His and Her Bookends

The spectrum between “female” and “male” is defining itself and these bookends represent the widening expanse of new editions being wedged—these volumes of amendments often unwelcome—into our lexicon. Sexual Orientation has only added some slang like “fluid”, but gender has an identity—transgender separate and unhinged from a sexual orientation. Some people don’t want to be seen as either. Gender has an expression. What is typically associated with female, isn’t female. Some men want to shave their legs—they want to enjoy the silk, smooth sensation, and should—have long hair, and wear pink satin short-shorts. While some women don’t want to shave their legs or arm pits or cross their legs. Heck, a girl might want a beard, but they still identify as women. And today, they can grow one, and more words now exist to help them describe who they are. Gender has a transition. At times in someone’s life they can be legally or physically or psychologically one, neither, or both. All those who have struggled to get the weighty bookends to move further apart so that they can be recognized and belong on the human gender gradient, have suffered and so, finally, we recognize gender dysphoria, and not a moment to soon.