I wish Mike all the luck in the world. He will always be welcome in our world, as either Mike or Christine. He's still "family," and he will always have a home to hang his hat and and talk for awhile by the fire.

I have no idea as to Penner's motivations. However, people should be entitled to choose which path they wish to walk. Regardless of what Michael Bailey or Dr. Zucker might want to think, only the individual T person can judge how far they have to go towards transition.

I know of a number of people who began transition, some to the point where they fully transitioned, changed name, SRS, etc - then turned back. Most de-transitioned because of economics and passability - they didn't pass sufficiently well, and/or couldn't find suitable employment, and resorted to weekend/time off crossdressing to deal with their gender conflicts. I chose not to transition some years ago, based on an adverse reaction to hormones, added to the fact that I'm 6'1" and 300 or so. I know I'd have serious job issues if I tried, particularly without hormonal help.

My hope for Mike Penner is for a feeling of peace and self-acceptance, whatever the choices may be. I draw the line at rooting for the Lakers or Clippers, however.

Almost every transition takes place in a goldfish bowl of family and friends, how much more pressure is there to have done so at Seaworld? None of us will know the reasons Mike decided to stop being Christine absent a public statement and even then, the heartache will still not be on full display.

Yes, the public transitions can serve a greater good, I would have made my own transition much much earlier in my life had I known but a single actual, non-celebrity transwoman in my youth. That said, this story has already been used as a battleground by some with "issues" with women of transsexual history within the trans communities. I cannot stress this strongly enough.......for classic transexuals there eventually is no choice. I lost much of my family, my entire circle of friends I'd had from college on and still never regretted my decision. My experience in this is far from unique.

One of my best friends de-transitioned. She was doing well and coming along great, and worked for a semi-supportive company. Then, 9/11. Her small company closed its doors shortly after that, and she had the problem of finding work in Georgia. She applied to hundreds of companies, even after jobs came back, but nothing. She became a truck driver, one of the most "good 'ol boy" industries in the country and to be safe, she de-transitioned. That's six years ago. Truck driving has not been good to her. If you think about it, being a sports writer is also a good 'ol boy kind of job. But, I don't think that was what affected Mike. Just a guess.

I can't presume to know why she/he made the decision to re-transistion; that's personal and if not shared, then it will stay so. But I can't imagine the soul searching that must have taken place and the difficulty of the decision.

Well, shit. Yes I know, everyone needs to do what is best for themselves, and if what is best is to transition back, so be it. But, shit.

This will make it harder for other people to transition, give ammunition to right-wingers who don't think we're legitimate, and give excuses to mental health professionals to keep GID listed as an illness.

Whoever signed off on this transition is going to rethink their requirements for others, or possibly not want to participate in treating trans people. Friends, family, and employers who were supportive may feel like they were 'had', and not terribly trusting in the second place.

In the political realm, the argument will be if you can change back, then it wasn't necessary to transition in the first place. Therefore, there shouldn't be non-discrimination laws based on gender identity/expression.

And for good measure, the future of GID is being debated right now for the next edition if the DSM. The PR of this de-transition will likely be cited as a reason to maintain gatekeepers.

Since it is such a big deal to transition, theoretically nobody undertakes it without a great deal thought, research, and soul-searching. It's hard to believe anyone would do it without being pretty damned sure. So the suspicion is that if someone does transition back, it's due to external factors rather than a change of heart. The ramifications of transitioning back under those circumstances can be dire.

Leaving the psychological effects aside, I don't think anyone in your life is going to just forget your transition. So you'll still likely face many of the discriminatory aspects of being trans anyway.

Since none of us know the reasoning for this de-transitioning, it doesn't necessarily mean that Penner isn't some stripe of trans. But this should definitely be a cautionary tale.

Thanks for your excellent article Mercedes! As someone who transitioned, spent over a year living in her gender of choice, and then re-transitioned, I know all to well what it's like to come to this decision.

I'm truly glad to see our community talking about this issue openly. I think that often after a person re-transitions, everyone expects them to just sweep it all under the rug and not bring it up anymore. I certainly experienced this, both from within the trans community and especially outside of it.

I wish Christine/Mike all the best regardless of what gender sie might or might not be.

let's just hope he doesn't go the route of the ex-gays, advocating against trans people and transitioning in the future.