The LGBTQ Applicant Thread!

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touchpause13 said:
Just an FYI to everyone else, Santana is not a member of the LGBT community, but instead his "friens" wants to game to system by pretending to be gay in order to get URM points from adcoms. Dat post history
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I wanted to offer my help (PM me any time!) and MDapp profile to future LGBT applicants after reading touchpause13's thoughtful post on another thread. Thank you.

Being out during the application cycle is not an easy choice, nor is it a free pass to medical school. If you see LGBT advocacy as part of your practice, then please consider applying out and proud. I hope to work alongside you one day 🙂
 
Transgenderinmedicine said:
Hello! I am a transgender woman and a medical school applicant. I stumbled upon your thread because someone referenced me here after my post: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/how-to-apply-as-a-transgender-woman.1055091/ Check out that thread ti get more details, but essentially I am wondering how you presented yourself during interviews. You are M-to-F I am assuming? Did you present yourself as a woman to interviewees? Was their nervousness in the air from them? Did they ask you specifics about you identity? I am not 100% passable and have not legally changed my name nor the M to an F on my ID. I want to be taken seriously as an applicant and not mocked. I do not want ti be viewed as a "man in women's clothes", but as a med school applicant. Any input is greatly appreciated. You inspire me greatly and thank you for being here. Even if I did censor my application bout my trans identity and activism it will be apparent at interviews unless I come male presenting.
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Hi! I am sorry I took so long to respond. My life has been a little crazy.

When I applied I had the privilege of having started transition 6 years prior. I came out, started hormones, etc in 2006 and ended up applying to med school in 2012. I was out on my application because that process was one of many things that steered me toward medicine, like you mentioned. Despite being out I didn't have the question of how to present myself. All my documentation, transcripts, etc were all in my current name and things went fairly smoothly from that perspective.

In your case it's definitely a hard question. I know one physician who came out & transitioned during her med school & residency experience & generally presented herself as male during that time. I know another person, a med student at SUNY who identifies as genderqueer and at times has an ambiguous gender presentation. She would undoubtably have some insight about navigating admissions & school from a place that is more similar to where you are at. I'm happy to put you in touch with her.

I noticed someone on your thread mentioned that trans people don't get any "diversity points", but I think we are at a very unique moment in that there has been a lot of positive media visibility for trans folks in the last few years. It's true that we are not officially "URM" but trans health is kind of in vogue in academia and med schools are paying attention. You can see from my mdapps that I got a pretty good handful of interviews. You'll likely be the first & only trans student at most schools, but things are changing! I think it's definitely legit to email admissions about any documentation discrepancies that they might find confusing.

Anyway, I could talk about this for a while but I need to study for my biochem final. PM me any maybe we could set up a time to chat on the phone or something in a couple weeks.
 
boomboompow said:
I wanted to offer my help (PM me any time!) and MDapp profile to future LGBT applicants after reading touchpause13's thoughtful post on another thread. Thank you.

Being out during the application cycle is not an easy choice, nor is it a free pass to medical school. If you see LGBT advocacy as part of your practice, then please consider applying out and proud. I hope to work alongside you one day 🙂
Click to expand...

Hi, congrats on coming through strong on the med school application.
One question though. UCSF and some other schools screen applicants out before handing out a secondary. Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my AMCAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school.

DR MOM said:
I'm queer and applying this cycle. I partially picked schools based on whether they included sexuality in their non-discrimination blurb on the MSAR and whether I thought my soon-to-be-wife and I would be happy living there. Right now we live in TX, where we can be legally fired for being gay so it'd be nice to live somewhere we had more protections under the law.

I didn't mention my sexuality in my primary, but I did talk about trans advocacy in my personal statement. I suppose I will mention it in secondaries/interviews as is relevant.
Yay, queer docs!
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Hi, congrats on being an amazing candidate with so many incredible acceptances!
I would be also applying to Texas schools. About half of the Texas schools do not require a secondary application.
Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my primary app TMDSAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school in Texas.
Also do you know what Texas schools are more welcoming of LGBT contributing to class diversity? Texas is more of a conservative state, and I have concerns and reservations of talking about LGBT issues in TMDSAS.

Thank you both!
 
Well I am about to apply for round FOUR as an out transgender man, plus URM.

This is re-frickening-diculous IMHO.
 
I'm bisexual. In my area some parts of the LGBT community are rather unaccepting of bisexuals, especially women. I often get the feeling that if I'm not currently in a same sex relationship, that I'm not really welcome in these conversations. I know the general perception of bisexual women in our culture, and am honestly debating whether or not I should even discuss this when I'm ready to apply, even though I'm planning on doing some LGBT health related volunteering and research in undergrad, because I worry that even if the people reading it are more open minded, that they will have that "there's no such thing as bisexual" mentality and think I'm just trying to get special treatment by "pretending" to be "half gay".
 
touchpause13 said:
Good lord man. Good luck to you
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Thanks, three really should have been my last time but my partner was good enough to say I could apply to as many medical schools as $500 would pay for (including interviews). The last three years I was on FAP, but now I am slightly over the qualifying income.
 
familyaerospace said:
Thanks, three really should have been my last time but my partner was good enough to say I could apply to as many medical schools as $500 would pay for (including interviews). The last three years I was on FAP, but now I am slightly over the qualifying income.
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I think it's absolutely terrible you haven't been admitted, esp. based on your stats and extracurriculars. Medicine is still largely a conservative profession unfortunately.
 
Annabell Lee said:
I'm bisexual. In my area some parts of the LGBT community are rather unaccepting of bisexuals, especially women. I often get the feeling that if I'm not currently in a same sex relationship, that I'm not really welcome in these conversations. I know the general perception of bisexual women in our culture, and am honestly debating whether or not I should even discuss this when I'm ready to apply, even though I'm planning on doing some LGBT health related volunteering and research in undergrad, because I worry that even if the people reading it are more open minded, that they will have that "there's no such thing as bisexual" mentality and think I'm just trying to get special treatment by "pretending" to be "half gay".
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I'm not sure why, if some women (or men) can be attracted to other women, and some to men, it's so unfathomable to some people that a person could be attracted to both. But I agree with you. Bisexuals get hate on pretty good from both sides. Public perception tends to be that you are some kind of sex crazed nympho who can't be monogamous or make up your mind and are too chicken to stand up and be counted. It's frustrating because it's soo far from the truth in a lot of situations. I'm not sure what the answer to your question is as I've wondered the same things. I think people are less accepting of bisexuals than homosexuals (at least outside of Hollywood).
 
DermViser said:
I think it's absolutely terrible you haven't been admitted, esp. based on your stats and extracurriculars. Medicine is still largely a conservative profession unfortunately.
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I should be concerned that the liberal schools never interview me and only the schools in conservative states do.

*bangs head on wall*
 
I was accepted this cycle as a queer asian male at a top 20 MD school in NYC. Super involved in HIV activism and the queer community on campus. Message me if you have any questions!
 
DermViser said:
Have you tried DO schools as well?
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Yes I did my first cycle. I was interviewed at one where I was told specifically because I was transgender I could not be accepted because they needed a balanced class. They also misgendered me constantly which is really impressive when you think logically that most women would not have a BEARD.
 
familyaerospace said:
Yes I did my first cycle. I was interviewed at one where I was told specifically because I was transgender I could not be accepted because they needed a balanced class. They also misgendered me constantly which is really impressive when you think logically that most women would not have a BEARD.
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Yeah, I think the "balanced class" excuse is BS. I'm assuming you've applied early every time.
 
DermViser said:
Yeah, I think the "balanced class" excuse is BS. I'm assuming you've applied early every time.
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Submitted first day on the first two cycles. Submitted late June on the third cycle. It was early enough that on my third cycle I had a September interview.
 
Might have to be next cycle as I can afford $500 to do all my applications and interviews this cycle.

Going to Iowa would be a similar cost as it was when I went to North Dakota so I have a rough ball-park estimate and I would go over my budget for this year assuming I didn't sleep in my car. To go to Grand Forks was 24 hours of driving so the Econolodge would be my friend.
 
kkcc said:
Hi, congrats on coming through strong on the med school application.
One question though. UCSF and some other schools screen applicants out before handing out a secondary. Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my AMCAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school.



Hi, congrats on being an amazing candidate with so many incredible acceptances!
I would be also applying to Texas schools. About half of the Texas schools do not require a secondary application.
Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my primary app TMDSAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school in Texas.
Also do you know what Texas schools are more welcoming of LGBT contributing to class diversity? Texas is more of a conservative state, and I have concerns and reservations of talking about LGBT issues in TMDSAS.

Thank you both!
Click to expand...

Thanks! I didn't include my identity in the primary, but I certainly wrote and spoke liberally about it in my secondaries and interviews. I stick by my original stance; apply out and proud if your LGBTQ identity will be a part of your medical professional identity. Good luck 🙂
 
familyaerospace said:
Yes I did my first cycle. I was interviewed at one where I was told specifically because I was transgender I could not be accepted because they needed a balanced class. They also misgendered me constantly which is really impressive when you think logically that most women would not have a BEARD.
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Ugh, that is seriously disgusting of them. You would think someone in that position would be more mature than that. Jeeze. I can understand if you aren't mentioning the name of the school to protect your own identity, but you should be able to call that school out! This is why we need federal protections. Could you imagine if a school said, "Sorry, we have enough [any protected class] people, so we can't accept you."
 
PreciousHamburgers said:
Ugh, that is seriously disgusting of them. You would think someone in that position would be more mature than that. Jeeze. I can understand if you aren't mentioning the name of the school to protect your own identity, but you should be able to call that school out! This is why we need federal protections. Could you imagine if a school said, "Sorry, we have enough [any protected class] people, so we can't accept you."
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I've mentioned it several times and if you look at my old MDapps for my first cycle you can see the name of the one DO school I applied to.

It was GA-PCOM.

And for the record this cycle I was told by another school that they had enough Jews (which religion is a protected class) and yes complaints were made and no no one did jack diddly because I wasn't smart enough to record my interview. Seriously who thinks to record a medical school interview??
 
familyaerospace said:
Might have to be next cycle as I can afford $500 to do all my applications and interviews this cycle.

Going to Iowa would be a similar cost as it was when I went to North Dakota so I have a rough ball-park estimate and I would go over my budget for this year assuming I didn't sleep in my car. To go to Grand Forks was 24 hours of driving so the Econolodge would be my friend.
Click to expand...

Damn too bad I didn't know you then, you could have stayed with me in the grandest of forks.
 
familyaerospace said:
I've mentioned it several times and if you look at my old MDapps for my first cycle you can see the name of the one DO school I applied to.

It was GA-PCOM.

And for the record this cycle I was told by another school that they had enough Jews (which religion is a protected class) and yes complaints were made and no no one did jack diddly because I wasn't smart enough to record my interview. Seriously who thinks to record a medical school interview??
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That is horrible.

Honestly, if you had recorded it, they probably would have said it was inadmissible because you didn't have their consent to record, and then have filed a suit against you. I'm so sorry and hope you find a school that will respect you as a human being.
 
touchpause13 said:
Damn too bad I didn't know you then, you could have stayed with me in the grandest of forks.
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Thanks, I was at the University of North Dakota as a graduate student from 2004-2007 although only had to be on campus three weeks total. My partner (or mother) drove from Atlanta to Grand Forks. The week of my proposal defense, the week of my thesis, and graduation week. I stayed at the Econolodge near campus which wasn't too bad. I was pre-transition then. Much of the department disowned me when I transitioned, except for a few people.

I miss the Blue Moose, I hear it is not there anymore.
 
Annabell Lee said:
That is horrible.

Honestly, if you had recorded it, they probably would have said it was inadmissible because you didn't have their consent to record, and then have filed a suit against you. I'm so sorry and hope you find a school that will respect you as a human being.
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Thank you.

I *think* Georgia just requires one person know about the recording. But still WHO THINKS TO RECORD?? I was advised by a lawyer that I should have recorded it. I recorded the next interview which went wonderfully and I am planning to use it to show my mentor that "See no my interview skills don't completely suck."
 
familyaerospace said:
Thanks, I was at the University of North Dakota as a graduate student from 2004-2007 although only had to be on campus three weeks total. My partner (or mother) drove from Atlanta to Grand Forks. The week of my proposal defense, the week of my thesis, and graduation week. I stayed at the Econolodge near campus which wasn't too bad. I was pre-transition then. Much of the department disowned me when I transitioned, except for a few people.

I miss the Blue Moose, I hear it is not there anymore.
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Blue Moose is absolutely still there, loved that place. Best restaurant in GF tho is rhombus guys IMO. Yeah the econo isn't bad, I lived in one of the apartments by there 1 summer.

I'm sorry about trouble you had post transition. ND isn't exactly the most queer friendly place on the planet.
 
touchpause13 said:
Blue Moose is absolutely still there, loved that place. Best restaurant in GF tho is rhombus guys IMO. Yeah the econo isn't bad, I lived in one of the apartments by there 1 summer.

I'm sorry about trouble you had post transition. ND isn't exactly the most queer friendly place on the planet.
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Really? I thought the Blue Moose became something like Aliens Bar and Grill or something?

They had a drink that was apparently seasonal, I THINK they called it Peppermint Patty or something. Very minty, I really liked that.

I had enough problems that while half the faculty still likes and talks to me, the other faculty, one of which had JUST gotten there actually went out of their way to mess me up. As in, they were still doing it as of 2012. Got my funding stopped, caused me to lose my job in 2010, etc. I am glad I can still get letters from three faculty who adore me. Dr Ferraro in Psych thought I walked on water especially after how cool I was during the hostile proposal defense. Apparently he was horrified on my behalf. I was so scared to make contact with him again after I transitioned, met a person who transitioned at UND who said Dr Ferraro was really cool with transgendered people so I recontacted him and he was one of the few who was completely ok. And I am still on speaking terms with my adviser and one other.
 
familyaerospace said:
Thank you.

I *think* Georgia just requires one person know about the recording. But still WHO THINKS TO RECORD?? I was advised by a lawyer that I should have recorded it. I recorded the next interview which went wonderfully and I am planning to use it to show my mentor that "See no my interview skills don't completely suck."
Click to expand...
No one would think to do so unless they had a previous experience like yours. It is ridiculous.
I guess we should just all walk around with mics on us wearing shirts that notify everyone that all conversations will be recorded.
 
Kinsey 5 bisexual here, but in an opposite sex relationship. I'm undecided as to whether or not to bring it up in secondaries. Possibly for specific schools and specific prompts. I need to think about it.
 
thisisansley said:
Coming from NYC, I'm really nervous about possibly leaving to a super conservative place..
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Buckle up. Apparently you can be fired just for being gay in Texas.

I'd stay in the friendly confines of Gotham if possible! 🙂
 
familyaerospace said:
There are many places you can be legally fired for being gay. Georgia is also one of them.
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I believe it's only illegal to fire people for being gay in under 50% of the states right now. Or at least last I checked, as of a couple years back.
 
kkcc said:
Hi, congrats on coming through strong on the med school application.
One question though. UCSF and some other schools screen applicants out before handing out a secondary. Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my AMCAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school.



Hi, congrats on being an amazing candidate with so many incredible acceptances!
I would be also applying to Texas schools. About half of the Texas schools do not require a secondary application.
Does that mean that to present myself as an LGBT candidate I must talk about it in my primary app TMDSAS personal statement? But I don't want to out myself to every school in Texas.
Also do you know what Texas schools are more welcoming of LGBT contributing to class diversity? Texas is more of a conservative state, and I have concerns and reservations of talking about LGBT issues in TMDSAS.

Thank you both!
Click to expand...

I might be able to chime in on your second question. I applied to Texas schools as an OOS student, and I decided that I would talk about being gay and growing up Mormon on my TMDSAS primary application. I debated about whether that was smart or not, but decided to go ahead a do it because A) it made sense for based on the essay prompt and B) I realized that I really didn't want to go to a school that would reject me if they knew I was gay. I had spent too much time in the closet and was not planning on stepping back in for med school. I applied to about half of the schools in Texas, and I ended up with interviews at UTMB and UTHSCSA, which was about what I expected going in with my stats and OOS status. During my interview at UTMB, one interviewer spent a lot of time talking to me about LGBT life at the school and assured me that I could be happy there, which I appreciated, and I was accepted at (and will be attending) San Antonio.

Ultimately, I don't think being out on the application really helped or hurt me at any of the schools where I applied, Texas included. That being said, I'm glad that I was, if only because I know that the school I'll be attending knows that I'm gay and they still want me there. I don't know if that is a common concern for other people, but it was important to me, mostly because of what it was like for me growing up as a scared gay kid in small town Utah.

TLDR; I was out on my primary TMDSAS application, and I got accepted to a school that I was happy with.
 
familyaerospace said:
29 states can fire you for being gay, 34 can fire you for being transgender.

And guess who has the honour of being both?
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Ridiculous. It's hard to get into the head of someone who would base hiring/firing decisions on sexual orientation or gender status.
 
tabtleborn said:
I might be able to chime in on your second question. I applied to Texas schools as an OOS student, and I decided that I would talk about being gay and growing up Mormon on my TMDSAS primary application. I debated about whether that was smart or not, but decided to go ahead a do it because A) it made sense for based on the essay prompt and B) I realized that I really didn't want to go to a school that would reject me if they knew I was gay. I had spent too much time in the closet and was not planning on stepping back in for med school. I applied to about half of the schools in Texas, and I ended up with interviews at UTMB and UTHSCSA, which was about what I expected going in with my stats and OOS status. During my interview at UTMB, one interviewer spent a lot of time talking to me about LGBT life at the school and assured me that I could be happy there, which I appreciated, and I was accepted at (and will be attending) San Antonio.

Ultimately, I don't think being out on the application really helped or hurt me at any of the schools where I applied, Texas included. That being said, I'm glad that I was, if only because I know that the school I'll be attending knows that I'm gay and they still want me there. I don't know if that is a common concern for other people, but it was important to me, mostly because of what it was like for me growing up as a scared gay kid in small town Utah.

TLDR; I was out on my primary TMDSAS application, and I got accepted to a school that I was happy with.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much, those are certainly top med schools in Texas, glad you're coming! Try out the beef briskets/ Texas BBQ!

Hearing this made me more reassured since Texas bans gay marriage in state constitution, so I felt that I may need to approach my TMDSAS application with reservations. But at least I know UTMB and San Antonio are friendly to LGBT!
 
kkcc said:
Thanks so much, those are certainly top med schools in Texas, glad you're coming! Try out the beef briskets/ Texas BBQ!

Hearing this made me more reassured since Texas bans gay marriage in state constitution, so I felt that I may need to approach my TMDSAS application with reservations. But at least I know UTMB and San Antonio are friendly to LGBT!
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I think the Supreme Court ruling on DOMA says that Proposition 8 (California constitutional amendment banning gay marriage) is a no go and this would also apply to Texas and their constitution.
 
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to read my draft of my diversity secondary. I just want to make sure it isn't something that is too controversial. Thanks!
 
readingrl said:
I was wondering if anyone would be willing to read my draft of my diversity secondary. I just want to make sure it isn't something that is too controversial. Thanks!
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Would be happy to help. PM me 🙂
 
Why do "LGBT populations have the highest rates of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use."?
Is it because LGBT fell away from support structures that do not accept them (families, church, etc.) and found bars and clubs to often be the only safe places where LGBT individuals could gather, so that they become more readily associated with heavy drug and alcohol users?
 
kkcc said:
Why do "LGBT populations have the highest rates of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use."?
Is it because LGBT fell away from support structures that do not accept them (families, church, etc.) and found bars and clubs to often be the only safe places where LGBT individuals could gather, so that they become more readily associated with heavy drug and alcohol users?
Click to expand...
For the same reasons just about any group that is shunned by a large part of society turns to drugs and alcohol. It's a coping mechanism for people without good social support.
AspiringERMD said:
Kinsey 5 bisexual here, but in an opposite sex relationship. I'm undecided as to whether or not to bring it up in secondaries. Possibly for specific schools and specific prompts. I need to think about it.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't mention it unless it's a pretty big part of your life and identity.
 
One of my beefs with a local school is that I don't know where I would use the bathroom there. At least, if I follow the current policy for their undergrad university, which says that you have to use the restroom for the gender indicated on your birth certificate. My birth certificate was issued by a state that will never allow my gender marker to be changed, no matter what. Although I am obviously a guy, all of my legal documents are marked female. I have toyed with the idea of gunning for there, so that I can get arrested for following the policy, when I startle some ladies into calling campus police to get me out of their washroom.

On one hand, it would be great to get accepted there and help make things better for trans people there. On the other, it would be nice not to have to spend my medical school years on a Sysiphean quest when I could just go someplace where it isn't really an issue.
 
Gay male applicant here for this cycle - I was involved in LGBT organizations at school and also volunteered for a year at an LGBT health clinic. Definitely interested in possibly doing work in LGBT health in the future.

If anyone has any questions about how I brought it up in my app, feel free to PM me.
 
correctlywrong said:
One of my beefs with a local school is that I don't know where I would use the bathroom there. At least, if I follow the current policy for their undergrad university, which says that you have to use the restroom for the gender indicated on your birth certificate. My birth certificate was issued by a state that will never allow my gender marker to be changed, no matter what. Although I am obviously a guy, all of my legal documents are marked female. I have toyed with the idea of gunning for there, so that I can get arrested for following the policy, when I startle some ladies into calling campus police to get me out of their washroom.

On one hand, it would be great to get accepted there and help make things better for trans people there. On the other, it would be nice not to have to spend my medical school years on a Sysiphean quest when I could just go someplace where it isn't really an issue.
Click to expand...

I would imagine you can probably use the bathroom of your choice. Sure the administration will have your documents, but no one is standing by the door of the restroom asking for your papers, right? If it became an issue you could probably mobilize a campaign for public accommodations, though you may not want to.
 
Hey, is anyone going to the Gay & Lesbian Medical Association Conference in September?
 
Ellie Arroway said:
I would imagine you can probably use the bathroom of your choice. Sure the administration will have your documents, but no one is standing by the door of the restroom asking for your papers, right? If it became an issue you could probably mobilize a campaign for public accommodations, though you may not want to.
Click to expand...

When it comes down to it, transgendered people in many areas are not allowed to use the bathroom of their choice.

Even with a beard I am sometimes directed towards the women's room.
 
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