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"This is why babies are never born with limbs missing, or without sight or hearing, or mentally retarded."

Sure, these things happen. But we don't celebrate them as the transgendered folks want us to celebrate their perversion. (And by the way, these things are generally caused by actions of people somewhere along the way - pollution, inappropriate actions by the doctor, alcohol abuse by the mother during pregnancy and so forth.)

By the way, if someone is born with female genitalia and has the appropriate hormones coursing through their body but they wish they were a boy, they are not a "man in a woman's body." They are a woman who got mentally messed up somewhere along the way. (The same goes for boys who "wish" they were girls.)

God didn't do this to these 'transgendered' people. Other people did things to them, and they allowed the actions of others to pervert them.

Well. I must say I'm disappointed. Most of the conservatives I know are concerned with such things as honor, which does not include insulting one's family or upbringing without giving them a chance to say their piece. Since, as a few other readers have found, my e-mail address may be located through a simple Google search, I would guess that no one here cared enough to give me that chance.

Hello. Samantha Lease here. I'm not going to respond to most of your points. If you believe that your genitalia at birth is all that defines your gender, I know I won't change your mind. I can't take you inside my brain, I can't play my memories back for you like home movies, and mere words will never convince you.

However, while I will not defend myself and my decisions to you, I will defend others around me. First, I was not sexually abused; it is deeply insulting to my parents, my extended family, and anyone else you consider a potential perpetrator to imply that such is the cause of my gender dichotomy.

Second, I am not the child of a single mother. My father is quoted in the Q&A section attached to this article. He and my mother have been married for over two decades.

My mother is not a radical feminist. I was not raised to hate men, nor were women placed on a pedestal. In fact, I was raised in a Christian denomination where women were expected to be homemakers and men were given the greater degree of direct authority. My mother is still a member of that church, but she does break with policy from time to time. While I will be excommunicated if I do not leave voluntarily or cease my transition, simple dissent is not typically punished.

Oh - and despite what I said earlier, I must say one thing in my own defense, though at least some of you see me more as a victim in this regard: I have never been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. In fact, I have only been diagnosed with depression (treated through therapy) and, more recently, gender identity disorder. I have seen therapists off and on since childhood, and each therapist has had a different perspective. At least one of them would have caught it, I'm sure. Despite the differing perspectives, those therapists who later became aware of the gender issues were not surprised.

As for my "agenda"? Frankly I'm surprised that so many conservatives still let their children read Teen People. Aside from the article quoted above, there have recently been pieces on abortion (in which neither of the commentators opposed it, but rather debated the need for parental notification) and other controversial issues. Their liberal streak is clear. If you don't want your kids reading this stuff...well...you're the parent.

And I'll tell you this as well: I attend a private college, so if you're worried about your kids being exposed to a transsexual, you need to worry about that channel as well. Pull your kids out of public school if you want to, but mind where they go afterwards as well.

What it boils down to is this: if you want to clap your hands over your kids' ears and eyes and keep them from hearing about any of this - I'm for it. That's your right as a parent. I think it's a shame, but they're your kids. Remember that, ultimately, for good or ill, YOU'RE the one who prepares them for this world.