I always sigh when people say "don't teach or show kids trans and gay inclusive education". Like I didn't have that stuff when I was growing up; my only exposure was 90s media (which was - not great).

It wasn't until recently when I was an adult that I have considered talking to someone about how to transition. And that was because Stef Sanjati was really the first person I saw that actually talked about transitioning (and was really the first other trans person I knew - albeit just online).

I can only imagine if I had that growing up how it might be different.

And I'd really love for news networks to take the time to hire at least one trans contributor who can go on to talk about these issues instead of bringing on two cis people to debate whether or not trans people should exist.

[–] UngodlyAudrey 27 points 1 year ago

I was in the same boat. I cracked when puberty hit(so about the turn of the millennium). I knew that trans people were a thing, but I had little to no exposure to them outside of fucking Ace Ventura. I didn't feel safe in approaching anyone about it, so I had to sit there and let it fester for years. I dedicated most of my 20s to becoming financially independent, but I just as I was gearing up to come out after I left the military, Trump got elected. That freaked me out so bad that I went back in the closet until late 2021. I will always lament what could have been had I been allowed to transition at age 13 instead of 33.