Two Recent Womb Man Readers/Friends Have Called Me Brave

Womb Man

In two separate emails today, well-known Star Trek fans (and dear friends) Janet Wicks and Melinda G. Kettler have called me brave for publishing Womb Man: How I Survived Growing Up in a Booby-Trapped World. Published reviews have used the same term, or courage/courageous.

 

How I wish I could take credit in this regard, but I simply don’t feel it’s merited…

 

I didn’t–and don’t–consider Womb Man an act of courage, since I felt no fear when it came to publishing it. To me, courage means “moving ahead despite hesitation or fear”.

 

I have received ZERO backlash or hate mail about the book. And I would have published it even   had I anticipated backlash, without fear. So courage didn’t really factor into the decision to publish it. (You can call me naive, perhaps, for NOT being afraid, but you sure shouldn’t call me brave!)

 

I had ZERO fear by the time I decided to publish. To be sure, I was fearful as a youngster and young adult to proclaim my identity,  simply because I didn’t know that there were others like me.

 

But after finding out there are literally millions more like me, I knew I had to tell my story. As an “almost famous by De’s fault” mini-celebrity, I knew I didn’t want to pretend I was cisgender and clueless with regard to what others are feeling as transgender or intersex individuals–or LGBQ individuals.  My life is an open book. It was time to “come out” and name and claim who I really am (as best I understand myself–either intersex at birth and altered surgically to female as an infant without my knowledge or consent, or naturally transgender at birth: a male in a female’s body).

 

I wrote Womb Man to help the youngsters growing up today so they don’t feel like they’re all alone in the world. Too many precious LGBTQI teens commit suicide. It has to stop!

 

Womb Man is my contribution to keeping kids alive and to helping their loved ones understand what it’s like to feel abnormal or unwelcome because of prevalent societal norms. I think if kids and their adult loved ones read it, they will come to a greater understanding of the gender spectrum and find less to fear and more to accept and respect.

 

It was after writing Womb Man that I discovered the TV series GLEE. GLEE is another expression of the wonderful truth that diversity is a good thing, not a scourge.

 

I truly wish GLEE was required viewing and Womb Man was required reading for everyone–kids, teens, and adults. I think if they were, we’d get over the tendency to think of others as “them” and start to think of them as friends, family — and fabulous!    All human beings want to feel celebrated for who we are, not just tolerated.

 

Yeah, I know. It’s a crazy idea.  It’s just so crazy that it might actually work…

 

I hope it does.

 

As the Burt Bacharach song proclaims…

 

What the world needs now is love, sweet love.

No, not just for some…but for everyone!

 

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Kris Smith

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