Q. When did Dale have her first transsexual thought?

A. Dale knew that her gender was wrong at 4 or 5, which is standard for people who transition later in life. She felt internally that she belonged with the girls. Around 5, 6 or 7, when the boys began to become more masculine, she was seen as weak and was picked on. She learned very early on to hide her true nature. She tried to find ways to deny how she felt, but it never went away and eventually became tied up in her sexuality because she was dating girls. One way Dale tried to deny her true feelings was by joining Navy ROTC during her time at Boston University. Finally, Dale began the irreversible full hormone regimine in February of 2005.

Q. When/how did Dale come out?

A. Dale first told her girlfriends thoughout high school and college. She told them each at different points in the relationship. Some decided to break up but still be friends, and some did not want to have any kind of relationship anymore. Dale joined various support groups on the internet and eventually began to come out to coworkers, friends, and finally family. She said that coming out at work was the most difficult. Dale works at Brigham and Women's Hospital researching ovarian cancer. She began working there before she made the decision to transition. Her coworkers are mostly female so she stood out as a man. As she said, she came in to work and had to say, "next Monday I'm coming into work and I'm going to be a female." Because all her coworkers are research scientists, they had a better understanding of what she was going through than other people might have had. Everyone at work was very supportive.

Coming out to her family did not go as easily. When she was growing up her parents caughter her trying on her mother's clothes on multiple occasions. As the frequency of these events increased her parents grounded her and planned to take her to a doctor. When she finally told them of her plans to transition there was a lot of confusion because her family thought she was no longer the person they knew. To Dale, she was the same person, just a different gender. It took about four or five years for her parents to truly understand what she was going through. Her father still does not talk about it, but she is allowed to visit. Her mother has been getting progressively more accepting and even wanted to be present for Dale's surgery.

Dale is currently in a long distance relationship with a coworker. She and her girlfriend were friends at work before Dale officially transitioned. They eventually became romantically involved and her girlfriend, who identifies as bisexual, decided to stick by her throughout the transition process.

Q. How does Dale label herself sexually?

A. Dale identifies as a lesbian.

Q. Has Dale ever had a heterosexual relationship? If so, what was the nature (i.e. emotional vs. physical)

A. Before Dale transitioned she had heterosexual relationships with girls.

Q. Has Dale had surgery? If not, does she plan to?

A. Dale definitely plans on having the gender reassignment surgery and even has her consultation with the surgeon scheduled. Most surgeons make the rule that if someone truly wants to have the surgery they must live in that gender role for at least a year. Dale began living full time as a woman in October of 2005 and plans on having the surgery in Montreal either Thanksgiving or Christmas break of 2006.

Q. What questions would Dale like to know the answers to?

A. Dale wants to know what other people know about gender differentiation. Many people in America are uninformed about the issues transsexuals face. Dale wants to work to increase popular knowledge of these problems. She is going to graduate school to learn more about the specifics of gender differentiation.