Ask Amy: Transgender people say, "Call me by my name"
Dear Readers: Like all of you, I am curious about how things turn out after I publish a question.
The following two letters are responses to a recent question from a college sophomore who signed his letter "Embarrassed."
Dear Amy: I've been reading your column since I was a little kid.
Last month, I decided to ask you my own question.
As a transgender man, I was confused and embarrassed during the Thanksgiving holiday that my parents persisted in calling me by the female name they assigned to me at birth.
I thought I would let you know how things turned out when I returned home for Christmas.
I knew my family loved me, but it felt like they weren't recognizing something that is a deep and personal part of me.
My experience with gender identity is like this: I was born wearing an itchy, scratchy sweater. I didn't like it. But I looked around and I saw everyone who looked like me was wearing their sweaters, and I had certainly never heard of anyone taking off or wearing different sweaters. After all, I had been given this! It was a gift!
In high school, I would wake up at 4:30 a.m. to meticulously put on makeup, so I could look feminine enough to feel passable. I was so unhappy.
I began using a masculine nickname. My parents hated it. But to me, it felt right. I finally found a sweater that fit me, and I was ecstatic.
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