When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson

The arguments he makes are positioned within the compassionate and empathetic interest of a scientist trying to understand what is causing a person so much pain and what can truly be done to relieve it. He answers the question, to the best of his ability and using the most pertinent science available, why the argument in favor of gender identity over biology is flawed. The book goes in-depth into the science behind biological sex and what we understand about the human body and how it functions.Īnderson moves through the development of a human fetus into brain development and what science tells us can affect that development. I soon realized Ryan’s work offered me so much more than just a sense of personal validation in my journey. When I wrote my story and sent it to Public Discourse, I thought it was unique because I hadn’t seen it before.

I saw my struggle in their accomplishments, and I realized how truly grateful I was to have hesitated earlier in my life. Their understanding of discomfort in their bodies resonated loudly with me, even more than the initial concept of being transgender. Then they faced rebuilding the body and the identity they socially and medically altered in pursuit of some intangible goal of idealized gender. I was embarrassed to even bring up the topic because I didn’t want to have to answer the humiliating questions about why I stayed trapped in the “wrong” body all these years, or admit something inside me kept me from moving forward.Īnderson shared deep, rich stories by people just like me who did transition and then realized it was a mistake.

In many ways, I saw myself as a failure because the only transgender stories I encountered were those who accomplished what felt impossible for me. I connected emotionally with most transgender stories right up until they began medical intervention and then I felt out of place and truly alone. I rarely discussed my gender dysphoria because I never transitioned, and I assumed something was unusual about me. I also had not heard stories of other people who had gone through what I had until then. I had not heard the arguments he made before, nor read through the scientific research and other objective examinations of the condition and its effects the way Anderson presented it before. To say his book was eye-opening is to provide a vague description.

When his breakthrough book, “When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment,” was published, I excitedly downloaded it to my vast Audible library. Throughout both interactions, he was kind, generous with feedback and recommendations, and interested in what I had to say. He also published another personal story about my experience with gender dysphoria. Ryan took a risk on me, an amateur writer, and offered me my first professional writing opportunity. Anderson, a conservative voice I had respected for a long time. I’d hoped for a positive reply, but I didn’t expect a response from Ryan T.

When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson