Jim, Thank you for taking an inclusive position and being a forthright and positive activist for all with minority gender expressions. You make an important point on the importance of language, and the history each person has with words. The alphabet and labeling wars are evidence of these different histories and perceptions, and of the remaining mysteries that still obscure a full appreciation of gender as something to celebrate rather than fight about.

Gender is a complicated web of experience, impulse, feelings, social roles, neurological and psychological events and patterns, communications with others and ourselves via words, posture, clothing, and more. Thanks to people like you throwing open the doors to all of us ‘homeless’- we are able to find a place to stand with others and enjoy being recognized as part of the human community.

Within gender minority communities there is endless argument over classifications and differences, too. We all want to belong, to be safe.

We will eventually settle on inclusive terminology and agreement on meanings of words- as all of our differences and commonalities begin to appear orderly. But it can only happen with a full exposure and appreciation of them.

In the meantime, thanks to thought leaders like you, we can be sympathetic to the failings of language- and be inclusive. We can understand without effort that ‘queer’ or ‘trans^’ [note my helpful ^ umbrella sign! lol] or ‘rainbow’ can easily share the work of a very useful umbrella.