tropesarenotbad: comrade-is-gender-neutral:Everytime someone says that being trans is just a phase b
tropesarenotbad: comrade-is-gender-neutral:Everytime someone says that being trans is just a phase because there are no old trans people, I think of situations like this. So many people hid who they were because the world wasn’t as accepting. [image description: a facebook post from Humans of St. Louis, showing a thin white woman with her hair up in a bun and a white dog that looks vaguely like a pitt bull mix on leash, standing in front of a shop that reads “simple pleasantries boutique”. The text beside the photo is shown in a separate screenshot that reads, with some minor edits for readability:One night, I was getting ready to close, and this old man comes in. He had to be in his 60s or 70s. Nice suit, good cologne, walking with a cane. Just a good looking old man. Very nice. And he’s looking at the thigh highs. I said, “Can I help you find something?” Him: “Well, I didn’t know these were as pricy as they were. But I’d like to get a pair.”Her: “How much money do you have?”Him: “Five bucks.”Her: “Alright, pick out whatever thigh highs you want, I’ll give ‘em to you for $5.”We ended up talking for about an hour. He said, “You know these are for me?”Her: “I figured that”He said, “Back in my day, that wasn’t allowed. You didn’t tell anybody. I feel like a woman. I always have.”A lot of transgender teens are very open now. But to see this 60 or 70 year old man talk about it, it broke my heart. I said, “Times are different. I’m not looking at you funny. If you get on the internet, I guarantee you can find a support group and meet someone like you that’s your own age, younger, whatever, and surround yourself with the same type of people. There’s nothing wrong with that.” As he left, I said “See ya again sometime.”Well, about five months later, here comes in this older woman. Long, beautiful dress. Nice perfume. Beautiful makeup done. And walking with a cane. She said, “Do you remember me?” I got goosebumps. She looked so classy. She said she was on her way to a group where she was getting together with some people the same as her, and she just wanted to say ‘hi’. I broke down in tears when she left because, at her age, she probably only has so many years left. She’s going to live the last part of her years out being how she wants to be./end image description] -- source link