Alright, let’s talk about this gay and transgender thing, ya know? It’s all a bit confusing, even for an old woman like me. But I’ll try to explain it the way I understand it, plain and simple.
So, you got this “LGBTQ+” thing, right? It’s like a big ol’ group of folks. L, G, B, T… all sorts of letters. They say it stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and a whole bunch of other stuff. I ain’t gonna lie, I can’t keep track of all them fancy words, but I get the gist of it.
Now, “gay” folks, that’s easy enough. It’s mostly about who you’re sweet on, who you wanna cuddle up with. If a man likes another man, that’s gay. If a woman likes another woman, that’s lesbian, which is also gay. It’s about who you love, plain and simple.
But then you got this “transgender” thing, and that’s a whole different kettle of fish. It ain’t about who you love, it’s about how you feel inside, about who you are in your heart.
- You see, when a baby is born, the doctor looks and says, “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” That’s what they call “assigned sex,” based on what they see.
- But sometimes, what the doctor sees ain’t the whole story. Sometimes, a person feels different inside. A person born looking like a boy might feel like a girl deep down, and a person born looking like a girl might feel like a boy. That feeling, that’s what they call “gender identity.”
So, a transgender person is someone whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. It’s like, if you were born looking like a rooster, but you always felt like a hen, deep down in your chicken heart, then you might be transgender, if chickens could think like that, of course. You might feel like you should be clucking and laying eggs instead of crowing.
And get this, a transgender person can be gay, straight, or anything in between. It’s two separate things, see? Being transgender is about who you are, and being gay is about who you love. A transgender woman can love another woman, making her a lesbian, or she can love a man, making her straight. And a transgender man can love another man, making him gay, or he can love a woman, making him straight. It’s all mixed up, but it makes sense when you think about it.
It’s like, you can be a baker who loves to dance, or a farmer who loves to sing. One thing is your job, the other is your hobby. Being transgender is like one thing, and being gay is like another.
Now, some folks talk about “cisgender.” That’s just a fancy word for folks who ain’t transgender. If you feel like the same gender you were born as, then you’re cisgender. Most folks are cisgender, but that don’t make them any better or worse than transgender folks. We’re all just people, trying to live our lives the best we can.
And then there’s all this talk about pronouns, you know, “he” and “she” and all that. For transgender folks, it’s important to use the pronouns that match how they feel inside, not how they look on the outside. It’s just a matter of respect, like calling someone by their proper name. If a person tells you they want to be called “she,” then you call them “she,” even if they don’t look like what you think a “she” should look like. It ain’t that hard, really. Just be polite and treat people the way they want to be treated.
So, to sum it all up, being gay is about who you’re attracted to, who you want to be with. Being transgender is about who you are inside, in your heart and mind, no matter what your body looks like. They’re different things, but they’re both part of who a person is. And it ain’t nobody’s business to judge or tell someone else how to live their life.
We all just want to be happy and loved, ain’t that the truth? Whether you’re gay, transgender, or whatever, it don’t matter. What matters is being a good person, treating others with kindness, and living your life the best way you know how. That’s what I always say, and I ain’t changing my tune now.
And remember, this here is just my way of understanding it. I ain’t no expert, just an old woman trying to make sense of the world. If you want to learn more, there are plenty of places you can go to get more information. Just be open-minded and willing to listen, and you’ll do alright.
