9781422283820

1 WHAT ARE STEREOTYPES?

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

Transgender: Identifying with a different gender than the one that was assigned at birth (i.e., a person designated as male who identifies as female or vice-versa). Standardized: Made to conform to a set of rules. Generalizations: Vague opinions not based on specific facts. Flamboyantly: In a manner that is colorful and a bit outrageous. Butch: Masculine in dress and appearance. Disparaging: Negative and rather insulting. Effeminate: A man who looks or acts in ways that are considered feminine.

Ed Wesley remembers what it was like before he came out and told the world he was gay. He felt alone and out of place. Everything he knew about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community came from the characters he’d seen on television and the way gay people