My thoughts after 10 years as Lisa.

I took a leap of faith on the third Saturday in July 2008. It was either that or leap to my death. As scared as I was of what lay ahead, it was less frightening than the thought of never having experienced what it felt like to live authentically. I'm happy to still be here, as Lisa.

A topic garnering much attention in social sciences is intersectionality, the categorizations of race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group. It is regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

Add to this idea the questions we ask and the answers we get as we explore our world as children and in our youth. What assumptions, expectations, and conclusions do we draw? Do they set us up for success or failure? Same-sex attracted and trans and non-binary persons navigate and view life through a lens that often makes them imagine a future that is frightening. Fear of rejection, ridicule, and abandonment rank high.

For the last 25 years, we have been in a state of emergency, that is to say, of emergence and coming to light. This emergence is due, in large part, to the internet and the sharing of information. Where once we struggled to figure out who we are in secret, now we can see, hear and read about people asking the same questions, and their stories resonate with ours.

But what are the implications for the rest of society? Indeed, what are the challenges and opportunities?

We can choose to exclude, or we can choose to include. To be inclusive may seem scandalous and radical, but I believe it can make us the best version of who we are as humans.

Dare with me to be scandalous.