Transgender Cheesecake

**I've thought long and hard about posting this, and I know not all of my friends will agree with me -- and that is okay.  It was something I needed to get off my chest - so here goes.**

Weird title, I know. But let me explain.

I was talking to a friend on the phone and for some strange reason we were talking about the difference  between pie and cake.  Then my friend mentioned cheesecake.

Cheesecake is not cake.
Cheesecake is more like a pie.
So why do we call it cake?

After much debate my final comment on the subject was,
"So, cheesecake is the transgender dessert of the world."


Think about it.

Google definitions defines transgender as:

denoting or relating to a person whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender.

Cheesecake was "born" a pie, but identifies itself as a cake.

Simple.

We accept it.
Nobody throws a fit if we serve cheesecake and demands to know we we serve such a "sinful" dessert. Nobody says. "don't you mean cheesePIE?".  It's not a huge deal.

So WHY are so many people concerned or uncomfortable when someone is transgender?

I happen to have 2 transgender friends. One transgender man and one transgender woman.  I will admit - I still struggle with pronouns, because I knew both before they started making the transition. And yes, at first I didn't know how to handle it. I felt uncomfortable because it was new.  But then I learned, I was still talking to my FRIEND.  They weren't any different except for the pronoun I used when talking about them.  How silly is that?  For whatever reason I thought that by having to use a different pronoun, that my friend would change - be different from what I knew.  But guess what?  I never saw these 2 friends as HAPPY as when they were allowed to just BE.

I'm not sure what I wanted to accomplish by writing this post - and I know it's scatterbrained - but maybe, just maybe, it will get people thinking and researching and someday, it will lead to understanding and acceptance.

~~Later 'tater. Alligator. Don't be a Stranger. Bye!~~

For more information about transgender and other LGBT issue visit these websites:

National Center for Transgender Equality

Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians And Gays (PFLAG)

For Transgender Terminology, click here