12/31/08
To Everyone,
By the time that I finish writing this letter, I imagine that I will have been working on it, on-and-off, for several days. I intend to take great care with it, because what I want from the outset is for this letter to preemptively explain away the things you may wish to know, and to answer the questions you will want to ask. Regardless of my wishes and best intentions, there will remain things that you do not know, and there will remain questions that need asking. It’s just the nature of things, I guess, so I suppose all that I’m wanting to say with this disclaimer is that I’m going to be trying as hard as I can.
And the reason I’m taking so much care, putting so much effort into making sure that what I say is what I really and truly want to say, how I want it said, is because I am writing you all to tell you that I am a transgendered human being.
This is… not as jarring of a proclamation to me as it probably is to you. If you saw this coming, that’s great! I didn’t really try to hide it. If not, please stick with me for at least a few pages so that I can try and explain some things.
All my life, I have felt wrong. And I do mean all my life. Since before most of you knew me, since before I could even put a full definition to what gender even was. I have always felt off in my own body, as though the world I expected and desired did not sync at all with what was happening around me, happening to me.
I have the brain of a female. In all likelihood it is biological, caused during fetal formation by little more than a slightly “off” series of hormonal developments. My mind is a girl’s, but it’s in the body of a boy, and it has been this way for the entirety of my existence, regardless of how I’ve been raised or how my worldly experiences have influenced me.
Imagine for a second here what that would be like. Imagine you, a girl or boy, in the opposite body, and unable to do anything about it. You see the world as a guy or girl, but have to live as a girl or guy, pushed along by societal current, tradition, and bare survival instinct into positions and identities that are increasingly uncomfortable to you, unpalatable to you. Everything about your existence is laced with lies, and it feels like there’s nothing that you can do about it.
This is how it is for me. This is how it’s always been for me. If you’ve always seen me as a Herculean pillar of masculinity, then I guess it just means I’m a good faker. I’m sorry if this makes you feel betrayed, or wronged. That’s never what I wanted to do.
For years I felt that there was nothing I could do about what I felt, and so for years I didn’t intend to do anything about it. Unsurprisingly, this did not work. Transsexuality, I have found, is not a habit you can break, a mindset you can force your way out of, or something you can treat with psychotherapy or drugs. It is a genetic construction that will never, ever change.
But as it turns out, there is something that can be done about it. I’ve always known it was a possibility, but until now I’ve been too terrified to make it a reality. It took time, it took lots of time, for me to build up the courage to admit to myself that it would be a mistake to continue living as a male, and to understand that any apprehensions that I had about doing anything to solve my problems were very much outweighed by the problems themselves, and the implications that they would have on my well- being for the rest of my life.
So I’m doing something about it, and I’m transitioning from male to female. It’s the only cure for my condition, and I am more than happy to take it on.
Here’s what this means. It means that soon, I will no longer be living as or identifying as a male. It means that I will be undergoing hormone replacement therapy to cancel out my body’s male hormones with female ones. It means that I will be physically developing as a female. It means that I will be a female.
It means that I will stop following male fashion trends, and will begin to dress as a female. It means that I will no longer be speaking with that booming bass voice of mine. It means that I’m going to spend lots of money to hire a professional to shoot my facial hair to death with a laser.
It means that I will be undergoing a long and tedious process to shift every bit of identification related to me to reflect my female identity, which will of course include a change of name. Soon enough, my name will be legally changed to Sarah—the name my parents would have given me had I been born a girl.
But above all of the rest, this is the part I want people to understand the most. This is the part where I’m going to be emphatic, where I’m going to be angry, and where I’m probably going to cry a little.
This is the part where I want to make clear that this is not a choice. I am not deciding to become a girl. This is me allowing myself to be who I am, and it is the only route that I can take, because I am done lying about who I am. In transitioning from male to female, I am going to become a second-class citizen in the eyes of many people. I am going to be opening myself up to discrimination and hate. I am going to lose my right to marry. I am going to jeopardize my likelihood of finding a life partner who accepts me. I am going to jeopardize my job security. I am opening myself up to abandonment and rejection by family and friends. I am diving headfirst into what is really a whole world of social trouble, and it is not something that I would choose to do. I’m going to go into debt hundreds of times due to medical bills, and this is not something that I would choose to do.
This is the next step of my life, of my existence and of my development as a human being, and this was always going to happen, because it was never my choice.
Coming to grips with this has been an absurdly hard process, and it has constantly sent me into depression and loneliness. Nearly every personal problem that I’ve had over the course of my life, I can trace back almost certainly to repressed questions of gender identity. Making myself realize it and embrace it took years, and even after that—basically all through high school—the fear and uncertainty of what to do about it made me miserable.
I never told anyone. I lied about what made me sad, or I just didn’t say. Coming out and actually telling someone “I’m transgendered” was a prospect far, far too scary to even consider. Instead I sank inside myself, jealous of people more brave than me and all full of self-pity, and it’s all because I was too scared to just tell anyone that there was something wrong with me. It took being completely low, down, and beaten for me to finally tell my best friend. It was a year after that before I told anyone else. After that person, a couple of weeks to tell another. Despite how scary it was all those times, and despite how scary it still is, it gets easier, and that’s why now I’m able to close my eyes, hold my breath, and send this to all of you—something that a year ago I wasn’t sure I’d ever do.
So before this letter, I told only a few people about my transsexuality—a few of the people closest and most trusted to me, people who I love and people who I felt cared about me enough for me to feel comfortable using them as test subjects in my little revelation. My conversations with them have guided me through the writing of this letter, and have helped me to find what I need to say with it. I want to thank them for letting me cry on them, for holding me, for propping me up and helping me through my very first steps. My talks with them gave me the courage and the confidence to go forward. Thanks so much for helping me, and accepting me, and making me believe that others would accept me too.
I’m writing this letter to everyone in my life so that you all can know what I’m going through, because I feel like it would be unfair for you to not know. I know you didn’t ask for me to spill my heart out like this, and I know it may be annoying to even hear it. I don’t expect you to write me with encouragement, give me three cheers or to be my support group. I just don’t want to give people the wrong impression of me anymore, and this letter is my first step in showing you how I really am. If this means you don’t want me around anymore, that’s okay. I really do understand. If you don’t want to speak to me anymore at all, that’s okay too. Some of you are more on the fringes of my life and probably wouldn’t be saying much to me anyway, and will probably just brush this off as a strange occurrence involving a strange person you met once. And that too is okay.
I can’t ask for acceptance from everyone. I don’t even really expect it. I just want everyone to know.
For the near future, know that my transition is underway right now. Things will be changing about my dress, my mannerisms, my voice, my looks – but keep in mind that beneath it all I’m still the same person. Same likes, same dislikes, same jokes, same taste. I know it’s going to be strange, I know it’s going to be different, and I know most of you have never had to go through this before. It’s okay, I haven’t either. I know there will be awkward situations. I know I’ll be accidentally called Josh and referred to as a male, and I know it will feel weird having to correct yourself when it comes to these things. I expect it, and I’m fine with it. I also expect questions, lots and lots of questions, and I want them to be asked without fear. I’m an understanding person, and I understand how weird this might be for some of you, and I want to minimize that as much as I can—for everyone’s sake.
I’m writing this to all of my friends and acquaintances new and old, but it is the people that I’ve known the longest that this will probably affect the most. People who I’ve known since freshman year of high school, or even before, who have seen me grow as a person and seen me change many times in many different ways, but never this much. I do feel like I should say sorry to you for keeping this a secret for so long, for building up a wall between us that I led you to believe didn’t exist. I’m not sorry for who I am, but I am sorry for who I made you believe I was.
Again, all I can do is ask for your understanding—but if I don’t receive it, I’ll probably live. Since coming to terms with all of this, I’m already a happier person. I am taking my short life into my own hands, and I’m going to live it the way that I deserve to live it. I refuse to go on acting as I’ve felt the world would like me to.
This is my story, and I’m going to write myself the way I want to be.
Love and peace to all of ya.
—Sarah-to-be, Josh-for-now.
About the author: Sarah Szabo is a child of America. An ardent student of liquor, Greek history, and celebrity gossip, she lives in and works primarily from the back of a 2000 extended cab Dodge Dakota in northeast Oklahoma.
Special Note: Autostraddle’s “First Person” personal essays do not necessarily reflect the ideals of Autostraddle or its editors, nor do any First Person writers intend to speak on behalf of anyone other than themselves. First Person writers are simply speaking honestly from their own hearts.
Pages: 1 2See entire article on one page
Someone, somewhere, is chopping a LOT of onions.
Many, many onions. I’m not even sure how many hundreds of miles the onion shopping effect is.
Maybe it’s a super-onion.
[IMG]http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m58/cooperdesignstudio/Character%20Concept%20Renderings/SuperOnionRough.jpg[/IMG]
(doesn’t know how to embed images)
A whole ogre of onions
They must be making onion soup in the kitchen. Here at work. Near my desk where I am crying. From onions, obviously.
Sarah, you are impressive.
Just wanted to be the first to say that this is beautiful x
This is so lovely. Thank you, thank you for sharing.
Also: Yay! Oklahoma! Sometimes it feels like NO ONE else is from OK.
Thank you for sharing your letter, it was beautifully written. I wrote many letters aimed at a specific audience in the process of coming out – to my family, to my oldest friends and my newer friends, my colleagues and my dissertation committee – but yours is better.
The genitalia question comes up all the time. When I tell someone I’m trans I’ve been asked evasively, “So have you had any surgeries?” Yes, they took my tonsils out when I was 12. “Have you had anything done?” Yes, I had my ears pierced. And most recently a very direct, “So…do you have a penis?” Do you?
I still don’t understand how anyone can possibly justify asking such questions. It pisses me off so much. Sometimes I just reply by asking about THEIR genitalia, or their partner’s if they’re asking about mine’s… Then, I get the upset reaction from them. Yet, some don’t get that policing ANYONE’s body isn’t acceptable.
imana go doodle an angry cloud now
In all of these cases it was pretty clear to me that they regarded me as a curiosity, not a real person. In fact the woman who asked me that last question had earlier in the evening declared, “I just find you SO fascinating!” While I am undoubtedly a sparkling conversationalist :), I hadn’t said anything to her beyond, “Hi, my name is Kate.”
Hate how it often has to become a digression about the status of genitals, ugh. And yep, spot on about the curiosity aspect; I used to just hand out laminated cards on dates (kind tongue in cheek) listing answers to the most common questions that I thought were within the bounds of good taste vis-a-vis my tgism. That way, we could move on to actual conversation and not have to adopt the parlance of an interrogation.
My wife and I often joke that we should prepare an informative pamphlet or maybe a video. :)
This is an amazing letter. I spent a lot of time working on letters with my boyfriend as he was coming out and we were constantly searching for other peoples letters as guides. This is by far the best I’ve seen.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you so much! I really love this new series. <3
I totally did the letter thing to my parents (and it didn’t go over so well, but exactly as well as I expected, so…), but yours was way better, tbh. Explaining myself as a trans woman is annoyingly hard, especially when I’m still in the phase (at least I hope it’s a phase) where I’m wishing the “trans” part of that identity would just go away and stop fucking with my reflection :/, and it’s *especially* especially hard to explain myself in the queer community, it seems. Not everyone, obvs. Just in general.
That last bit. Yes. Always end up feeling shitty when out with my gf with lots more queers and it’s not picked up on. Or hate the fact i can hold her hand and no one gives weird looks but if her friends did it people woud be like ‘whaaa homos’ which is dumb.
This is really fantastic.
PS: Yay Oklahoma!
Amazing. Wonderful written and so powerfully raw. LOVE.
Epically awesome. The beautiful pieces featured through this trans*scribe series are making my life. Much love.
This is a really beautiful, thoughtful and important letter. Thank you for sharing, and thank you for your courage.
This was very beautiful, thank you.
I did the letter thing… about 20 years later than you. Result, my mom gave me my name and my husband stayed with me. Sometimes life and the people who share it with you can be the greatest surprise of all!
I’ve had a very different experience than most, I’ve been living out and proud for more than 2 years and I’ve rarely had to answer overly personal (shitty) questions from anybody in my life. But I think anyone who knew me before has had a relatively easy time accept me as a woman because I’ve gradually changed over the course of the last 5 years and also the fact that I actually have a personality now and I’m much more outwardly social and happy! I started growing my hair out at 16, came out to my family at 18, went full time about 7 months later, and started hormones last April! I did write a letter for my immediate family, but I never really had to bother with anyone else, most my friends I just added them on facebook, made sure they knew name/pronouns and that was the extent of the conversation.
Thank you for this. A student in a class I work with has just come out as trans and he’s asking teachers to call him by his new name and pronouns, but worried about telling his parents. I don’t want to put any pressure on him at all, but I might ask him if he’s interested in reading this.
Maybe you should start by calling her by the right pronouns ^~^
Maybe you should start by calling her by the right pronouns ^~^
When people call me she and her it makes me feel 1000000000000090291810901010929001920912901292109000 times happier (I’m still pre-transition T^T)
This is such an amazing and beautifully written letter. Thank you for sharing.
You’re super brave and I wish I can hug you in person!
Thank you Sarah! I loved this coming out letter. I think it is wonderfully worded and a helpful example of how to share our gender identity with the world. However, it brought emotions in me to hear about the positive reactions from others on account of the letter. That wasn
I loved this coming out letter. I think it is wonderfully worded and a helpful example of how to share our gender identity with the world. However, it frustrated me to hear about the positive reactions from others on account of the letter. That wasn’t my experience. When I wrote a coming out letter as a transgender woman, my evangelical Protestant family responded very badly to it. Only one sibling out of four has a healthy and accepting relationship with me. My parents yeah not pretty. I guess if I have one piece of my experience to toss out there is that coming out letters are for the person writing them. I spent months wording my letter hoping for a better outcome from others. But there was a reason that I had hid in the closet until I was 26, my family has traditionally loathed LGBT people and still does. However, that letter was immensely valuable for me in spite of other people’s reactions to it. The letter was about me and me finally deciding to no longer hide who I am from my family. The letter gave me freedom. I finally no longer had to pretend my life was different than it really was. Facing the truth even with its negative reactions from family, has opened up my world to a myriad of people who love me and accept me knowing full well who I am and where I have been. If my family can’t relate to me or treat me nicely because I am transgender, I am happy to finally know their truth, and move on. A coming out letter is a declaration of independence and what people do with it is THEIR responsibility not mine.
Brilliant very brave and well brilliant. It can be so difficult but I am glad that your experience was so positive.
Thanks for sharing, I love this.
This is amazing and so are you. I wish I’d handled my (comparatively easy) coming out as bi experience with half the poise, dignity and candor that you did.
So this letter (along with the other article that had advice for mothers who think their daughter might be gay) totally just prompted me to write my own coming out letter (as bisexual) to my mother. I’ve put it off for nearly 10 years. Thank you for finally giving me the courage.
Dear Sarah,
Thank you for sharing your coming out letter. I’m all kind of clumsy when it comes to coming out, and reading your words inspired me to find an eloquent way to express myself.
I wish you well and thanks again <3
This has to be one of the most amazing things I’ve ever read.
This was a lovely letter. I wish you the best and thank you for sharing.
child! where were you when i needed you decades ago? i come to this party late (it being 2014, ffs)… but AS is a new revelation for me, having run the whole gamut of trans intertube stuff looking for a place i felt i belonged.
and i revel now in the exuberance and exhilaration of the young ‘uns like you who bring life and spirit and anticipation and enthusiasm for the new lives you can look forward to. yeah, i’m a little jealous, but my inner celebration of your freedom makes me cry for joy, a feeling that has escaped me for a long, long time…
carry on, beautiful, intelligent, young woman, you’re the fulfillment of the dreams of generations of scared, confused souls.
I have spent the last year trying to write this exact letter. You doll, have nailed it. I hope you don’t mind but I am going to use it as a template to finish my letter for my world.
Take care and many blessings to you!
I wish someone would put together a book of letters and stories just like yours. When you wrote it, it was a letter for yourself to your circles and now it is a letter for the world, rippling out to touch who-knows-how-many lives with your bravery. Much love. xxxo
Sarah,
I have spent many a night searching for examples of coming out letters for transgender individuals. Yours, by far, has to be one of the most eloquently written letters. Thank you so much for sharing an intimate piece of you! I hope that you don’t mind that I use yours as a guide, when I finally find the courage to write my own.
With hope,
Renee
Hey, I’m coming out to my school and extended family soon, so I was wondering if I could use this letter as a template for my own letter ( as I am not a good writer)?
Yes.
Dear Sarah,
This is the most amazing letter I have read in all my research, it is painstakingly difficult to write one and you managed to cover all the important points without oversharing.
I am embarrassed to say that I am using it as a template for my own letter, try as I could, I struggled to improve upon your perfectly constructed sentences.
The first time I read it brought me to tears since it echo’s my own life so exactly.
Your a strong and inspiring woman Sarah.
Thank you.
I’m a trans girl who’s about to publicly come out in a week, and I came across this excellently-written letter while looking for inspiration to write my own. Thank you so much for sharing your story. May you continue taking your life into your own hands, living it the way you deserve to live it.