gone through, especially in a time when it wasn't as well understood as it was today. Nowadays if you go to a psychiatrist and tell them your kid is transgender, they'll likely encourage them to transition (unless you have a shit psychiatrist) This poor kid on the other hand was forced into dresses every Sunday even though he insisted that he was really a boy.

Years down the road, Paul was finally able to transition and, according to my mother, is no longer in contact with his family. It makes me so sad to hear about families torn apart by something that should have brought them closer together. When I read stories about transgender children whose parents accept them, it makes me happy, but it also makes me sad because I can't help but think about all the other kids, past and present, whose parents refuse to accept that their little girl is really a boy (or vice versa)

Sorry for the random post, just had to get it out of my system I guess.