Despite this improvement, Jackson is still in a period of questioning and secrecy, unsure about when or how he will come out and transition.Īfter graduating, Jackson gets work with the Harry Potter Alliance (HPA), a charity with which he had been volunteering. He begins binding his chest, which helps with his gender dysphoria. In New York, Jackson privately begins to take steps toward transitioning. He is still unsure about when he will transition, and remains closeted to everyone else in his life. There, Jackson builds up the courage to come out to two friends and not long after comes out to his mother.

He decides to transfer to NYU but does a semester abroad in Amsterdam first. However, Jackson's first year of university is marred by a negative and manipulative relationship that compromises his mental health. However, in order to fit in, he eventually adopted a more stereotypically female presentation in high school.Īt Southwestern University in Texas, Jackson begins to be introduced to the LGBTQ+ community and many of his misconceptions around sex, gender, and sexuality begin to be corrected, particularly as he starts doing his own research and eventually finds an online transgender community. Jackson never felt truly comfortable in his body and thought of himself as one of the guys. Growing up in suburban Texas, Jackson lacked education or role models on LGBTQ+ topics and struggled to reconcile his internal world with external gender norms and his misconceptions around sex, gender, and sexuality. However, as he grew up, he often went back and forth in his presentation, sometimes presenting himself more masculine, sometimes more feminine, and sometimes androgynously. As a child, Jackson enjoyed dressing according to what would traditionally be considered masculine gender norms.

Amazon Kindle eBook.Īfter beginning with a glossary of relevant terminology which will appear throughout the book and explaining some of the story's background in the introduction, Jackson dives into his life narrative from an early age when he was assigned female at birth. Sorted: Growing Up, Coming Out, and Finding My Place. The following version of the book was used to create this study guide: Bird, Jackson.

Sorted by Jackson Bird