This is primarily directed at the various trans folk who read my posts, on Twitter and Facebook – I’m writing this from my blog so that it will appear both place and not be truncated,

My friend Tracy pinged me last night; an old friend of hers is looking for information about transition for their shy, 22 year old, biologically male child. Here’s what she sent me, from her friend:

Hey, I hope you don’t mind if I barge in here with a question. Can anyone recommend a good  sex-positive book on exploring one’s feelings while edging toward a change? My almost-22 son recently told us he’s a girl inside and that for now he thinks that eventually someday he would like to have MtoF surgery. He thinks he would then be a lesbian. He has zero experience with romantic/sexual relationships so far, poor shy sweetie. Since his birthday is coming up, if there’s a book that people in similar circumstances have found to be useful to them, it might make a good supportive gift, and one that fits into our currently limited budget. (Household income this month for our family of four is just over $200, though we do have savings.) Any suggestions? Thanks.

 I am inordinately pleased to see parents not only willing to support their kid in a situation like this, but also willing to ask for help from their friends and peers. What I would like to do is to gather a list of books recommended by my trans friends and then purchase them for the mother – my wife & I are doing enough that a few books isn’t going cause us fiscal pain, and I would really like to help out. I’ve heard far too many stories from friends about how hard it can be transitioning, especially without  a supportive family.

Thanks for reading.