Janet Mock

     I don't remember how or why, but I recently came across this website about a woman named Janet Mock. When I looked at the picture on the homepage, I have to say, I was struck by how beautiful she was. My first thought was "Maybe shes a model or something." Browsing the page, I soon learned that she was fighting for "#girlslikeus." I didn't know exactly what she meant at first. Black girls? Scrolling more, I realized that she was transgender. I clicked on the "Bio" link and watched a short video where Janet explains her younger years and realizing that she was born the wrong gender. Personally, I do believe that Gender Identity Disorder is real. People can be born the wrong sex. As if it doesn't hurt enough to be a girl in a boy's body, or a boy in a girl's body, many trans men and women are excluded from single gender groups and activities.  For instance, Jenna Talackova, faced discrimination from the Miss Universe organization because she is a (trans) woman. Though she was allowed to compete in the end, the organization's decision to include her was highly criticized. Why they were criticized, I really don't know.

   If  it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and looks like a duck, and thinks it's a duck, then it's a duck. Same thing for genders. If a person walks like a woman, talks like a woman, acts like a woman, and believes that she is a woman, than she is a woman. Same for men. It's as simple as that. Boobs and a vagina don't make a woman. Many breast cancer patients must have double mastectomies to save their lives. So if they choose to have the surgeries, they aren't women anymore? 

     With more people sharing their stories of being transgender today than any other time before, it opens up the questions like, What is a boy? What is a girl? Are there only two genders? Part of me says "Yes." But what do I know? I'm a perfectly comfortable girl. Most of my life, I have stuck to society's views on what a girl (or any human being carrying the XX chromosome) is supposed to wear, do, and act. For the most part, I have conformed to my gender (with the exception of my past hobby being catching lizards). But what is it like when you don't...or can't conform and be content with yourself?  Maybe there are people who identify themselves as "intersex" or "middlesex." After looking at the page and learning about what it means to be a a (trans) woman, I have to commend Janet (and all women like her) for her courage. I will never understand fully what it means to be transgender or to be born in the wrong sex, but learning the stories behind the names helps so much. Sometimes, being yourself openly is hard and painful, but in the end, it's always worth it. 

                                                                                                                                             
Janet Mock Website