Geoffrey Ofori-Dwomfuo
Diversity & Social Justice
Glenn Cassidy

Today, my fellow mates and I had the opportunity to be in the presence of a transgendered woman who was willing to share with us her experience as a transgendered woman. I was astonished by her appearance and had no hint of her once being a male. She was well dressed and looked like a very decent lady. She introduced herself as Brianna and hesitated to share her birth name with us for she believed it is connected to her past life. At a young age, Brianna knew being a male wasn't what she wanted. She dressed and behaved like a female though she liked to play video games which has been associated with muscularity by the society.
As she grew older, she began to realize what was really wrong with her identity. She had an identity which wasn't of her choice but rather imposed on her by the society. At age twenty-one, Brianna decided to permanently switch her gender to one which she felt most comfortable. At that moment, she made it known to her environment that she was no longer the person they wanted her to be. Her very religious family didn't like the pathway Brianna decided to take therefore leaving her to be on her own.
As an independent young lady, Brianna needed to get a job in order to make money so she could earn a living. Unfortunately for Brianna, finding a job with a decent salary wasn't going to be easy for her since she was seen as a different human. There were times when she was treated and welcomed with warm arms until they realized she was trans and began to shun her. There were also people who saw her as a homosexuality even though she wasn't. In order to earn a living, Brianna joined the drag queens who accepted her as who she is because being trans among them seemed to be quite normal. Though it pays very little, Brianna doesn't mind because she feels at ease with the environment. She also believes that life would be more easy if people accepted the real gender they desired. She believes it would gradually lead to the acceptance of transgendered people by the society.