HARMING THOSE WHO NEED OUR HELP:

I started my transgender journey as a 4-year-old boy when my grandmother repeatedly, over several years, cross-dressed me in a full-length purple dress she made especially for me and told me how pretty I was as a girl. This planted the seed of gender confusion and led to my transitioning at age 42 to transgender female.

I lived as "Laura" for eight years, but, as I now know, transitioning doesn't fix the underlying ailments.

Studies show that most people who want to live as the opposite sex have other psychological issues, such as depression or anxiety. In my case, I was diagnosed at age 40 with gender dysphoria and at age 50 with psychological issues due to childhood trauma.

Eventually, my parents found out, and my unsupervised visits to Grandma's house ended. I thought my secret was safe, but my teenage uncle heard about it and felt I was fair game for taunting and sexual abuse. I wasn't even 10 years old. If not for the purple dress, I believe I would not have been abused by my uncle.

Read more commentary:

Trump's anti-transgender memo would hurt teens like me. I'm hoping my state protects me.

My high school's transgender bathroom policies violate the privacy of the rest of us

High school could have been hell for my transgender son. Don't make it hell for the next kid.

That abuse caused me to not want to be male any longer. Cross-dressing gave me an escape.

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