I was talking with someone today about Jennifer Finney Boylan's book,
She's Not There - A Life in two genders. The ending of the book bothered me a bit because I felt Jenny glossed over the affect her transition had on her wife Grace who stuck with him/her through everything. But that is not really the subject of this post. (Anyone who wishes to pursue a critique of the book, PM me or open a forum subject about it.)

Boylan gave the keynote speech at the Southern Comfort Gender Conference last September. I didn't attend and knew nothing about it until finding the link to her address on her site. In it she tells some stories about her life. I particularly like the line "...when I was a boy, there was only one thing I wanted for Christmas, which was of course the one thing I was never going to get, because Santa Claus generally doesn't bring a vagina down the chimney. At least not in the stories I read."

She ends the talk with a bit of a call to arms that I felt was worth sharing. While she is speaking specificly about reportage and biography, I believe the subjects are also apropiate for fiction.

"We need to hear the story of the genderqueer youth on campuses around the country who are messing with gender every day, who exhibit a courage that I could never have found at their age, who are rejecting the gender binary with bravery, and playfulness, and in your face directness, and with joy.

"WE need to hear the story of transmen, and the unique struggles of our brothers, so often forgotten by the media.

"We need to hear the story of what happens to transpeople as they get older. We need to hear the stories of the members of our family as we pass through our sixties, and seventies, and eighties.

"We need to hear the story of transgender Veterans, who are so often abandoned, or forgotten, even after risking their lives on behalf of their country.

"WE need to hear the story of spouses and partners, who suffer just as much as we do, some times, and who, sometimes, help make our lives possible. We need to hear the stories of all of our lovers and partners, who try to be helpful, who try to make sense of something that even we sometimes cannot explain.

"WE need to hear the story of some of you in this very room, who are not only here at Southern Comfort for the first time but who are, in fact, out of their own house for the first time, people who this very day have felt the sun on their faces as men, or as women, for the very first time.

Jennifer Finney Boylan, Atlanta, Georgia, Sept. 23, 2006
Excerp from her keynote address.

My ancillary call would be for putting more of that same type of emphasis and empathy in the fiction we write on this subject. What does it do to those who love us? Those who know us and those who don't understand us?

Just some thoughts, late in the evening...

Love to all,
Hugs to grover, Fleurie and Sephrena,
A dope slap for J-in-W. ;->

Jamie W