It's My Transition, Too!

Friends,

Several years ago I decided to put together a book in which several people I had come to know, both online and IRL, would contribute a chapter telling their stories about living with a spouse or partner who is contemplating, or undergoing "transition" from one gender to another. Well, as these things go,  the book got stuck on the sidelines while I pursued other projects, including writing a book of memoirs and essays. Now I have decided to go back to my original idea--slightly modified--to present more personal accounts of trangendered families. However, instead of thinking about it as a book, I've decoded to use the medium of the present: my blog.

So, Genderwonky is going to start being a place for spouses, partners, children, parents and other significant others (SOs) to tell their tales. I will call this series of contributions to Genderwonky by the title I intended to use for the book I began those years ago: It's My Transition, Too!  Implied in this title is the notion that every SO of a transitioning person must go through their own transitions. If a family (or business, or friendship) is to survive the social and personal struggles that might be raised by transitioning, then the transition itself must be a family affair.

"Transitioning" in this case does not necessarily include just the physical changes of gender reassignment surgery or hormone treatments undergone or desired by transsexual persons. I intend to include stories by anyone whose loved one "comes out" as any flavor of transgendered or bi-gendered or even anti-gendered.

I already have a small collection of writings to get the ball rolling, but if you have a story to tell, then please write it and send it to me (danmouer@gmail.com). I ask only that you write carefully and thoughtfully about your own personal experiences without generalizing. Some of these stories will be full of anger and pain. Please feel free to express yourself clearly in these areas, but this should be a place for us to learn from and help each other. It's not meant simply as a place to vent or rant.

If you submit your story to the blog, I will assume I have your permission to publish it here. I may also later ask for permission to publish it in book form. If so, I promise that any proceeds from such a book will be donated to an appropriate charity. My own personal favorite for this sort of work would be PFLAG, but any large organization devoted to combating ignorance about and supporting transgendered families would be fine. If I do eventually publish It's My Transition, Too!, I will ask contributors for other suggestions of appropriate recipients for any profits from sales.

I am asking now only for the right to publish your writing on this blog. Authors will retain complete control over their own writings and may republish anywhere in any form they see fit. I will, of course, announce copyright to the blog entries in order to protect your copyright.

Public comments are allowed on all entries to Genderwonky. Be assured that I will not permit nasty or intemperate comments to disturb the peace here. Any such comments will be removed quickly.