Recently, I had the chance to see Gender Revolution, the National Geographic documentaryon trans and intersex people hosted by Katie Couric. It was almost exactly what I expected, a primer on gender variant people and some of the issues in our lives. It’s clearly intended for straight, cis viewers, basic and accessible, a “Trans 101.”

Recently, the trans community celebrated one of our very few annual holidays, the International Transgender Day of Visibility. It’s a day to recognize and celebrate trans people and raise awareness of anti-trans discrimination. It’s important to understand, however, that visibility can be a double-edged sword for trans people. 

Admit it. Like me, you never really believed it was possible, America would come to its senses sooner or later and do the right thing once it was actually time to vote.

Some have said it’s old school, that we all have to understand that the world is changing and how gender different people identify is changing as well. I can accept that, though I still manage to screw up non-binary gender identities on a regular basis.

Have you seen the new trans-positive ad that’s going to run on FOX the final night of the Republican National Convention? It’s a really terrific piece of advertising…that is, if you’re someone who’s neutral or supportive of transgender rights.

It’s an interesting time to be an LGBT Philadelphian.

It was a very different world for the national trans equality movement when I came out in 1997, and it wasn’t just about media or politics. Trans people of my generation who were politically active understood that socially, politically, and culturally, we were virtually invisible as a minority interest. The disadvantages of that reality were obvious, but there were advantages as well. Bob Dylan was right: When you’ve got nothing, you’ve nothing got to lose.