This is a 15-minute video about a Mormon transgender woman and her family, living in Orem. It's very much worth the time to watch it to the end. Her family has been supportive of her as she transitioned.

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/375255/The-Story-of-a-Mormon-Family-Who-Embraced-Their-Transgender-Daughter/

Topping for the day crowd.

Thank you! Forwarded this to family as my son came out Bi 3 years ago.

Good. I think it's worth a look.

Why is it, People Always Assume Bi Means Gay ...

I Came out a Decade Ago, and My Uncle Asked me if I was Going to Get a Boyfriend ...

No, What it Means is, I Still Prefer Women, I just Think Men can be Pretty Cute, as Well!

People like to think that someone is either like them or not like them. So by telling a straight person that you are also attracted to the same-sex, they assume you are not like them at all and then give you the gay label.

A lot of people are apprehensive about bisexual people, gays included.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/05/2014 05:44PM by nonsequiter.

WOW, Awesome Answer ...

That Meant a Lot, Thanks!

There is a spectrum with bisexual individuals. My son said the easiest way to explain it is that imagine you don't see gender. You just think both female and males are attractive.

The only weird thing about this video is the ominous note at the end where it says how Eri is "currently working with church leaders to determine the future of her membership."

We all know what that means, but I think it still sounds creepy.

Eri didn't do anything wrong. Excommunication won't teach her any lesson all it will show is that the lds church rejected her.

I enjoyed watching that, despite my feelings about people trying so hard to fit into such a ridiculous organization.

I know what you mean, Munchy. I felt the same way, a kind of impatience at her trying to fit in the organisation. Ultimately, I don't suppose she'll stay, even if they don't discipline her. I ended up feeling positive about her parents as well as Eri. It helped me see things I hadn't thought about before.

Someone I'm close to has been convinced since childhood that he was meant to be a she. Classic signs were (as a child), preferring to play with girls, not being interested in "guy" things like sports or cars, etc.

As he grew up, he discovered that he loved to sneak his sister's underwear and wear it under his regular clothes. As a young adult, he discovered cross-dressing (but never in public.) He loved anything that made him look feminine.

Of course, he was a good little Mormon kid who confessed all this stuff to various bishops over the years. There was one (who was an electrician by trade) who told him very harshly that he had brought these feelings upon himself by "fantasies and M-----------."

Despite managing to serve an honorable mission and behaving in most respects as a respectable and devout Mormon, he never seemed to get anywhere in the church. He tried very hard to ignore the desire to escape from his male body.

The constant frustration of living like this caused him to develop a rather nasty temper. He would flare up and rage over things that seemed incredibly trivial to other people, including me, eventually.

I didn't really understand the whole story until well after we were married. We went to transgender support groups and I learned that something like 95% of couples like us didn't stay together. THAT pissed me off. Don't tell me what I can or can't do! I decided I would stand by him, come hell or high water.

he found the courage to start "transitioning." He spent a lot of money having electrolysis on his face, to get rid of facial hair. The doctor put him on a testosterone suppressant and estrogen.

I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE CHANGE IN HIS DISPOSITION!!! Once he had the support to "be," instead of opposition, the terrible urge to gallop ahead into what would almost certainly be destruction of his life (he would have been ex'ed, probably lost his job, and several of his kids told him they would sever relations with him if he went through with it, plus the objective fact that even with surgery, he probably would never have "passed" as female. He just didn't have the features for it.")

As he grew older, he decided that he could live as a male, and came to terms with it. He quit taking the testosterone suppressant and estrogen, and in aging, his testosterone levels have dropped naturally. The terrifying galloping into disaster (think of the chariot race in 'Ben-Hur') stopped altogether and he has mellowed out so much.

Although he seldom talks about it any more, I'm pretty sure that he still would have preferred to be female, but he no longer agonizes about it. And he can see how the harsh, condemning posture of the church was terribly harmful to him.

That was one of the issues that drove me out of the church. He was, and remains - a thoroughly decent person. So WHAT if he was born wearing the wrong body? Is it really different than any other kind of birth defect??

Thanks for your story. I hope it is kept somewhere on this board

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1343930

This is what I wrote -

<<I watched the mini documentary about her transition, & it made me so upset that she was even considering staying in the cult, even after being inactive, even after transitioning, & with the threat of excommunication looming over her.

She is so happy & full of life, & the cult would just hurt her more than they already have.

It just made me so sad to watch the whole thing, even though it was less than 20 minutes. Even on a superficial level, because I could see how much she loves her cute wardrobe, things the cult would make her throw away, like her tank tops & short shorts. If the cult would even let her stay, she wouldn't be allowed to wear that stuff ever again, even without being allowed to go to the temple.>>

So I was very happy for Eri, & very sad that she was considering staying in the cult & what the cult would do to her.

Thanks for sharing the link to your post about this, Platypus. I didn't see your before I posted it, though I did look.