It's becoming pretty normal these days to see a man walking down the street in high heels and a skirt with his face beat and hair pulled back in a ponytail. It's also pretty normal to hear other people making fun of that man for dressing how he feels comfortable even if it is considered to be a little different by societal standards. With that same token, it's just as normal to see a woman with a faux-hawk walking around in a shirt and tie and it is just as normal to ridicule her. It's time to ask ourselves... why? Why do we make fun of these people? Whether they're gay or transgender... should it really matter? Does it affect our daily lives? No.

In today's society, the transgender community — the people we have labeled as "cross dressers" — are no longer afraid to live their lives the way they should. Being born in the wrong body is more than just a "feeling" so please, just for now, put aside religious beliefs or bigoted views just to hear me out.

The neuroscience of being transgender has been ongoing for decades. Finally, in 1995, scientists have come up with the conclusion that the brain develops before the body while still in the womb, which makes it possible for a brain to develop as male but the body develop female and vice versa. This is linked to Gender Identity Disorder (GID).

A recent study shows what actually happens in the transgender brain while still in the womb.

Tamara Sheehan writes, "Like the normal male embryo, the male to female Transsexual brain starts out female. Then between the 8^th and 24^th weeks, the ‘XY’ chromosomes introduce testosterone hormonal changes, but the hormonal washes as faulty. They are either insufficient or ill-timed. When this happens, the fetus develops a male body. However, some of the default (original) female brain processes remain intact. Thus, the brain’s gender identity remain intact. Thus, the brains gender identity remains female. This means that Transsexual males whose process of brain masculinization was incomplete, Their default female brains still function. The degree of arrested development can vary. The original brain circuitry that was missed in the masculinizing process provides a continuing feminine influence. This explains why many Transsexuals, biological males know, from as early as 3 years old, that they are actually members of the opposite sex."

And the same goes for biological females who are transitioning to male (FtM). There are other scientific facts from doctors and professors, such as Dr. Milton Diamond and Arthur Arnold.

Getting into the specific details of how the transgender brain actually will make this article several pages longer than it would need to be, so I think one paragraph of very intricate detail should suffice. I hope this brings some light to the subject as well as some understanding because persecuting someone just because they're different is wrong especially if it's over something that they have absolutely no baring on.

There are transgender people around the world who get killed every single day — either by themselves or by others — and even more who get assaulted. Everybody remembers what the trans community had to go through earlier in the year just to be able to go to the bathroom in public, so imagine what else trans people must go through.

I hope this little bit of information shed light on the subject and spread a little bit of knowledge that could potentially lead to understanding and hopefully a higher tolerance of trans people. A little bit of learning can go a long way.