Thank you for writing this compassionate call for inclusion. I'm the same age as you and tried to reach my gender expression [read-relationship with others] as best I could through secret crossdressing most of my life. As I got old enough to see the end of my life I tried to surface, and it has been complicated - requiring ongoing compromises. But I am clear now that I am not strange, just a human who didn't want to be split.

It is worth saying with reference to your article that dressing is the most common first step in exploring a social status - cf team uniforms, social class distictions, etc. and clothes are very often the first thing people comment on when judging others. Crossdressing is, as you say, a signal for inclusion in any queer or trans friendly setting.

It is not a simple matter, though. I found that the male crossdressing community has its own group think , and think nothing of criticizing a fellow crossdresser who is not doing enough to disguise the male body. Interalized social criticisms and fear of one's own contradictions will always be with us.

The worlds will continually need calls like yours to enlarge our understanding of gender rules and the validity and value of all challenges.