The article is in the Real Life section. Its title, "Finally My Heart is Happy," tops the spread in big valentine-red letters. The photo gives us Terri in a valentine-red sweater with a dramatic cowl collar. Her strawberry-blonde hair is a little windblown, as if she just logged a 190-mph qualifying lap without a helmet. Quick & Simple's writer starts with Terri's childhood in a Bible-belt town, and doesn't flinch from what the blurb calls a "battle with misunderstanding and prejudice to realize her true identity as a woman." The battle included Terri's discovery that she's an XXY.

Now and then, in the media that serve Middle America, I see a hopeful ripple of what may be some deep paradigm changes happening. In spite of all the controversy about LGBT rights and ENDA, despite all the hate from religious righters who are as cruel and stupid about gender as they are about sexual orientation, some people in Middle America are definitely starting to get it about that region of humanity that we represent. Whether or not these changes will really alter the whole American continent of consciousness is still a question -- one that might be answered in part by whichever party wins the upcoming Presidential election.

But not in a million years would Quick & Simple run this story if they didn't feel that some of their Middle American readership were ready for it -- that Terri O's story, and her image, could actually appeal in Middle America. Terri is as Southern and down-home as Paula and her pound cake...but in a radically different way. Hers is a family story -- about parents and children, about the imperative to love and accept your child no matter how different that child turns out.

So here are my valentine-red kudos to Quick & Simple and Good Housekeeping for their courage. Any Bilerico readers who want to thank them can go to www.quickandsimple.com/contact and find the link to post comments.