The Life and Times of Kelly Anderson Part 4
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The Life And Times Of Kelly Anderson - Part 3 free porn video
The Life and Times of Kelly Anderson
Written by Kristine Roland
Edited by Joni W
Part 3 - This is the Sequel to Jason's Story.
Author's Note: My sincere thanks to Joni W for all her efforts!
Chapter 7
Kirsten came over to the lunch table where Kelly and her friends were
sitting. She was carrying a stack of papers.
"Kelly, here you go, hot off the press, the new edition of the Jefferson
Weekly," Kirsten said. She handed a copy to each of them and gave a
handful to Kelly.
Kelly took them from Kirsten and said, "Thanks Kirsten."
Kirsten headed over to her own table, and Kelly opened up the paper and
found the article she was looking for.
----
Transgendered Kids
By Kirsten Carlin
Gender - Male, or Female. From the moment we are born, the world begins
to treat us differently based on the outward signs of our physical
gender. Little boys are dressed in blue, little girls in pink. Our
rooms are painted in colors that denote our gender. The toys that we
are presented with are dictated by our gender.
You are a boy, or you are a girl. These messages are constant.
For most people the minds image and the body's image are in synch. For
some though, they are not, and the painful realization begins early on;
as the messages are a constant reminder that something is terribly
wrong.
Gender identity begins as early as 8 to 10 months in children and is
usually set by the time they are four years old.
Why do some children develop a gender identity that is the opposite of
their body's gender? No one really knows. There are a number of
theories. One of the most prevalent theories today is that the
hormonal 'washes' that occur at various times during the development of
the fetus, that pushes the fetus to be male, or leave it female, may
misfire and cause the brain to develop along a different path from the
physical gender.
Regardless, studies show that forcing a child into the role that they do
not identify with reinforces hatred for their bodies. This in turn
leads into depression and self esteem issues, often leading to drug
addiction, alcohol, and a high risk of suicide.
However, those who are allowed to follow the gender they identify with
as a whole, are happier, more self confident, better able to resist the
influence of drugs and alcohol, and are at a much lower risk of suicide.
Most of the problems these children face are from outside forces, due
to
society's inability to accept them in the role their minds identify
with.
In the past, transgendered children have been forced to live their lives
trying to be what society expected them to be. Around the country
however, the plight of these students are beginning to be recognized and
new opportunities are opening up to allow them to express their gender
as they feel is appropriate.
Kelly Anderson, a freshman at Jefferson Regional High School was born
and lived the first fourteen years of her life as Jason Anderson. Over
the summer between her final year in middle school, and the start of
high school, the secret that only Kelly and a few of her closest friends
and family knew, became suddenly all too public.
An e-mail sent by Kelly's cousin Tom Merrick, including a picture taken
over the summer of Kelly and her friend Julie Sanders in swimsuits, was
sent to a few students and spread through the shocked community in a
matter of minutes. With the support of her family, and friends, Kelly
decided that it was time to begin full time transition to Kelly.
When word of Kelly's decision to attend JRHS this year became public
knowledge, a meeting of the Board of Education became a contentious
affair, as the divided community made their arguments for and against
allowing Kelly to attend. The issue was never truly in doubt, because
recent changes in the state law makes it quite clear that Kelly must be
allowed to attend, and that the recommendation of her doctors must be
honored.
Kelly's first day of high school, was certainly one for her to remember.
She was attacked in gym class during a game of field hockey, and
received a hairline fracture. Later on that evening, a brick was thrown
through the picture window in her family's living room. It was an
inauspicious start to her high school career.
Since then, things have quieted down as the community, while still
somewhat split on her attending as a whole, was appalled by the
violence.
Kelly says, "My earliest memories of feeling that something was wrong go
back to when I was maybe 4 or 5. I don't know if I realized what it
was
then. I just felt wrong. I wanted to play with the girls and I wanted
to dress like them. It hurt, because I was always told, 'you're a
boy.'"
Kelly is under the care of Doctor William Daniels, a well known expert
in the Gender community. Doctor Daniels would not comment on Kelly's
case specifically, but said, "While we are still learning a lot about
what causes gender identity disorders; what we do know is that the vast
majority of the problems associated with it, are societal. Particularly
in children, what we have seen is that allowing the expression of the
preferred gender, instead of insisting on squelching such expression,
leads to healthier, happier, and content individuals. There have been
a few well publicized cases lately of even very young children being
allowed to attend school as their preferred gender. For more
information on this, check out Transkids Purple Rainbow.
They were featured in a Barbara Walters special, on 20/20, in April 2007."
One of the problems that young transgendered children face is the
betrayal they feel as they enter puberty, and their bodies begin to
change in ways that are distasteful for them. A controversial new
treatment option exists, where the child takes medication designed to
postpone puberty. One such drug is Lupron Depot. This procedure is
completely reversible, simply by discontinuing taking the medicine.
This option is being used to give transgendered children more time to
make a decision, and to prevent the changes that are difficult, costly
and often painful to reverse, once they have occurred.
Kelly hid herself so well from her family and friends that she almost
waited too long. Kelly is fifteen years old, and puberty had already
begun. However, she was lucky in that she was a late bloomer and as
Jason had not yet needed to shave. Her voice had not dropped and most
of the typical male pattern changes of puberty had not taken hold. She
began taking Lupron Depot this past summer and her puberty has been
arrested, in fact it has reversed a few of the changes that had begun.
In another year or so, Kelly along with her doctor's and her parents,
will decide whether to move into the next phase, or to continue on with
this treatment. Phase 2, should she decide to move forward, will be to
start taking estrogen. Entering phase 2, after having been on Lupron
Depot, will begin her puberty, but as a female. Phase 2, if she chooses
to move forward with it, is irreversible. Soon after beginning phase
2, the patient becomes sterile.
Unlike in some European countries that have recognized the medical
necessity of treating transgendered youth, in the United States, these
procedures and medications are not covered by insurance. Lupron Depot
is expensive, it can cost between $500 and $700 a month.
Kelly says, "I'm very lucky to have my parents support. We are not
wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, and I know that Mom and Dad
have made some pretty big sacrifices in order to be able to pay for my
treatments."
Kristine Anderson, Kelly's mother, says, "It is expensive, and we have
had to be creative in finding ways to pay for the treatments, but you do
what you have to do."
Asked about what her first reactions were when she found out that her
son was hiding his need to be her daughter, Mrs. Anderson said, "I was
shocked. Jason, while not the most macho of boys, did not appear to be
effeminate. We talked to his pediatrician and began to see Dr. Daniels
and we did a lot of research. I never really realized how unhappy Jason
had been, until we got to see him as Kelly. I was pretty luke warm to
it, to be honest, I wanted Jason to resist his needs. I could see how
much that was hurting him, and when Dr. Daniels recommended giving him
some time to explore the inner girl, I did not fight it. Kelly was just
so happy when she got that chance and it was a happy in a way I had
never seen in Jason. I could not really fight it once I understood
that."
Kelly has a group of close friends. When the picture of Kelly and her
girlfriend Julie was made public, she stood by her friend. "I was the
first person to meet Kelly after her parents. To be honest, I had
caught Jason and his mother shopping for clothes for Kelly and I wanted
to help Jason, so I knew when we started dating. To be honest, it has
been fun watching her grow. When she first started she was so
tentative and needed to learn everything that we all learn when we are
younger. She was a quick study though!"
Kathy and Sue, friends of Julie, first got to know Jason and then
learned about Kelly. Kathy said, "Jason was a nice guy, and it was
clear that he was good for Julie. When we figured out that he was also
Kelly, it was a bit of a shock, but since Julie obviously knew and was
so happy, we could not help but be happy for her. We had all kinds of
questions for Kelly when we finally met her and made a nuisance of
ourselves, but we saw very quickly she was really just one of the girls
and we think she is great."
Kelly had two best friends when she was Jason. Neither John, nor Steve,
had any clue about their friends suppressed alter ego. They first
learned about it when the swimsuit picture became public.
John said, "At first I was furious at Jason. I felt betrayed and it's
like this person I had known, had been lying to me my whole life.
Kathy and Sue made me see it from Kelly's perspective, though. How hard
it had been for her, to have to face every day pretending to be the boy
that everyone thought she was, afraid of how people would react. Once
I gave her a chance and got to know her as Kelly, I could see how much
more at ease she was. I really could not begrudge her that. Then when
school started and she was attacked like that, I saw why she had chosen
to hide so long."
Asked about her immediate and future plans, Kelly said, "Right now I'm
just trying to enjoy every moment. A year ago, I could not have dreamed
that I would actually be attending school and being accepted by most
people as Kelly. I wake up every morning, get dressed, and am
thankful for the support of my family and my friends. And so many,
like you, that have reached out to me and offered their support. I
hope that in time, my cousin and my Aunt and her husband will be able to
accept me as well. I miss them, and it hurts, but even though they
have
rejected me, I forgive them, I know that they actually are doing what
they think is right. As for the future, I don't know yet. I have a
lot of decisions to make, but I'll make them when it seems right, with a
little help from my friends." Kelly smiled as her friends all began
singing the classic Beatle's song behind her.
As the interview came to an end, Kelly asked to make one final point.
She said, "I am very fortunate to have all the support that I have. I
am not the first transgendered person to come to this school. As many
of us learned at the Board of Education meeting, Chris Fienberg attended
this school, just a few years ago. Chris did not have any support, and
ultimately he took his own life when he simply could not face it any
more. I would not be here today, if it were not for all those that
came before me and fought for the changes in the laws, and have given me
this chance, I will not forget them."
It has been a little over three months now since Kelly's first
inauspicious day at JRHS. Despite all of the hand wringing and warnings
expressed by concerned parents, The world as we know it, did not end,
the school is still standing and going strong, and the students are
learning. It begs the question, "What was all the fuss about anyway."
----
Reverend Triphard put down his copy of the Jefferson Weekly. "Let's see
how they like national attention."
He picked up the phone and called a friend of his that worked for
Firefly News Network. "Charlie. Hi it's Joe Triphard here. Yeah, how
is your wife? Good, good. The kids? Really, good for Simon.
Look, we have one of those crazy situations I know your boss just loves
to gripe about, going on here. Yeah, 15 year old boy is going to the
local High School, prancing around dressed as a freakin' girl, and the
school board isn't doing anything to stop it. Yeah, they say the laws
here have their hands tied. Yeah, they even published an article in
their school newspaper about it. I'll fax it to you right away.
Thanks, Charlie."
Gert
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