LETTER: Let’s promote understanding when it comes to the transgender

In response to Victor Joecks’ Wednesday column:

There is no “transgender movement.” There are transgender people, real human beings who do not fit into the idealized world of boy-girl-and-nothing-else. And the existence of transgendered people is not new. Albert Cashier fought as a man in the Union army. But later, when he became ill, it was revealed that he was born Jennie Hodgers.

The “bathroom issue” is not an issue. If you have used a restroom at a movie, a play or at a sporting event, you have shared a bathroom with a transgendered person and you survived. In fact, when you look at another person, you do not see genitalia, you see gender expression and usually make up your mind about whether you are looking at a male or a female based upon that expression.

The transition is not quixotic or quick for those who change their gender expression. Adults can defend the change themselves, but children who are confused about their “gender” need the same love and understanding that any child needs.

It is not an easy topic. Calling it a “war on women” or a “political trend” does not promote understanding, and it does not help anyone.