Adviser Update Adviser Update Spring 2017 | Page 35

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her daughter a little more about
transgender etiquette when, next
to Howe’s own stall, her daughter
yelled, ‘Daddy?’”
Having only announced her true
identity 11 months ago, Howe’s
impressions were all so fresh, so
undefined, so outside of a sound
bite—for her, nothing was ever a
straight answer.
The Q&A seminar included many
disclaimers from Howe. She
often prefaced replies with how
she was about to say something
unexpected, something other than
what the inquirer probably wanted
or had previously heard.
Caitlyn Jenner, her friend
for example, is not a typical
transgender story. Not every
person who transitions from one
gender to another is a former
Olympic athlete who gets national
attention and whom, after her
transition, appears on a cover
photo for Sports Illustrated.
On those grounds, Howe said
hers wasn’t typical either, as she
gets regular calls from Jenner,
and she writes a national blog for
Huffington Post.
On such a basis, Howe voiced her
narrative one question at a time.
None of her answers were
generalizations. In her need to be
exact and ensure her audience had
ample information to understand
that she is only one example of a
transgender person, her responses
often took several minutes and
several examples to complete
themselves.
How did this ex-high-school-
teacher-now-journalism-Ph.D.-
candidate and self-pronounced
transgender poster child from
the University of Oregon know
that she was a female born to a
male body? “Mine was a series of
moments (throughout her lifetime)
punctuated by a moment of
realization.”
Howe counseled her audience to
simply respect a person’s gender
expression. Acronyms like LGBT
or LGBT+ are preferences, as is the
pronoun a person prefers.
“When someone identifies as
transgender, they don’t have to
do anything else,” she said. “That
means respect it.”
To emphasize, she said there is no
checklist that makes somebody
transgender. Although many take
hormones and opt for surgery, it is
not mandatory to take such actions
to earn a transgender badge.
Moreover, Howe set the mood for a
cautionary tale whenever a writer
tries to define the transgender
population.
“Preoccupation with parts and
surgery is a limited view,” she said.
“Transgender occupies more than
parts, hormones and surgery.”
Besides, she said, “Most of us who
transition never have surgery or
take hormones.”
Howe’s transition with estrogen
treatment is gradual, she said,
mentioning the crying jag she’s
been on since July. Many in the