Forty years ago I met a trans person. This was a man living as a woman. I was 20 years old and very naive. I was asked to house sit/baby sit for a husband- wife truck driving team. The husband was bringing the semi truck back to Oklahoma from a trip to Canada where he had been training a person to drive big trucks. This driver-in-training would be staying at the house with me and the children while mom and dad made a haul to Texas.
I might have been told that the driver-in-training was a woman, I don't remember. But I don't recall being concerned about this stranger. So mom and dad pull out for their Texas haul, leaving me with this person. By all appearances, this person seemed like a woman. I'll call her Susan, I don't remember the actual name. Not very pretty, horrible pock marked facial skin, (things I noticed as a judgemental 20 year old), but she was nice. We had a lot of time to talk and get to know each other. I remember getting this "guy" vibe from her. Kinda flirty, very attentive, masculine. Boy was I confused. At first I thought maybe this lady was a lesbian. I had never met a lesbian, but I was trying to excuse the strange vibe I was getting.
One day we went to the track together to run a few miles. That's when Susan took off the oversized shirt she always wore and ran ahead of me. At that moment I saw the reality about Susan. She had a perfect male form. Wide shoulders, narrow hips, Susan didn't move like a woman, now I'm really confused. Trans people were a rarity back then. You might see one on a sensational TV program, but not in real life in central Oklahoma. My demeanor must have changed because Susan addressed the elephant in the room that evening back at the house. I learned that Susan was a man who was married to a woman back in Canada. He had not had any surgery yet, but was taking hormones and had some sort of hair removal proceedure. Susan just wanted to blend into society. He wanted to not draw attention to himself, just to be able to walk through life accepted as the persona he was putting out there. Frankly I think he could for the most part. He could go to a ladies room and not be noticed. This person was not demanding others say or do anything.
Funny, the mom in the trucker duo was jealous of Susan. She demanded she go along on the trip back to Canada to return Susan to his home. I bet she figured it out during that long trip. Susan is still to this day my understanding of a legit trans person. All of the in your face demands of pronouns and bathroom rights seems to me to be something else. Attention seeking, me, me, me, screaming fits...pretty counterproductive in my opinion, but fitting in and blending onto society is not the goal with the current population of trans people. I have wondered from time to time throughout the years about Susan. Did he get surgery? How did his wife deal with it? But I also prayed Susan be healed of what was driving him to live as a woman, and be redeemed to His creator.
I realize this post may anger some, I'm just sharing my experience. So please forgive me if you are offended. That's not my goal. Just trying to figure it out just like everyone else.
A work in progress
Teresa
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