Dear Janus:

You shared that you enjoy building things, and… taking things apart and then putting them back together (it made me smile imagining you building things from Lego parts). I agree that some of the questions in the test should be worded differently, more specifically, so that when a person answers, they can feel confident about their answers.

“I sometimes tend to get distracted because I can’t sit still for a long time trying to figure out how the appliances connect together“- same here, and it is neither a feminine nor a masculine trait.

“But society tends to change with time“- most recently, when I heard on the news that the latest mid-term elections were a win to the lgbtq community, I thought of you and wondered if you were pleased!

* axios . com/ midterm elections lgbtq candidates (Nov 11,2022): “Several LGBTQ Americans made history Tuesday night with election wins across the United States… Among them are Becca Balint (D), who will become the first out gay person and the first woman to represent Vermont in Congress, and New Hampshire’s James Rosener (D), the first out transgender man to win a state legislature race… Their wins come amid an increase in anti-LGBTQ legislation across the country, particularly bills targeting transgender rights and gender-affirming health care… For the first time in U.S. history, LGBTQ candidates ran for election in all 50 states and the District of Columbia this cycle… The 2022 midterms showed a significant growth in trans, nonbinary and gender non-conforming candidates as well as LGBTQ candidates of color…. There are currently two governors, two senators, nine members of Congress, 189 state legislators and 56 mayors who openly identify as LGBTQ, per LGBTQ Victory Fund.”

“I feel like transgender people are people who transcend the binary stereotypes of society… There’s no right way to be trans… I feel like transgender people get quite caught up in trying to be one way or another… Don’t fight the feelings“- when parents express gender-binary expectations to their child, such as for a girl to always act feminine or for a boy to …never act feminine, these are limiting expectations that cause much distress to girls who, for example, love climbing trees with the boys, and to boys who cry…  although trying hard to not cry ( the song “Big Boys Don’t Cry” comes to mind). The binary division of feminine and masculine when applied to people is indeed problematic and too often, very problematic. Thank you, Janus, for bringing all this to my attention and hugs and blessings back to you!

anita