Boys and Girls Together

There was a huge uproar when Chaz Bono was voted off Dancing with the Stars this week. In case you've been living on Jupiter lately, Chaz was born a girl named Chastity to Cher and Sonny Bono. Recently Chaz had gender reassignment surgery and is now a man. His parting words after getting the boot were, "I wanted to show America a different kind of man."

Actually, Chaz, we've all seen lots of heavy set white men who can't dance, but we applaud your efforts.

Then this morning I come upon an article about a boy in Colorado who identifies as a girl and who wants to join the Girl Scouts.




At first the Girl Scouts denied the request, but then they relented because they are an inclusive organization and if a child identifies as a girl, even if he has boy parts, they will allow him to sell their cookies.

The first time I heard of a transgendered person was when I was a little girl and there was a lot of talk about Christine Jorgensen, an American G.I. who went to Denmark to become a woman. I remember being puzzled by it, but it must have made an impression on me because I recall it quite clearly all these years later.

Then in the 1970s I read "Conundrum" by Jan Morris who once was James Morris and I was sympathetic to her plight, but of course, unable to really relate to it.

Until Chaz's very public transition I hadn't thought much about that particular type of predicament.

Now I have to wonder just how common it is to feel as if you've been born as the incorrect gender. Do we just hear a lot about it or is really a widespread problem?