My dad is cooler than Billy Corgan

I was just reading about an internet scandal where (former rock star, current icky semi-celebrity) Billy Corgan trashed a transgender woman on Twitter, using hurtful language like "he/she" and, um, threatening to punch her in the face. I don't feel like recapping the whole thing here, but you can look it up. I was inspired to post a story from my childhood, where I first learned that transgender people existed, and where my dad really knocked it out of the park in the parenting department.

When I was 8 or so, my dad and I were at a festival, and I met a person who looked like a man to me, but was dressed like a woman, and had a female name. So I asked my dad about it when we were alone. He sat me down and explained that: Some people are born into bodies that aren't right for them. It's very difficult, and they choose to change their bodies with hormones and surgery. We should respect this choice. Some people don't understand, transpeople face a lot of discrimination that's similar to racism, and that's wrong. A transman is a man, a transwoman is a woman, and I should use the correct pronouns--the person I met should always be referred to as "she" and "her."

I just wanted to say, awesome job, Dad! This was a really important conversation in my development as a pretty okay human being, and I did my best to pass it on to other kids. I was so lucky to have parents who were openminded and liberal about social issues and identity politics, and it makes me sad that so many people didn't have that in their lives. Thanks Dad!