By doing the work to love ourselves more, I believe we will love each other better.

If you have a problem with people living their lives and being authentically who they are, you really should go and do some soul-searching.

When I was perceived as a black man I became a threat to public safety. When I was dressed as myself, it was my safety that was threatened.

We shouldn't demonize the woman who wears high heels and we shouldn't demonize the woman who doesn't wear high heels. We should accept all forms of comportment.

Beyoncé says it was Mathew Knowles, her father, who made her understand discipline and work ethic, what it means to come in early before class starts to stretch, or to work on your dégagés or your pirouettes or whatever it was. I was a turner! So to come in early and then to stay afterward and to just soak up everything that the teacher has, that's really what it's about - the striving for excellence.

Beyoncé means so much to me. Throughout my transition, Beyoncé has been there as a style icon, an example of excellence, of beauty, of vulnerability. She's shared so much of herself, and it's inspiring.

The preoccupation with transition and with surgery objectifies trans people, and we don't get to really deal with the real lived experiences.