LGBT Civil Rights and Activism

It's complicated, because there are so many different life paths under the one umbrella word "transgender."

It should not matter whether or not there is something that would "make it known," as you say -- whether visually, a gender maker on a driver's license, one's voice, etc. Not everyone can or wishes to take all medical, social, and legal steps to be perceived as "the other gender." Not everyone identifies that way.

But more to the point, imagine trying to go through life without talking about perhaps the most central facet of your identity. That would interfere with friendships, medical treatment, and ...most everything else. Punishing someone, isolating them, denying who they are -- that's a hard way to live, whether the pressures come from outside or from within.

For example, I'm someone who does not have to disclose that I was born female. Most of the time, it's simply not relevant. But if there is a risk that this one fact about me will change how a person relates to me -- ranging from fascinated, to awkward, to deadly -- that is a huge decision.