Living in Today's World

Not too long ago a transgender person, for his or her own safety, had to conceal the situation from all but their most trusted friends and relatives. Today, in the early 21st century, this is, thankfully, far less true. Today's transgender people have those who have gone before to thank for throwing a bright light on what had been a dark corner of society. They were, unfortunately, unwilling pioneers. The "Tabloid Press", always hungry for sensational stories, stalked and hounded Christine Jorgensen, Renee Richards, Tula (Caroline Cossey) and others until every detail of their lives had been exposed. The unexpected, though welcome, result was that a transsexual is now no longer "news".

But the fact that transgender is no longer news is also a problem.  For a long time since Tula disappeared from the headlines there has been no information, accurate or otherwise, disseminated to the public-at-large. As a result, transgender people are still a mystery to many people. Your author transitioned over 20 years ago, but most of the people I know are unaware that they know a transgender person. In this climate, in spite of all the knowledge that has been gained, transgender people trying to resolve their identity continue to confront ignorance and bigotry

And so TYKs has taken on the task of letting the people of Kansas know that transgender people are citizens under the Constitution of the United States of America, and therefore entitled to all of the rights guaranteed to all citizens. The following is a list of organizations which we feel need to be encouraged to support that goal.

• The Kansas State Department of Education - Safe Schools Resource Center **
• Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitative Services **
• Kansas Association of School Boards **
• The Kansas Equality Coalition **
• Kansas Counseling Association **