These Eyes
©2013 by Dallas Denny
I’ve often written about pain as the defining characteristic of transsexualism. All too often we write as if the pain is all there is — and for many transsexuals, it IS all there is. Being in the gender of birth is simply unbearable.
My pain was ever present, but was more, as I’ve said before, like a rock in my shoe than a knife in my breast. Still, I think you’ll agree after viewing the photos, it showed in my eyes.
When I was a child, I had happy eyes. . .
. . . but by the time I was in high school, the pain was showing.
Ten years later my eyes clearly reflected my pain.
Crossdressing didn’t make the pain go away.
In 1989, as I was approaching transition, my eyes were perhaps less sad. . .
. . . but photos taken after my transition don’t show the pain, for there was none.
Twenty-four years later my eyes are old — but pain-free.
Category: Transgender Body & Soul
About the Author (Author Profile)
Dallas Denny’s contributions to transgender activism, knowledge, and history are legendary and span four decades. She was the first voice thousands of desperate transpeople heard when they reached out for help, and she provided the information and referrals they so desperately needed. She is a prolific writer. Her books, booklets, magazines she has edited, and articles fill an entire bookcase and are in danger of spilling over into a second bookcase. She has created and led several national nonprofit organizations, been present at the creation of at least five transgender conferences, and led two long-lived support groups, She created the first trans-exclusive archive of printed and recorded literature, which today is available to the public at Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan. She has been a fierce advocate for transgender autonomy and access to medical care. Through it all, she has stayed on task, and made it all about the task at hand rather than about herself. Now, in her mid-seventies, she maintains the same frenetic pace she has kept up since the 1980s. Dallas’ work is viewable in its entirety on her website.Subscribe
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