• Jezebel
  • celebrity
  • sex
  • fashion
  • Profile logout login

#transamerica#discussed

Jezebel

Share Cancel
   
Upload an image | Add an image URL
×

logging in
  • FAQ. Include # before tag:
  • #tips,
  • #snapjudgment,
  • #groupthink,
  • etc.

New York, 11:22 PM
Wed Nov 11
67 posts in the last 24 hours

Tip your editors:
tips@jezebel.com

Editor-in-Chief:
Anna Holmes
Email | Twitter

Deputy Editor:
Dodai Stewart
Email | Twitter

Senior Contributing Editor:
Tracie Egan
Email | Twitter

Contributing Editors:
Anna North
Email | Twitter
Sadie Stein
Email | Twitter

Reporter:
Irin Carmon
Email

Editorial Assistant:
Margaret Hartmann
Email | Twitter

Contributors:
Jenna Sauers
Email
Rich Juzwiak
Email | Twitter
Lizzie Skurnick
Email

Interns:
Katy Kelleher
Twitter


Weekends/Commenter Moderator:
Hortense
Email | Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO Jezebel RSS

New: Breaking news and daily top stories via email
1770 Subscribers
Jezebel
  • Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.
    Dsmvwl  Admin  Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×
    Image of cate3710 cate3710
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Also - just a quibble about the headline: Zach only has one Maddy. That was the term the family decided to use for Jennifer. Her wife is still Mom, I think.
     Reply
    cate3710 was starred cate3710 was unstarred
    Image of cate3710 cate3710
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    I've read both her books and loved them. It's great to read about how supportive her wife and kids are... and it's completely heartbreaking to learn that her sister has cut her out of her life completely.
     Reply
    cate3710 was starred cate3710 was unstarred
    Image of Majrhoulihan Majrhoulihan
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    I love Jennifer Finney Boyle. She's a laugh riot and totally open to any question you want to ask her. However, when I met her, all the questions I really wanted to ask were for her wife.
     Reply
    Majrhoulihan was starred Majrhoulihan was unstarred
    Image of hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    i will never forget being at a gymnastics class when i was about nine years old. queen's bohemian rhapsody came on the radio and my coach made them turn it off. he looked at me, and in a very serious tone said, "they call themselves queen. do you know what that means? queens are gay men, and that is not how god made us. this is unnatural and children should not be subjected to it." i looked at him and said, "you asshole." my parents had never mentioned gay people to me at all, neither for nor against, but after years of being an atheist gymnast in a catholic gym, i had realized that sometimes you need to think for yourself.


    i still feel bad for that close minded prick.

     Reply
    hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE was starred hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE was unstarred
    Image of vulcanized vulcanized
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    There was also a great piece on trans kids on This American Life a while back. That teared me up something good.
     Reply
    vulcanized was starred vulcanized was unstarred
    Image of JerseyGrrrl JerseyGrrrl
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Her wife must be a pretty amazing woman. It would be hard to learn that you really didn't truly know your life partner until so many years into a marriage, and then, learning that, to decide to stay by during and after the changes. Just WOW.


    I think if my husband came to me and told me he wanted to transition, I would want to be with him still (but I like girlparts too, so it would be cool), but I would be so scared of to what degree the gender change would change who he inherently was, if at all. It must have been very scary for the mother in this story. I hope it continues to work for them.


    As Britney Spears twittered, Love is love. I can't believe I just quoted a Twitter.

     Reply
    JerseyGrrrl was starred JerseyGrrrl was unstarred
    Image of Her Grace Her Grace
    04/28/09

    @JerseyGrrrl: From my experience (one of my best friends--my two best friends, aside from my fiance, are a couple--is ftm and began transitioning a year after I met him), very little about him changed as a person. We all knew that there was something up, and that he was uncomfortable with himself as he was before, and the general air after his coming out was relief.


    As more and more young people, especially more and more young queer people who experiment with other sexual identities before considering that another gender identity may be the issue, grow up, I think we'll see and hear about more experiences like mine and my friend's.

     Reply
    Her Grace was starred Her Grace was unstarred
    Image of rocknrollunicorn rocknrollunicorn
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Ah, yes. The old "transgender parent" story. How played out.


    I'm not reading it because it'll probably make me cry too. Then again, I think an episode of Cold Case made me cry the other day.

     Reply
    rocknrollunicorn was starred rocknrollunicorn was unstarred
    Image of elitza owns the last Enzo shirt elitza owns the last Enzo shirt
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Oh man.


    Good parenting takes all sorts of forms. Nicely done, Mommy and Maddy...

     Reply
    elitza owns the last Enzo shirt was starred elitza owns the last Enzo shirt was unstarred
    Image of bananastand bananastand
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    They sound like an awesome family. Sniff.
     Reply
    bananastand was starred bananastand was unstarred
    Image of Winkeleh Winkeleh
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    I had to read Jennifer Finney Boylan's book - "She's Not There" - for my Human Sexuality class in college. It's really well written (doesn't hurt that she is an English professor and a great writer), and I really recommend it.
     Reply
    Winkeleh was starred Winkeleh was unstarred
    Image of cate3710 cate3710
    04/27/09

    @Winkeleh: Her second book - I'm Looking Through You - is great as well. It deals more with her childhood than the transitioning period.
     Reply
    cate3710 was starred cate3710 was unstarred
    Image of EkaterinaBallerina EkaterinaBallerina
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    My elementary school, an Episcopalian school outside of DC, had a day one year where we "celebrated" disabilities. They brought in people with varying disabilities, one guy was in a wheelchair, one woman was blind, etc. and they discussed how it was live in a society that wasn't necessarily geared towards them. I remember telling people about it a few years ago and they were appalled. They said it sounded exploitative, as if my school was putting them on display or something. I don't remember it that way at all. Maybe I was just a super-open-minded kid, but learning about people who were different than me felt like a really great learning experience. I learned to appreciate differences.
     Reply
    EkaterinaBallerina was starred EkaterinaBallerina was unstarred
    Image of NoelleBlue NoelleBlue
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Awwwww, that's so sweet... and that son is obviously going to be a powerhouse in some form or another. That's some wonderful emotional empathy for such a young age!


    I'm interested in the book now... I am curious(althogh perhaps she prefers to keep this private for herself and her wife?) if there are any sexuality issues, as formerly straight men who are transgendered often are interested in women after their transition.

     Reply
    NoelleBlue was starred NoelleBlue was unstarred
    Image of tomatoheart tomatoheart
    04/27/09

    @NoelleBlue: I find it very interesting that the first thing people always are curious about in regards to folks with any variation from the "norm" is about their sex life.
     Reply
    tomatoheart was starred tomatoheart was unstarred
    Image of NoelleBlue NoelleBlue
    04/27/09

    @tomatoheart: Yeeks! Correction, I meant men.


    Hmmm, and as to your comment: I am always fascinated by sexuality, have been since I was a wee child reading gay fiction anthologies(my parents didn't believe in censorship), so I can't speak for 'people', truthfully, only for myself.


    I think it says a great deal about sexuality, and what it is based on (hormones, physiology, psychology?), that it becomes fluid for many who are transgendered based on their transitions. And as the author has welcomed people into her marriage and into her life, it has thus made me curious for other sides of the story.


    I don't think sexual curiosity, if healthy and respectful, is negative. I also have a great deal of curiosity about those who are WITHIN the accepted boundaries for the 'Norm'... usually because they end up being anything but.

     Reply
    NoelleBlue was starred NoelleBlue was unstarred
    Image of Eleanor Ramilly Eleanor Ramilly
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    Awe, this made me tear up, too. With all of the hate out there it's great to read an essay like this.
     Reply
    Eleanor Ramilly was starred Eleanor Ramilly was unstarred
    Image of tomatoheart tomatoheart
    04/27/09

    @Shannon: ditto...made me get all verklempt
     Reply
    tomatoheart was starred tomatoheart was unstarred
    Image of Ailatan Ailatan
    04/27/09

    @Shannon: I also teared up.
     Reply
    Ailatan was starred Ailatan was unstarred
    Image of BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    I wish acceptance were a cliche.
     Reply
    BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was starred BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was unstarred
    Image of BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
    04/27/09

    @BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Shoot - should that be 'was'? Ergh.


    Nice point, I ruin it.

     Reply
    BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was starred BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was unstarred
    Image of Eleanor Ramilly Eleanor Ramilly
    04/27/09

    @BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Your point wasn't ruined, it's true.
     Reply
    Eleanor Ramilly was starred Eleanor Ramilly was unstarred
    Image of dreamweave dreamweave
    04/27/09

    @BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): No, you did not ruin it. It is still a great point.
     Reply
    dreamweave was starred dreamweave was unstarred
    Image of BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
    04/27/09

    @Shannon: @dreamweave: You know how you look at something long enough it looks wrong no matter what? Anyhow, thank you!
     Reply
    BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was starred BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit) was unstarred
    Image of NellMood NellMood
    04/27/09

    @BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): I'm pretty sure you were right- with "I wish" statements you use were.


    And obviously no matter what your point still stands.

     Reply
    NellMood was starred NellMood was unstarred
    Image of PsychicPsycho3 PsychicPsycho3
    04/27/09

    In reply to Zach Has Two Terrific "Maddies"
    I met Jennifer Finney Boylan and she is a riot.
     Reply
    PsychicPsycho3 was starred PsychicPsycho3 was unstarred
    Image of vulcanized vulcanized
    04/27/09

    @PsychicPsycho3: Me too! She is totally kick-ass.
     Reply
    vulcanized was starred vulcanized was unstarred
    Image of Majrhoulihan Majrhoulihan
    04/27/09

    @vulcanized: I met her too! She's awesome.
     Reply
    Majrhoulihan was starred Majrhoulihan was unstarred
    Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

Login

Enter your username and password.

Please enter a username.
Please enter your password.
logging in
Login via Facebook | Sign Up | Forgot Password?

Reset Password

Please enter your email address to have your password reset.

Please enter your email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
requesting password reset

Register

Registering will give you a user profile and the ability to add other users as friends. To become a commenter, however, you need to audition.

Want to know more? Consult the Comment FAQ and legal terms.

Please enter a username.
Please enter a password.
Please confirm your password.
Passwords are not identical.
Please enter a valid email address.
registration sent, waiting for reply

Submit Your Comment

You don't need to login to comment. Just enter your email address below.

See how your address will be displayed in the Comment FAQ.

Please enter a valid email address.
Please enter a valid email address.
logging in

Login with your Facebook or Jezebel account.

Sign up here.



  • Archives
  • About
  • Advertising
  • Legal
  • Help
  • Report a Bug
  • FAQ
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.