» By KIMBERLY WALLACE – kwallace17@my.apsu.edu

“I want to come to family gatherings as a woman,” Morgan Robertson said.

Robertson was born a male, but from an early age knew she was different. Robertson doesn’t like to be addressed as transgender because she doesn’t believe in the restrictions labels place on a person.

As a child, Robertson enjoyed hanging out with girls as much as boys. The world didn’t seem comprehendible to her when she was a male.

“I was a star-shaped peg trying to fit in a round hole,” Robertson said.

Robertson’s first experience with the transgender community was through shows like “Ricki Lake,” “Maury” and “Jerry Springer.” However, not wanting to be affiliated with those “crazy arguing lunatics,” she steered clear of the transgender community.

The first step in Robertson’s journey to changing from male to female, was to come out to her mother about liking males. Her mother was very understanding. When Robertson decided to officially make the change, she started going out in public, away from her family, dressed as a woman.

Robertson desperately wanted to be a woman in front of her family. She informed her whole family through a letter about how uncomfortable she felt presenting herself as a male. She was greeted with both positive and neutral responses about her decision and transformation.

Robertson’s journey transitioning from male to female was not always easy. Before she made the change to female she was a homosexual male.

In her high school sociology class the teacher requested the class to write a protest folk song. A group of males decided to protest homosexuality. Their ending lyrics consisted of “and two men standing up at an alter, that’s just not right.” Outraged, Robertson stood up in class and yelled at the boys while everyone else just laughed.

Robertson was then sent into the guidance office for anger issues, which turned to sexual orientation and eventually to gender questioning.

Robertson can only remember two instances where someone has insulted her for gender switching.

During one incident, a man was making homosexual remarks towards her as she walked by, which almost ended in a physical altercation. Robertson took the high road and just walked away.

In order for Robertson to physically switch gender, she had to go through hormonal therapy, which consisted of lowering her testosterone levels and raising her estrogen levels.

“It’s like going through puberty all over again,” Robertson said. The hormone therapy helps with breast development and hair growth. It does not help with bone growth or voice change. Robertson said the voice she is using is a learned voice.

Even though she was uncomfortable talking in her male voice, Robertson revealed her natural born voice. It was a deep, booming voice that appeared odd emerging from such a small woman.

When asked what the best moment of changing into a woman was, she answered without hesitation “The first time I developed my breasts and I was able to jump up and down and they bounced. That was heaven,” Robertson said. TAS