“How do you identify?” That’s often a tough question for me to answer. As a general rule, I’ve shifted away from identifying as anything because I’ve found that when I do, it can be hard to let go of that self-identity when things change. In my experience, life brings lots of surprises that are difficult […]

The way we present our gender to the world around us can have big effects on how people treat us, but so far, there isn’t much research on how gender nonconformity shapes our work lives. Of course, plenty of people have stories to tell, and my friend Alison Fogarty is looking for research participants for […]

A little background: I’ve been going to PantheaCon, an annual convention for pagan spiritual groups and communities, for many years. It’s a really fun con, with some amazing workshops, discussions, rituals, and parties. At the 2011 con, some transgender women tried to attend a ceremony that was advertised in the program as open to women, […]

Have you noticed how often the word “family” or the term “family-friendly” gets used? And have you given any attention to what it has come to mean? The newsfeeds have been all a-buzz today with the story of Leisha Hailey getting kicked off a Southwest Airlines plane when she kissed her girlfriend. According to the […]

CNN.com has a report today about Kirk Andrew Murphy, a man who committed suicide in 2003. His story is especially poignant because he was subjected to treatment when he was younger that was intended to force him into gender conformity. As part of it, he was given blue poker chips for rewarding masculine behavior and […]

Two articles came through my in-box the other day. I found one of them rather thought-provoking and the other quite irritating. But they both had one thing in common. Well, actually, more than one thing, but they had one thing in common that I found especially difficult. They were both using gender-essentialist language to talk […]

I recently read a fascinating book called The Sexual Spectrum, which explores some of the cultural and biological factors that lead to sexual diversity. I highly recommend it. And one of the things that the author delves into sort of rocked my world. I don’t know how often I’ve heard people talk about the gender […]