'Jeopardy!' champ hits $1 million; talks fame, trans rights

[TexasBushwhacker]

9. I have a trans cousin

He is my first cousin's son. I'll call him Don. He was born in 1978 with cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair his entire life. He always wanted his hair to be very short and wanted to wear pants, never dresses. When he hit puberty, he started growing a lot of hair on his face and arms. Eventually, about 10 years ago, he "came out" to the family. I don't know how long the process took, but my cousin's parents, in their 80s at that point, accepted him, his new identity and his chosen name. His church even asked him if he wanted to be baptized again, with his new name.

The thing is, my aunt and uncle were born in 1929.They accepted Don because they LOVED him and wanted him to be happy. So why is it so hard for some people to accept? There is so much that we don't know about gender identity and sexual preference. I was born a straight cis female. I didn't choose it, and neither did gay people or trans people. I simply am what I am and they ARE what they are.

Oddly enough, I found out there is a distant cousin in our family who is trans as well and thankfully, his parents accepted him and allowed him to adopt a new name when he was 13. He's now in his late 50s. Is there a trans gene? I don't know, but everyone deserves to be happy in their skin.