Open expression

One of the things I am very happy about is seeing the openly expressed gender variance of many younger people. It is not to be kept behind closed doors or donned as occasional costume but rather fully incorporated into their daily lives. I could not have done that at their age as the social environment was not right plus I did not possess the internal fortitude.

Many are not transgender, but they feel inspired to wear nail colour, experiment with hair length and color plus their clothing clearly trumpets androgynous inclinations which sometimes blur boundaries. There are more of these people than ever despite still existing social pressures to conform.

Having people express themselves as they desire should help as we hopefully begin to draw clearer lines regarding paths taken for blending into society. It will hopefully also clarify the situation between those who need to transition versus those who just want looser restrictions on gender expression.

We were forced into secrecy but this is increasingly going to be viewed as a relic of the past. If we are going to help people to be their authentic selves, we need to remove the stigma which comes with breaking social norms with little rational basis other than to impose conformity.