Transgender people always attract attention: curious looks, astonished reactions, excessive rejection or welcome, and so on. Some use this obvious quality, creating sensational TV content or publishing books about common coming-out experiences and unusual lives. I assumed this book would be one of those. But it was completely different. After reading it, I even added it to my recommended-books list. Even being a woman still puts someone in a disadvantaged position in society: women are

June is Pride Month, a month for LGBTQ+ rights. It is also a time when the rights of sexual minorities, often hidden behind social conventions and ideologies, are brought into view and their voices are heard. Queer parades take place around the world, and most celebrations become visible through marches in the streets. There is meaning in LGBTQ+ people showing themselves to the world as they march, and the gatherings are also a chance to affirm pride and stand together against discrimination

All of us are beings who ‘trans’ while we are alive. The heat of discrimination and hatred seems like a deeply meaningless waste, even though I understand where it comes from and what it intends. A few days ago, hate groups were there as usual at the 2024 Seoul Queer Culture Festival. Their arrogance and violence showed that they could not even tolerate one day a year when people made themselves visible. I became an ally simply by offering my support. An ally is a person who is not directly

Human beings are mysterious, but they can also be cruel. We can say this because some people are kind and others are wicked. Of course, there are as many answers to that question as there are people in the world, and nothing can be called the one right or wrong answer to human life. In that sense, my life—and our lives—may be free, though I can only speak for myself. Still, we want to experience or create change in life. Change is not limited to outward appearance or circumstances; dreaming of

We all grow stronger through transition. Everything changes. No one stays the same forever. In one way or another, we all transition. For me, transition was not about changing my life but setting it right. It was self-discovery that brought what was invisible into alignment with what was tangible, and let the truth rise to the surface. —Munroe Bergdorf When I think of transgender people, Harisu comes to mind. She is still so beautiful that it is hard to believe she was assigned male at birth. I

People often ask, ‘When did you first realize you were transgender?’ But there was no Eureka moment, no instant flash of awareness. When puberty began, my body felt wrong for me, and every change I made in life happened blindly and organically. Some people do have a decisive moment when they realize they are transgender. More often, though, clues emerge one by one over a long time and eventually point in the same direction. I was simply drawn, like gravity, toward the direction that felt close

Munroe Bergdorf is one of the world's most influential transgender people. Claire Hodgson, editor of Cosmopolitan UK, called her a ‘pioneer.’ She says Munroe spoke up for the rights and equality of socially disadvantaged people amid prejudice and hatred, including after taking part in a new-product campaign event for beauty brand L’Oréal as a transgender woman. After the event, she gave interviews to several famous magazines and seemed headed for success. But when she spoke out firmly for Black

An essay about the author's transgender experience, with a white British mother, a Jamaican father, and the author as the eldest child. After becoming L’Oréal's first Black transgender model in 2017, the author posted on social media about racism and violence by white people and was fired. Her story contains much to think about in an era of change. From childhood, she came out about her identity, but no one around her listened. Her autobiographical essay recounts the pain and experiences she

People may regard this as an area where everyone has different views, or as a sensitive issue depending on their circumstances. Changing Gender touches on one of the most sensitive areas in our society, where political interpretations and partisan logic sometimes lead people to express hatred toward one another. The book discusses gender, sexual minorities, and homosexuality, and stands out for approaching these issues through foreign perspectives and examples from societies that may be more

Changing Gender: Setting Things Right Rather Than Changing Them. By Munroe Bergdorf, published by Bookhouse. A mentor of our time selected by TIME! A person who broke through the confines of being Black, female, and a minority! The owner of too many titles to list, including broadcaster, model, UN Women goodwill ambassador, Change Maker of the Year, and guest editor of British Vogue, spreading awareness of gender rights! What does it mean to live as a Black person in America? Is it still like