By Gayla Turner

The groom standing next to my grandmother in those photos was not my grandfather, but a woman dressed in men’s clothing. 

By Caitlin Billings

I’ve learned it’s important to grieve, not because someone has died but because they have gone away and returned from a new direction.

By Byron Kennard

My parents didn’t kick me out, but they did kick me out of their hearts. And I mourn the loss of their love to this day.

By Alessandro Ghidini

I could not make out what he was saying, but it didn’t matter: he was not talking to me.

By Gary Eldon Peter

“Effeminate.” I had heard that before, in all its variations, both nouns and adjectives.

By James Homan

The Atlantic Ocean was even more beautiful than the Pacific, and warmer, too. The clouds at night remained white during the night as well as the day, and I realized I was lost.

By Jonathan Joly

On a deeper level I also felt that I was fighting for my younger self. I had no champion willing to stand up for me like that when I was a child.

By Jane Badler

My son had a vision for the world. He called himself “ANTIBOY”. He was against all labels and yearned for freedom to be whoever he wanted to be, and imagined a world where people were judged on their hearts and minds, not on their gender.

By Wade Rouse

My mom’s love for and pride in me, and her show of strength when everything could have been lost for her, changed countless lives and continues to have a ripple effect.

By Aislin Neufeldt

I’m trans, queer, and from the town in HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, and I appreciate the speculative nature of this show and the possibilities it reaches for.