RENE
FT. COLLINS, CO
AGE: 40
TRANSITIONED: Age 34
NO. OF KIDS: 2. They live with him.

“In my late twenties, I had another child, but I was still even more masculine just in my natural butch persona, and I started passing (as a man). I mean, I’ve always been called "sir," never "ma’am," and then I just started passing on the job. I think it wasn’t even a conscious decision to pass...By the time I was 31 or 32, I found out about transitioning because a good friend of mine was an FTM...I face discrimination every day. I can get threatened with being kicked out of my job. If they decide they just don’t want to deal with the repercussions of having a transsexual on the worksite, then I can lose my job. I can lose my kids any minute.”