Obviously the transgender movement has not progressed in the way that the gay and lesbian movement has. But Im an activist - thats just the kind of person I am.

Deep down, my mom had long suspected I was gay... Much of her anger and hurt came from her sense of betrayal that she was the last to be told.

I had felt uncomfortable as a woman my whole life.

I wanted to show America a different kind of man. If there was someone like me when I was growing up, my whole life would have been different.

I want to create a place where trans people and our allies could come together to share experiences, information and ideas. Being transgender or loving someone who is transgender can be challenging in our society and I hope that members of this site will also use this space as a place to support and encourage each other. Together, we can strengthen our community and open the hearts and minds of others.

There's a gender in your brain and a gender in your body. For 99 percent of people, those things are in alignment. For transgender people, they're mismatched. That's all it is. It's not complicated, it's not a neurosis. It's a mix-up. It's a birth defect, like a cleft palate.

I always wanted to shave. It is a very natural process. For my birthday I got a lot of shaving stuff.