<p><strong>1%</strong>:&nbsp;Approximately one-percent of persons experience themselves as gender-diverse that is as not conforming to traditional categories of exclusively masculine or feminine. This may be so small a percent as to be irrelevant: &ldquo;what has this to do with me?&rdquo; But if I myself or my child or my spouse or a sibling is included in this percentage this is no small matter. Because of widespread cultural sensitivity concerning gender these persons are often seen as marginal&mdash;misfits or outcasts.</p> <p><strong>The Biological Phenomenon</strong>: Some persons find that their interior sense of gender identity does not match their physical body. The messages from their hormonally-gendered brain (who I am) do not concur with the&nbsp;evidence of their anatomy (who I appear to be). This disconnect rooted in hormones and chromosomes is rare but very real. This is a biological phenomenon not a moral condition.</p> <p><strong>The Psychological Phenomenon</strong>: Trans persons caught between the expectations of society and their interior sense of self often feel isolated and alienated. A trans person may well attempt to suppress this interior evidence of gender identity and seek to conform to social expectations. This effort often leads to a determined attempt to adopt a gender identity that is not authentic resulting in a life built on a false self. A person may marry and have children in the hope of overcoming the interior conflict&mdash;a strategy of survival that is rarely successful.</p> <p><strong>Transition</strong>: By midlife this scenario typically be- comes untenable. A crisis often ensues. Now despite the turmoil this may evoke in one&rsquo;s social network a journey toward a more authentic expression of oneself begins. Personal distress at this point may be severe heightened by memories of previous decades of denial. Jolie McKenna writes &ldquo;when [transgender] persons make the intrinsically spiritual decision to openly embrace their true identity they confront all of the obstacles that have threatened their lives and livelihood.&rdquo;</p> <p><strong>Resolution and Liberation</strong>: The goal of gender transition is a more integrated sense of self and a more peaceful existence. Justin Tanis comments &ldquo;so many of my colleagues have commented to me that I am so much more peaceful and calm in the years since I transitioned.&rdquo; Previously he had lived with &ldquo;a sense of spiritual restlessness because I had not found a home within myself where I could be genuinely myself.&rdquo; &nbsp;</p>