Some in America are targeting transgender people. This news site and others regularly share such stories. Protests at drag queen recitals. Bills proposed to curtail healthcare for trans children. Prohibitions on transgender girls playing sports as their correct gender. I’m a senior citizen now. I knew by age six that my gender, how others perceived me, was wrong. At that time given societal views, I believed something was seriously wrong with me. I believed that well into adulthood.

I wrote on Facebook today that as my suppression of gender identity began to fail, I coped by ripping hair off my body with my bare hand. As with someone cutting, it was a matter of having a modicum of control. It’s not something that I like sharing, but I am for the transgender children. Kids who are out and supported do not do this. They lead happy lives. Medical people stand with us. Legislature, leave us alone.

Raye Ellen Douville

Gilford